Pateadores alumni Austin McAnena helped Ohio State Buckeyes finish its season with an impressive 11-6-3 record. He also scored in the dramatic 3rd round game of the NCAA Championships in which the Buckeyes fell to top-seeded Louisville 2-1.
Against Louisville, the Buckeyes trailed at the half for just the third time in the season. However, an artful combination between a crafty OSU forward and McAnena led to the tying goal. McAnena took the pass and fired a shot from the right side that beat the Louisville keeper to the far corner.
It was McAnena’s fifth goal of the season. He finished the year with 13 points, the second highest point tally on the Buckeyes.
McAnena's skills, a potent combination of finesse and grit, garnered national attention as he was named TopDrawerSoccer.com national player of the week in October. OSU Head Coach John Bluem said, "Austin is a great player with a great work ethic and is really good on the ball. He can last for 90 minutes at a good pace. He has a very good soccer brain and knows where to be on the field."
Coach Bluem credited the Pateadores organization for bringing McAnena to his attention. He and Mike Gartlan, Pateadores Coaching & College Placement Advisor, had a working relationship that led to McAnena's visit to Columbus, Ohio. "He (Gartlan) came up to me at a recruiting event in Sarasota and told me he had a player for me," Bluem said. "I had worked with Mike before and I knew him from his days as a player at California-Irvine. He had sent me some players while I was coaching at Fresno State. Austin had been taught well as a club player."
Dedicated to excellence on the field as well as in the classroom, McAnena was a great fit for OSU. His father, Jim, fondly remembered his son's three years with the Pateadores. "The club was very good to Austin and my family. My son was being heavily recruited by the ISC Strikers and Pats and ended-up making the right decision (aided by a recruiting chat and training session with Pats' Coach Matt Tutton). The Pats are a great club with lots of good people involved. Many colleges were interested -- and with Mike Gartlan's help -- I don't think Austin could have made a better choice than Ohio State."