By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
The first thing that stands out to most people about Matt Ognibene is his last name. Even close friends still have some trouble with the pronunciation, and it’s one of those names a reporter has to double- or triple-check each time it appears in a story about the Mainland Regional lacrosse team.
“It’s been a while, and I think some people still don’t know how to pronounce it,” the senior defenseman said. “It’s gone from Og-ni-bay-nee to Obi wan kenobi — it takes a while to get it down, but I’m alright with that. I come from a Sicilian family, so it’s pronounced Own-yi-ben.”
What takes a little longer to stand out is just how good a defender he is. He doesn’t get interviewed by reporters — in fact, Glory Days Magazine was the first to interview him in his entire career, after the Mustangs beat Toms River South in the opener of this year’s South Jersey Group 3 tournament. He’s not flashy, doesn’t score goals and doesn’t hoot or holler after making a big hit. He’s kind of just always there doing his job, and perhaps that’s why he is taken for granted.
“He’s one of the most improved players in the past year. He was one of our long stick middies last year. He saw some time with another kid, but when a couple of the kids graduated, we switched him over to close defense. This year, he finally physically grew. He’s always been tall, but I think he put on about 15 pounds from last year to this year,” said Mainland coach Clayton Smith. “He’s very smart. He has like a 5.3 weighted GPA, so he’s super smart. But aside from being smart, he’s very athletic. He’s the smallest defender we have, but he’s very quick on his feet and I think that’s what really helps him. And because he is so smart, he can see things unfolding before they even happen.”
Ognibene is part of perhaps the best defense in school history, as that unit helped lead the Mustangs to 14-4 record heading into the sectional semifinals, including a 10-1 mark in the Cape-Atlantic League. The Stangs finished second to rival Ocean City in the league, but made school history this year by beating Toms River South and Allentown in the state playoffs, advancing to the semifinals for the first time.
“It’s been great, especially winning our first quarterfinals in school history. We came in with a lot of ambition and were really hungry. It’s been awesome playing with these guys. We never thought we would be (in the sectional semifinals) four years ago, but we’ve worked hard and it’s been awesome being a part of that process,” Ognibene said. “Team chemistry has been a big part of it. I’ve been playing with the same guys for eight years, we’re all friends off the field, and on the field, every time we break it down we yell, ‘family!’ And we really mean that. To us, this is our family. We would do anything for each other and we see each other as brothers. It’s built some really good chemistry on the field, that love for each other and wanting to look out for each other. I think that translates really well.”
Ognibene, Dylan Dill and Gavin Somers form one of the top defensive units in the area, and Mainland also has one of the best goalies in South Jersey in junior Hunter Faunce. That group held a good Allentown team to just seven goals, including only three in the first half, in the second round of states.
“Gavin and Dylan have played alongside each other for their entire lives, so they have some chemistry back there. And Matt filling that gap made the perfect triangle back there. He really made the missing piece of that triangle, and that was a concern of ours when the season started. We weren’t sure who was going to be that guy. We have a handful of good long poles on the team, but Matt just stood out among everyone else. One of his best attributes is, if he doesn’t intercept a pass, he gets enough of a piece of it to break up the play,” Smith said. “With all due respect to the smart kids, he’s an athletic smart kid. Some might understand what you are saying, but they can’t put it into motion. That’s what’s great about Matt, he can put it into motion very well.”
“Hunter Faunce is probably one of the greatest assets we have. I feel like he plays out of his mind every single game. He never fails to amaze me with great saves, and he’s always picking up for my slack when I get beat. Having Hunter in net, he’s probably one of the best players I’ve seen come through this program and it’s great having him behind us,” Ognibene said. “We see it as we want to protect Hunter because we have so much appreciation for him. We’re not even going to let you get that shot off. We’re going to protect our goalie. We’re out there to protect each other, and to protect Hunter.”
Ognibene said he loves playing defense, even if it’s guys such as Ethan Irizarry, Antonio Yeoman and Keegan Ford who get all the headlines because of their goal-scoring prowess.
“Being a long stick, for a lot of us, we chose our position at a young age. I guess it’s just that primal appeal and allure to it that I’m going to make it happen and you’re not getting past me. It’s kind of funny for me because we have Dylan Dill and Gavin Somers playing defense and they are big guys who are hard to move, then you have me, who is about 150 pounds. It’s definitely not just for big guys who like to hit, it’s for guys who are really dedicated to the team and want to be that guy to protect their goalie, and be the guy to make a big play,” he said. “Every time a fellow defenseman scores a goal, we all get hyped up. Our job usually is to get the ball up the field, but not have any fun with it. It’s a tough life.”
That tough life includes a strenuous academic schedule, but Ognibene said he knows his academics will take him much further in life than his lacrosse skills. In fact, he’ll be heading to Northeastern University this fall to begin studying computer science.
“I’m definitely serious about my academics. It’s been a tough four years handling that. A few weeks ago I had to miss a couple of games because I had so many AP exams, but luckily my team won without me. It’s definitely tough balancing a heavy academic workload but still wanting to be dedicated to the lacrosse program. It’s just the desire to be a student-athlete,” Ognibene said. “Everybody wants to be recruited by colleges and take it to the next level, but I think what is really important is you have to be as serious about your academics as you are on the lacrosse field. It’s tough, but it’s manageable.”
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays