By Jim Hague
When you’re a college soccer player, it’s hard to give up a position that you’ve been comfortable playing for practically your entire life.
In Patryk Dawidczyk’s eyes, he’s always been a forward, going back to his days playing youth soccer in Bayonne through his days at Bayonne High School and then into his college career at Rutgers-Newark.
“I’d rather have my back to the goal,” Dawidczyk said. “I think playing forward is better for me.”
But before the 2013 season began, Rutgers-Newark head coach Kevin East decided to shift Dawidczyk to the midfield.
“To be honest, his first two years here, we kept looking for his breakthrough moment,” East said. “He wasn’t playing up to his potential. But he came to camp this summer and he was in great shape. He was flying around the field. He was honestly one of our best players. I joked with the coaching staff that we got a new recruit. He was a totally different kid.”
East thought Dawidczyk would better serve the needs of the team at center midfield.
“His versatility was a key for us,” East said. “He was playing the best soccer of his life. He worked so hard in the offseason, lifting, running, getting into shape. He made huge strides and was big at center midfield, moving the ball around.”
Dawidczyk didn’t think twice about the position shift.
“Whatever was best for the team, then I was all for it,” Dawidczyk said. “I don’t care where I play. If Coach East thought I was better at midfield, then that’s where I played.”
Dawidczyk knew that he had to change things after a disappointing sophomore year. He scored three goals and had one assist in a limited role, but like every other bench player, Dawidczyk believed he should have played more.
“I didn’t get that much playing time and that got me upset,” Dawidczyk said. “I thought I should play more. I thought I was in decent shape, but I wasn’t working hard enough. So for the next 10 months, I worked my tail off. I was in the weight room. I did a lot of running early in the morning. I had to get in better shape to play. I knew I could play. I think a little of it was mental. I had to push myself mentally and get in shape.”
So Dawidczyk, a native of Mragowo, Poland, who moved to the United States and Bayonne at age 12, was set as the Scarlet Raiders’ center midfield.
“We had some really good players coming in,” Dawidczyk said. “I was on top of everything I did, including pushing myself and pushing others.”
However, midway through the season, the Scarlet Raiders were bitten by the injury bug. East had to make some changes and one of those moves was to put Dawidczyk back on the front line.
“We moved him up top and he started to score some big goals for us,” Dawidczyk said. “He’s a big target type of a forward, but he’s also capable of moving around. He’s very mobile and can handle the ball in the box, move it. He’s a big target in the box. Usually when you have big guys, they’re physical. He can be that, but he’s also very technical. He has soft feet. He can strike a cross easily from 40 yards.”
The move worked wonders, because Dawidczyk has become the team’s second leading goal scorer with nine, only trailing All-NJAC forward Raphael Araujo. Dawidczyk had the three-goal hat trick in a win over New Jersey City University and had two goals in a game against Montclair State.
“He gets himself in the box and makes it tough for a lot of defenders to deal with because of his size,” East said. “That’s just Patryk. If I decided to put him at left back, he would do it. He doesn’t care. He’s that selfless. He’s the team kind of player that you always want. It’s great for us.”
Dawidczyk, the only Scarlet Raider player to start and play every game this season, said that he’s pleased with the way the season turned around for him.
“I’ve scored some goals and some pretty big ones,” Dawidczyk said. “It’s definitely helped me build on my confidence tremendously. I really didn’t mind the midfield, but forward is my natural position.”
Dawidczyk said that his only problem coming to the United States was the language barrier.
“It was pretty easy playing soccer here,” Dawidczyk said. “I just went down to the park and found others. But learning the language took a little while. Once I learned the language, everything was a piece of cake.”
“Patryk is a great person,” East said. “He’s a little quiet and easy going, but he gets along with everyone so well. He also just loves playing the game. He’s an extremely hard worker and dedicated to what we’re doing.”
Dawidczyk is a criminal justice major with a minor in computer science. Only a junior, he has another full season with the Scarlet Raiders before he tries to get a job with the federal government, perhaps as an FBI agent.
“Or something like that,” Dawidczyk said.
One thing’s for sure. Either at midfield or forward, Dawidczyk is a dangerous offensive threat – which is definitely a benefit for the Scarlet Raiders.
