The Washington Post - 14.11.2019

D8 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14 , 2019

FROM NEWS SERVICES

AND STAFF REPORTS

Will Wade was concerned about
turnovers before bringing No. 23
LSU to Siegel Center, where he
spent six seasons and watched
VCU frustrate opponents with a
frenetic pressing, trapping defen-
sive style. He tried to prepare the
Tigers for what they would face.
It didn’t work.
“You can’t simulate this,” Wade
said, gesturing toward the arena
where the band is loud, the cre-
ative fans sit right on top of the
court and the sellout streak has
reached 137 games. “You can’t sim-
ulate what they do, and they do it
every night.”
Former Wade recruit Marcus
Santos-Silva had 17 points and
11 rebounds, and VCU turned
26 turnovers into 37 points in an
84-82 victory Wednesday night in
Richmond. The game ended, fit-
tingly, with Skylar Mays losing
control on a desperate drive for a
tying basket.
“This is my fourth year of col-
lege basketball, and this is No. 1,”
Mays said. “This is the toughest
environment I’ve ever played in.”
The Rams (3-0), whose contract
with Wade mandated he bring his
new team to Siegel Center or have
his school pay $250,000, im-
proved to 5-2 against ranked op-
ponents on their home court, and
they did it after withstanding a
furious rally at the finish.
The Tigers (1-1) took their first
lead since early in the first half on
two free throws by Mays with
41 seconds left.
“Sometimes you have to put
your guts out on the court, make
plays, figure it out, find a way,”
Rams Coach Mike Rhoades said.
LSU had a chance after Santos-
Silva made 1 of 2 free throws with
4.9 seconds left, but Mays lost the
ball.

GEORGE MASON 80, LIU
BROOKLYN 74: Jordan Miller
had a career-high 25 points as the
Patriots beat the Sharks at Eagle-
Bank Arena.
Xavier Johnson had 13 points
for George Mason (3-0). Javon
Greene added 12 points and eight
rebounds. AJ Wilson had
10 points, seven rebounds and
three blocks for the home team.
Raiquan Clark had 26 points for
the Sharks (0-3). Jashaun Agosto
added 14 points. Ty Flowers had
13 points and 14 rebounds.

VIRGINIA TECH 80, USC
UPSTATE 57: Landers Nolley II
scored 23 points to lift the Hokies
in Blacksburg, Va.
Nolley connected on 8 of
14 shots to pace the Hokies (3-0),
who shot 53.4 percent and con-
nected on 13 three-pointers. Jalen
Cone added 11 points.
Everette Hammond led USC
Upstate (1-3) with 15 points.
Virginia Tech trailed early in the
game, falling behind 16-11, but the
Hokies’ Nahiem Alleyne hit bas-
kets on back-to-back possessions,
including a three-pointer, and he
sparked a 20-4 run that gave Vir-
ginia Tech the lead for good.
The Spartans made just 3 of
25 three-point attempts.

JAMES MADISON 96,
SHENANDOAH 48: Michael
Christmas had 19 points and 15 re-
bounds to lead five players in dou-
ble-figure scoring as the Dukes
routed Division III Shenandoah in
Harrisonburg, Va.
Julien Wooden added 16 points
for the Dukes. Deshon Parker
chipped in 13, and Quinn Richey
and Zach Jacobs had 11 apiece.
James Madison (2-1) was com-
ing off a 65-34 loss to reigning
national champion Virginia.

OLD DOMINION 62, LOY-
OLA (MD.) 53: Malik Curry fin-
ished with 19 points and six assists
for the Monarchs in Norfolk.
Xavier Green had 11 points for
Old Dominion (2-1), which led 33-
14 at halftime.
Andrew Kostecka had 14 points
and four rebounds for the Grey-
hounds (1-2).

GW women fall to Lehigh

The George Washington wom-
en had their best shooting perfor-
mance of the season at 48 percent
but were hurt by 27 turnovers and
fell to Lehigh, 59-53, in a noncon-
ference matinee in Bethlehem, Pa.
The Colonials rallied from a 16-
point deficit in the fourth quarter
but fell to 1-2 despite 18 points
from Sydney Zambrotta. The
Mountain Hawks are 3-0.

AREA ROUNDUP

Home is

sweet for

VCU vs.

No. 23 LSU

VCU 84,

LSU 82

Rambunctious crowd

makes it tough on Tigers

BY MICHAEL ERRIGO

For years, coaches told Zion

Dayne all about Zion Dayne, list-

ing the reasons he could and

would be a great football player.

