The Monarchists • In The Lion's Den • Season 3, Episode 3

4-0, 17 goals, and a big test coming Sunday: Coach Tennant McVea breaks down what this start really means and what's still left to prove

ODU Men's Soccer is 4-0 for the first time since 2012, has scored 17 goals (what Aaron describes as feeling like the most in at least 50 years), and is starting to show up in the national polls. Coach Tennant McVea is back on In the Lion's Den, and he's doing what he always does: acknowledging what's working, telling you exactly what isn't, and pivoting straight to what Bucknell is going to try to do to this team on Sunday. Great episode. Here's what's inside.

Here's a taste of what's in the full episode:

17 Goals. He Would Have Called You a Liar.

McVea opens up about which number in the 17-5, plus-12 stat line is actually living rent-free in his head, and it's not the 17. He breaks down why the goals-allowed figure still bothers him despite the record, what the 2012 team they're chasing was actually like, and then says something genuinely surprising about the 17 goals themselves. If someone had told him before the season that they'd score that many in four games, he wouldn't have believed it. He says it plainly, and you believe him.

Winning Ugly Is the Most Encouraging Sign So Far

The 2-0 win over Lehigh wasn't pretty, and McVea isn't pretending it was. Lehigh came in with a week of film, played more direct than expected, and ODU didn't bring the same energy that carried them through the first two games. McVea explains why grinding out a win during what he calls the "minutiae and monotony" of staying disciplined tells him more about this group than a seven-goal night does. Last year, he says, that's the kind of game they drop points in. Not this year.

"It's good when there's lessons to be learned and you're still winning. Last year we would've been learning those lessons and taking ties or losing games."

Tennant McVea • Head Coach, ODU Men's Soccer

24 Players, One Full 90, and a Freshman Who Delivered

McVea played 24 guys against Radford. Alex Aguilar was the only one who went the full 90 minutes. He breaks down the load management thinking behind it, and then gets into the part fans will enjoy most: how the substitution conversations actually go. Lewis Rourke's reaction to being told to sit down is exactly what you'd expect. Jake Lane's is even better. He also tells the full recruiting story on freshman Mile, who scored twice off the bench, including where McVea first watched him play and what made them move fast to sign him.

Bucknell Beat Them Last Year and McVea Hasn't Forgotten

Sunday's opponent handed ODU a 4-2 loss last season in a game McVea describes as a "bisoning" on a hot afternoon on a fluffy field in Pennsylvania. He gives a full tactical picture of what makes Bucknell so unusual: a numbers-heavy central style that almost nobody in college soccer runs, what it's designed to do to you, and why ODU didn't handle it well last year. He tips his cap to head coach Dave Brandt, calls him a college soccer legend, and makes clear this is the biggest test of the season so far. Bucknell's coming in rested and prepared. McVea wants grit in the teeth.

"We owe them one. You gotta have that little bit of grit in the teeth and say, 'Now you're at our place. Let's see what this is about.'"

Tennant McVea • Head Coach, ODU Men's Soccer

Word of the Day: Hospital Ball (McVea Was the Smasher)

Aaron comes in with a term that sets McVea off on one of his best definitions of the season. A hospital ball, why horizontal passes are the most dangerous variety, and then the reveal: as a player, McVea was very good at spotting when one had been played because he wanted to be the one doing the smashing. Mike points out the term exists in American football too, and the conversation takes a turn nobody planned for. Don't skip this segment.

Aaron Got Bad Intel on Tennant's NFL Team. His Source Was Tennant's Own Father.

Aaron comes in confident, gets it completely wrong, and then names his source. Not McVea's wife. Not his mom. McVea's reaction to finding out which family member gave Aaron that information, and his explanation for why that person had absolutely no business answering that question, is the perfect way to close out the episode.

Watch the Full Episode Above

There's plenty more in the full conversation: McVea's take on ODU showing up in the national polls and why he's deliberately keeping the squad's feet on the ground, a full preview of UMBC and a personal connection McVea has to their coaching staff, why Alex Aguilar's two assists are no accident, and how McVea balances hammering the culture without letting the group get too comfortable with the results. Plus his message to Monarch Nation ahead of Sunday. Bucknell is coming in rested, prepared, and with something to prove. Fill the Den. Hit play.

The Monarchists • ODU Athletics Coverage