The Monarchists β€’ In The Lion's Den β€’ Season 3, Episode 2

ODU Soccer is rolling: Coach Tennant McVea breaks down their unbeaten start, what's fueling the attack, and what still needs fixing before it gets even better

Ten goals. Three wins. A 3-0 start for the first time since 2012. ODU Soccer is off and running, and CoachΒ Tennant McVea is back on In the Lion's Den to break it all down. The good news is genuinely exciting; the honest news is that McVea being McVea, he is already identifying exactly what this team needs to fix before the competition gets harder. It's a great episode, and you can watch it below:

He Was Happy. Then He Watched the Film.

McVea opens up immediately: eight goals in two games would make any coach smile, and he is genuinely pleased with the attacking output. But scoring freely has not stopped him from sleeping poorly over the defensive lapses this team is still giving up, especially in the final ten minutes of games. He explains exactly what went wrong at the end of the George Washington win, why it bothers him as a former center back, and why he sees it as a correctable habit rather than a character flaw. The honest self-assessment before the compliments have even finished landing is pure McVea.

A Stat That Will Change How You Watch This Team

Against Elon, ODU scored five goals. They also had the ball for exactly twelve minutes out of ninety. McVea walks through why that number tells you everything about the identity he has been building: not possession, not pretty passing sequences, but forward entries, crosses, and recovering the ball in the opponent's half. He draws a direct comparison to something Ricky Rahne has been saying about football, and it lands. If you have ever wondered what this staff is actually chasing on the training ground, this is your clearest answer yet.

"We scored five goals. We spent twelve minutes in the whole game on the ball. Every two minutes we scored a goal in terms of when we were in possession. Those are the types of things that become important."

Tennant McVea β€’ Head Coach, ODU Men's Soccer

Noah Dietze Scored. Nobody Told His Knees About the Dry Pitch.

A big center back rifling a strike into the net when the team is trailing is the kind of moment that doesn't happen by accident, and McVea tells the full story: what the goal meant in the moment, what he asked Noah right after the final whistle, and the answer he got back. Then there is the celebration. The pitch was dry, the double knee slide was attempted, and the results were not what Noah had drawn up. McVea, a former center back himself, says he completely understands the feeling of losing your mind when you score, and he is letting this one slide.

The Video Challenge System Has McVea Fired Up, and He Makes a Fair Point

The new challenge and replay system in college soccer has been a topic all season, and McVea gives the most thorough and honest breakdown you will find anywhere. He explains what ODU saw on the Elon goal they challenged, what the technology can and cannot actually show a referee standing on the sideline, and why the George Washington game, which had no replay system at all, was simply more fun to coach. He is not complaining; he is making a structural argument, and it is hard to disagree with him.

The Athletic Trainer Said Something That Stopped McVea in His Tracks

The most quietly important moment of the episode does not involve goals or tactics at all. McVea shares a comment that ODU's athletic trainer, Ashleigh, made at training this week: a simple observation about the character of this group that McVea says gets at something intangible that no stat sheet captures. He connects it directly to how this team responded when Elon came back and hit them twice in quick succession, and why that response would have looked different in years past. Culture is a word that gets thrown around a lot; McVea explains what it actually looks like when it is real.

"In years past, we probably would have crumbled once a good, strong team come back and hit you in the mouth. It didn't happen this time. We got back up, we fought our way back into the game, and we were able to get ahead and stay ahead."

Tennant McVea β€’ Head Coach, ODU Men's Soccer

Tennant McVea's Word of the Day: Squeaky Bum Time

The segment is back by popular demand, and Aaron came prepared with a phrase that prompted a very specific reaction from a Northern Irishman. McVea delivers a full, highly quotable definition, the boys add a couple of their own terms for him to assess, and the whole thing ends with a goalkeeper blooper reel discussion that nobody saw coming. Aaron also points out that by his rough count, ODU Soccer had approximately 700 minutes of squeaky bum time last year. McVea does not dispute it.

Watch the Full Episode Above

There is plenty more in the full conversation: the DC sightseeing trip before the George Washington game and why McVea has been doing this with every road stop for years, a full breakdown on Jason Purky and the "back yourself" conversation McVea had with him all spring, the open goalkeeper race to replace Michael Statham, Josh Spencer's promotion at Lionsbridge and what it means for the relationship between both clubs. Protect the Den. Hit play.

The Monarchists