Junior excels on field and off
By Matthew Cucuzza
As the son of a teacher and school principal, schoolwork has always been important to junior soccer player Jeff Cosgriff.
"Jeff is a tremendous student," men's soccer head coach Cameron Rast said. "He is a really sharp guy."
If this season is any indication, Cosgriff places just as much focus into his play on the pitch.
Cosgriff undertook a leadership role after the departures of Jamil Roberts, Matt Hatzke, Matt Marquess and Peter Lowry to the Major League Soccer SuperDraft following the 2007 season.
Since being thrust into the limelight this season, Cosgriff is tied with Kellen Wantulok for the team lead in points with six.
"Jeff is very talented on the ball in and around the box," Rast said. "He has great ability to strike balls to goal and he is very crafty on the dribble, which causes defenses problems."
Cosgriff graduated from San Francisco's St. Ignatius College Prep on the President's honor roll and as a National Merit semifinalist. The San Bruno, Calif. native led his Wildcats to the West Catholic Athletic League co-title in 2005 while earning WCAL Player of the Year honors.
Cosgriff was also named to the WCAL first team in 2004 and 2005.
As a local talent, Cosgriff knew the quality of Santa Clara's program before he decided to come to school here. He played club ball with Santa Clara Sporting Ruckus, a team coached by former Santa Clara assistant coach and 1996 San Jose Clash Defensive Player of the Year Tim Martin.
"It sounded like a team that could do some big things, and I just wanted to be a part of it," Cosgriff said.
In his freshman season, Cosgriff scored four goals to help the Broncos win the West Coast Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
He capped his season by scoring the winning goal on a penalty kick against the Indiana Hoosiers in the third round of the tourney.
His sophomore campaign was less productive, mainly due to his supporting role behind Hatzke, Roberts, Marquess and Lowry.
"We had four guys that were playing in spots that he could play in," said Rast. "(Jeff) had to really be patient with us and understand his role, which he did a good job of as the season progressed."
This year, Cosgriff has become a staple in Santa Clara's offense, utilizing his precious offensive touch to score two goals and two assists through eight games.
"Last year was a weird year for me, personally," said Cosgriff. "I think I have a bigger role on the team, so I've had more opportunities to make things happen."
Unfortunately, the Broncos have had trouble keeping the ball out of their own net this season. They currently own a 2-6-2 overall record and are 0-2-0 in WCC play.
But Santa Clara still has an opportunity to win the WCC and make the NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive year.
"Our goal every year is to win a national championship," Cosgriff said. "We've got to get better defensively, we've got to get better offensively, we need to make sure we're keeping our heads up, and overcoming all this adversity."
Cosgriff has dreamed of playing professionally since childhood, but his choice of position may be an obstacle on that path.
Rast suggested that in many professional leagues American players are relegated to defensive positions while players from other countries often earn attacking roles. However, Rast believes Cosgriff's offensive upside is sufficient to make the transition professionally.
"He is skillful enough to be at the next level professionally on the attacking side," Rast said. "But he has to be able to do the defending side if he wants to make that jump."
Cosgriff certainly wants to make that jump.
"I always wanted to play professionally. That was my dream since I was younger," said Cosgriff.
His ideal professional destination? The elite football leagues of Europe.
"Everyone wants to play in Europe, but its kind of a pipe dream," Cosgriff said. "But it would be great to play anywhere because it's something I enjoy doing. Doing it as a job would just be awesome."
Contact Matthew Cucuzza at (408) 551-1918 or at mcucuzza@scu.edu.