Onyeador makes Virginia history
By Jason S. Rufner
Uche Onyeador became the most prolific scorer in the history of Virginia High School League boys' soccer when he bombed the 125th goal of his Potomac Falls career May 14 in front of a Senior Night crowd in Sterling.
The record-clincher was not quite the typical Onyeador strike.
"It was a little something different," said a smiling Onyeador, describing the moment at practice the following day.
Visiting Broad Run had found the back of the net first, a scant few minutes into the contest. The Spartans grouped together in celebration, not realizing that the referee was about to place the ball back into play.
The whistle blew. The Panthers' Michael Tobin rolled the ball to Onyeador, the net yawning open half a field away from his powerful left foot. Onyeador swung.
The Spartans' goalkeeper broke from his maroon-clad friends and raced the ball to the goal-mouth. The ball won, settling into the folds of the net on the fly.
"The crowd went pretty crazy," Panther coach Dave Gryder said. "People will remember that he has the record, but they'll remember how he got it too."
The game was stopped momentarily as the soccer ball Onyeador had just struck 50 yards was presented to him. His jubilant teammates helped him remove his jersey, revealing a T-shirt emblazoned with "Breaking Records Baby!!!"
The previous record was held by Martinsville High School's Kyle Quinlivan since 2004, the year before Onyeador entered Potomac Falls to score 28 goals as a freshman.
Georgetown University coach Brian Wiese, who will have the high-scoring forward next season as a full-scholarship Hoya, was on hand, as was Potomac Falls principal David Spage.
Onyeador's parents posed for pictures with their son on the field after the game, and cousins K.C. and Olivia, soccer players with Park View High School and the University of Maryland respectively, called in their congratulations.
Onyeador proceeded to notch two more tallies, earning his second consecutive hat trick and contributing to a 4-3 overtime victory against a Spartan team Onyeador described as "one of our biggest rivals."
Gryder, who calls Onyeador "probably the best soccer player who will ever come out of this school," pointed to Onyeador's devotion to the team as a differentiating aspect of the young man.
"He sets the team's goals just as valuable as his own goals," Gryder said, watching Onyeador joke around with fellow Panthers as they ran warm-up laps. "It's been a pleasure to have him. He's been a great leader."
Onyeador tallied six goals in the regular season's final two games, both victories for the Panthers. The outburst followed a relatively dry period for him and his team.
"I wasn't going to stop doubting myself because I had a couple of scoreless streaks. I was still confident in myself and my team," he said. "My teammates all cared about me getting the record because they all care about me, but we all knew it was more important to win."
Gryder pointed out that it would take a kid scoring more than 30 goals per season beginning as a freshman in order to threaten Onyeador's record.
"You wouldn't say this is an easy district. It's not like we've been winning 10-0 and he's been scoring that way. He's been scoring against Broad Run, Heritage, [Loudoun] County, Dominion. This is a tough district from top to bottom."
The Panthers, district and regional champions each of the past three years, are situated third in the Dulles standings heading into tournament play.
Onyeador was asked about holding onto the record for longer than his predecessor.
"We still have the district tournament, so hopefully I can stretch it out a bit," he said with a grin.
The senior gave credit to Gryder and assistant coach Ian Beichler.
"I was given a chance to succeed by the coaches right away. If they hadn't let me play right from my freshman year, I probably wouldn't have come close to this record. I want to thank them more than anybody."