He had ideal size, they said. He

had the work ethic necessary,

they said. He was naturally athlet-

ic, they said.

But the most prevalent reason

also happened to be the most

abstract: Football is in his blood.

Zion’s father is Ron Dayne, the

Wisconsin football legend who

won the Heisman Trophy in 1999

and rushed for more yards than

anybody in NCAA history. People

assumed Zion could and would

end up like his father — a bruis-

ing, brilliant running back.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior

does carry the ball for South

County; last week he ran for three

touchdowns in a momentous win

over rival Lake Braddock. But

Zion’s even more of a problem on

the defensive line, and that’s not

the only way Ron Dayne’s son has

made a name for himself with the

Stallions.

As the Virginia playoffs begin

this weekend, he is one of the

most important players for one of

the best teams in the area. The

No. 15 Stallions wrapped up the

second undefeated regular sea-

son in program history and will

face Falls Church on Friday as the

top seed in the Class 6 Region D

bracket.

It’s hard to imagine South

County reaching these heights

without Zion, who stars as both a

power running back and strong-

side defensive end. In that big

regular season finale against Lake

Braddock, he had three sacks to

go with his three touchdowns.

“He’s very smart on the field,”

Stallions Coach Gerry Pannoni

said. “You go over a game plan

with him once, and he picks it up.

He’s just really good about being

where he’s got to be.”

His grasp of the game doesn’t

come from a lifetime of football.

The sport didn’t play much of a

role in Zion’s childhood. He was a

big kid, consistently weighing too

much to join the same youth

teams as his classmates. It wasn’t

until he and his mother, Melanie

Malterer, moved from North Car-

olina to Virginia when he was in

middle school that he started

playing flag football. In eighth

grade, he joined the local tackle

football league and started work-

ing out at South County.

For Zion, the path to football

was one that he chose. It never felt

preordained. There was no real

pressure from Ron, who lives in

Wisconsin. When Zion played

basketball or baseball or soccer,

his dad wanted to hear all about

it.

“Any sport that my kids get

into, I’m supportive of,” Ron said.

When Zion did start playing

football, Ron didn’t have too

much advice. He just wanted his

son to stick with it for a while.

“Go out there and have fun and

you’ll see how much you love it,”

Ron told him. “And once you see

that you love it, I don’t have to say

anything else.”

The pair talk on the phone

often but rarely discuss X’s and

O’s. Zion mostly keeps him updat-

ed on how he and the team are

doing, reports that have been es-

pecially positive in recent

months.

A varsity player since his soph-

omore year, Zion spent his early

appearances getting short-yard-

age and goal-line carries and hon-

ing his craft on the defensive line.

He proved to be an effective and

imposing player for the Stallions

but didn’t hear too much from

colleges.

His coaches kept telling him

that offers to play in college would

come, that he was definitely a

Division I talent. It was just a

matter of whether Zion chose to

believe them.

“I think he had moments where

he was doubtful but had enough

feedback from people who had

seen him play that he should trust

the process,” Malterer said. “He

trusted, probably deep down, that

it would all fall into place.”

The offers arrived in a flurry

not long after Zion’s junior sea-

son. Before he knew it, coaches

and recruiters were sending him

texts and direct messages every

day.

An elite student, Zion attracted

the attention of Ivy League pro-

grams, and the idea of combining

football with his academic pur-

suits felt almost too good to be

true.

He committed to Yale in late

July and thinks he will study

psychology, just like his mom. It

feels like a good fit for a teenager

who is known to be pensive and

kind off the football field, even if

he is amped up and disruptive on

it.

“He has a crazy amount of

emotional intelligence that you

don’t expect with a young kid,

much less a boy,” Malterer said.

“He really enjoys connecting with

people, making people feel better,

just being there for people.”

On the first weekend of Novem-

ber, Ron came east from Wiscon-

sin to see his son play on Senior

Night. It was the first time he has

done so for a high school game.

Zion said seeing his dad and other

family members before the game

made him want to put on a show.

And he did, wreaking havoc on

the defensive line and rushing for

87 yards and a touchdown on just

three carries in a blowout victory.

That kind of night has become

fairly common for Zion. As he

prepares for what he is hoping

will be the first of many playoff

games this fall, he feels like he is

playing the best football of his life.

[email protected]

Dayne is establishing his own name for Stallions

Son of Heisman winner

excels on both sides

of ball for South County

ALDO RAZO

Zion Dayne, whose father, Ron Dayne, was a bruising runner at Wisconsin, is a 6-foot-3, 240-pound two-way starter committed to Yale.

