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Set To Make Another Run

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By JOEY JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 12, 2008

Bradley University senior sweeper Joe Donoho, by his own admission, does not look like an elite soccer player.

He's 6-foot-3, 195 pounds. Donoho could pass for a shooting guard (which he was at Jesuit High School). Or he could play wide receiver (well, he did that, too).

He never played soccer for Jesuit, either, choosing to compete with a club team while concentrating on basketball as a senior.

"I was never really a 'soccer brat,'" Donoho said. "Growing up, it was just one of the things I did. It wasn't like it consumed me or I ever got burned out on the sport.

"But I always noticed that I was the biggest guy on the team every time I did play soccer. I didn't realize how unusual my background was, actually. I'm about the only guy I saw up here in college that didn't play high school soccer."

It didn't seem to matter.

Donoho has completed a glittering soccer career, being named All-American by three different organizations, including second-team honors by College Soccer News. He was the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year.

And despite being passed over for a spot in the Major League Soccer scouting combine workouts this weekend in Fort Lauderdale - still a mystery to Donoho and Bradley coach Jim DeRose - a professional career seems like a certainty. If the MLS doesn't come through, there are options with foreign teams.

Donoho projects as a center back.

"He's going to get a run somewhere," DeRose said. "It's just hard to find 6-3 guys in America who can do the things he can do. You look at him in games and say, 'Wow, that's different.' The next level will be there for him.

"Being that tall, that young, maybe it slowed his development in soccer. But at the end of the day, his basketball attributes have helped him."

DeRose said Donoho is an exceptional player in the air, due to his size and 30-inch vertical leap. Donoho runs a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, far from a lumbering presence, although he was forced to work to meet Bradley's four-mile test in under 24 minutes.

"They made me run it every single day, until I got it," Donoho said. "I think it took five or six times. But at Bradley, we pride ourselves on being one of the fittest teams in America. That's the profile of the program. I like that."

Donoho originally signed with Rutgers out of high school, but he looked to switch after suffering an Achilles' injury. He knew about Bradley, where his friend Teddy Anderson played, and DeRose agreed to take him on.

"We were not involved with Joe coming out of high school," DeRose said. "We heard good things. But truthfully, as good as he is, he kind of fell into our lap. We didn't realize he would be at this level."

Bradley's 2007 season began in tragedy - freshman Danny Dahlquist was killed in a house fire on Aug. 12 - but ended in triumph.

The Braves went 16-6-4, won their first MVC Tournament title and finished one victory away from the College Cup, the NCAA soccer Final Four.

Bradley rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat No. 6-ranked Indiana in the second round. In the third round, Bradley overcame a 2-0 deficit in the final 2:31 at Maryland, defeating the Terrapins 3-2 in double overtime.

It ended with a 4-0 defeat at Ohio State.

"I'm definitely upset it's all over," Donoho said. "But I'm looking to the future. I guess I couldn't have gone out with a better finish."

Donoho still chuckles when thinking about his soccer progress. He never has avidly followed MLS as a fan. He's more of a college basketball diehard, an ardent follower of Kansas, where both parents attended school. In fact, he went to basketball camp at Allen Fieldhouse.

"For the longest time, I thought I might play basketball in college," Donoho said. "Funny how things work out sometimes. I think I'm where I need to be."

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353 or jjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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