Nick Hinds has found a new home on the pitch for the University of Akron men’s soccer team.
Until Nov. 2, the freshman from Plantation, Fla., hadn’t played midfielder since he was 14. That’s when UA coach Jared Embick decided Hinds’ talent was being wasted at defender and Embick moved him up to attacking mid.
Now Hinds will probably never start at left back again.
“Not as long as I’m coaching,” Embick said.
“No future there,” chimed in freshman Jonathan Lewis, Hinds’ longtime club teammate in Florida.
“That’s perfectly fine with me,” Hinds said.
Hinds scored two goals for the second consecutive game as the Zips claimed a 2-0 victory over Villanova in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before a crowd of 1,811 Thursday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
UA (13-5-3) advanced to a second-round match at 1 p.m. Sunday at seventh-seeded Indiana. Villanova (10-8-3) made its first NCAA appearance, while UA qualified for the 10th consecutive season and the 31st time in program history. The Zips reached the College Cup semifinals in 2015.
Playing his new position for just the fifth game, Hinds has scored four of his five career goals in the past two games. He also provided all of the scoring in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Buffalo in the championship of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Against Villanova, Hinds’ first goal came during a flurry in the 39th minute that saw two shots by forward Sam Gainford blocked. But the Zips kept hammering away at the Wildcats defense before Hinds put the ball into the right corner.
On Hinds’ goal in the 73rd minute, senior midfielder Goncalo Soares saved a wide pass from going out of bounds as both he and freshman forward Lewis assisted.
“[Soares] basically saved the ball for me; all I did was spin. I ran out of bounds and got it back. It was like the Gareth Bale run,” said Lewis, referring to a famous play by the Real Madrid star to win the 2014 Copa Del Rey final.
“I’ve been playing with Nick for 16 years. At our team we were the 1-2 punch. When he makes a run or if I make a run we read each other. I knew once I slowed the ball up he was going to run down and I just put it around the defender.”
When they played for the Kendall Soccer Academy, Hinds said he started off as a forward, but a coach switched him to left back and he never went back. Embick credited Lewis for helping in the recruitment of Hinds as the Zips made a big push for Lewis first.
But before the Grand Canyon game, Embick decided Hinds needed a change.
“Sometimes athletic players with a good left foot, they always want to make them an attacking left back. For me Nick didn’t fit some of the profile,” Embick said. “What he really wanted to do was create goals and be involved more.
“Sometimes he just fades out of the game out there and he’s too good of a player for me to allow that to happen. I said to the staff, ‘We can play him at attacking mid, be in the middle of everything and I think he’ll rise to the challenge. Then his talent will really show.’
“He can beat people off the dribble, he can shoot from distance, he can create and I think we’re all starting to see that. It gets better with each game and if he keeps the right attitude that will continue.”
The position change may not have been as easy as Hinds is making it look.
“In training it took a lot to get back into that stride,” Hinds said. “I’m thankful that Jared helped me through it and I’m getting the goals we need to win the College Cup.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.