BY STEVEN GOFF

Although D.C. United leader-

ship has not announced whether

Ben Olsen will continue as head

coach, the MLS organization

probably will retain him next

season, three people close to the

situation said this week.

Olsen, the longest-serving

coach in United history, has two

years remaining on his contract

but has not won a playoff game

since 2015.

On Wednesday, he was part of

the team delegation traveling to

St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands

for a friendly Friday against the

Bermuda national team. He and

Jason Levien, United’s chief exec-

utive, are expected to meet next

week to outline plans for the 2020

campaign, which would be Ols-

en’s 10th.

Reached on Wednesday, Olsen

said he did not want to comment.

At his end-of-season media ses-

sion two weeks ago, Olsen said of

his job status, “If it’s time, then it’s

time.... If [team executives]

think the team needs to go in a

different direction, they’ll make

that decision.”

A week earlier, Levien told The

Washington Post: “We’ve got a lot

of faith in that leadership [under

Olsen], and it sends a message to

everyone in the organization

when we stand by our leadership.

But the results haven’t been

there. We have to evaluate this

stuff.”

At that time, Levien also said

he plans to work with Olsen in

hiring an experienced assistant to

complement the current staff.

On Wednesday, Levien said he

did not want to comment on

Olsen’s status.

One person, who requested an-

onymity because the team has not

made a public statement, said

that, barring any late issues, Ols-

en is “coming back.”

Another, also not wanting to be

identified, said, “I would honestly

be very surprised if a switch is

made.”

Olsen, 42, is the second-lon-

gest-tenured coach in MLS, one

year less than Sporting Kansas

City’s Peter Vermes. He has guid-

ed United to the playoffs in five of

the past six seasons but failed to

advance to the conference final

since 2012.

Including an interim stint in

late 2010, Olsen holds a regular

season record of 111-128-79. How-

ever, many of those years were

with low-budget teams in an or-

ganization under financial duress

headquartered at RFK Stadium.

United’s spending increased

after Audi Field opened in 2018.

Wayne Rooney’s high-priced ar-

rival elevated United’s perfor-

mance in the second half of last

season, and with Olsen’s contract

due to expire at the end of 2019,

the club extended it through

2021.

Facing heightened expecta-

tions this year, United went 13-10-

11, finished fifth in the Eastern

Conference and lost at Toronto

FC in the first round of the

playoffs.

Since the regular season end-

ed, four MLS head coaches have

either been fired or mutually

agreed with their respective club

to leave: Montreal’s Wilmer Ca-

brera, Orlando’s James O’Connor,

New York City FC’s Domenec

Torrent and Chicago’s Veljko

Paunovic. (Only NYCFC made the

playoffs.)

Because of his deep ties to

United, Olsen is considered more

than a coach. He was a fan favor-

ite as a player between 1998 and

2009, and until Rooney signed, he

was the face of the organization.

“I have woken up almost every

morning for the last 20-some-

thing years thinking about this

club and how I can better this

club,” he said at his media session

two weeks ago. No other D.C.

head coach has served more than

three years.

Olsen’s passion for the club

runs deep: Last month, he en-

gaged with Audi Field and team

staff on color and design options

for the bare-white corridor be-

tween the home and visiting lock-

er rooms.

Olsen’s contract renegotiation

in 2014 included a clause that, if

he were dismissed as coach, he

could remain in the organization

in another capacity. It’s unclear

whether that provision remains.

Notes: Defender Frédéric Bril-

lant, who is in contract negotia-

tions to return next season, was

among six regulars named to a

20-man roster for the friendly in

St. Croix. Steven Birnbaum, Jo-

seph Mora, Russell Canouse, Lu-

cas Rodriguez and Ola Kamara

are the others.

The delegation includes

10 players who were either under

contract or spent time on loan to

second-division Loudoun United:

goalkeeper Colin Miller; defend-

ers Chris Odoi-Atsem, Allexon

Saravia, Collin Verfurth and

Shane Wiedt; midfielders Anto-

nio Bustamante, Christian Sorto,

Gordon Wild and Griffin Yow;

and forward Alioune Ndour.

Absences include Paul Arriola

and Ulises Segura, who are on

international duty with the Unit-

ed States and Costa Rica, respec-

tively. Junior Moreno, Felipe Mar-

tins and Bill Hamid, among oth-

ers, are not on the trip; no specific

reasons were provided.

[email protected]

Longtime fixture Olsen probably will continue as United’s coach

JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST

Ben Olsen, the longest-serving coach in D.C. United history, has two years remaining on his contract.

Under former player,

D.C. has not won

playoff game since 2015