TicketsSept. 11, 2006
by Broderick Cook, Sports Communications Student Assistant
(Originally published in Sept. 2 issue of Bearcats Kickoff)
It's been a long road for Mike Dwyer here at UC. He has had to endure numerous injuries and adversities but he is finally healthy and ready to return for his senior season and lead the Bearcats to an NCAA berth.
Dwyer has been playing soccer since he was about six years old with his older brother and has not stopped. During his senior year at Summit Country Day High School in Cincinnati, he was named an all-league and All-Southwest Ohio player and he helped lead his school to two district titles and the 1999 State Championship.
The decision to come to UC was relatively easy for Mike.
"Cincinnati was close to home and it had a good soccer team," Dwyer says. "Plus my dad works here as a professor (in the College of Business) so the price was right."
Dwyer was not heavily recruited coming out of high school because of the fact that scouts did not think he would be able to physically compete at the Division I level.
"I wasn't always on the best club team and I went to a small high school, but I always knew I could play," he says.
As a freshman, Dwyer saw action in 19 matches, starting nine and scoring his first career goal. The future looked promising after his first year in which he helped lead the Bearcats to a 10-4-6 record and the NCAA Tournament. He was becoming a leader for UC and his talent proved to be greater than what most people expected.
But injuries began to derail Dwyer's career. He was diagnosed with mononucleosis in 2004 and was shelved for most of the season. He played in only seven matches in 2004, but started three and showed that he was determined to get back on the field.
Entering his junior year, Dwyer made strides to become a better player and worked very hard in the off-season. He began to re-establish himself as a premier player on the team until another injury again threw off his career.
"Junior year, I worked hard and I got hurt just before preseason," Dwyer said. "So I played basically with a crutch on my leg the whole season."
But the leg injury did not stop him from trying to accomplish what he wanted to. He played the whole season with that leg injury and made 13 starts in 18 appearances in the midfield. He was third on the team in scoring with 11 points (four goals, three assists).
Going into his senior year, Dwyer continued to have problems with his leg injury. Doctors and trainers could not tell what the injury was. It turned out to be a sports hernia. He traveled to Philadelphia and had surgery to correct the problem.
"The surgery has done wonders, I feel great," he said. "This is the best I have felt in over a year."
Dwyer has also lived up to his expectations in the classroom. Majoring in marketing, he has maintained good grades throughout his time at UC. He was also invited to go to Chile with the College of Business this summer where he spent five weeks studying international affairs and the Chilean culture.
In the future, Dwyer hopes for the team to do no less than reach the NCAA Tournament.
"We've got all these returning players and all this experience," he says. "We we have a lot to prove, not only to everybody else but to ourselves. Our talent can take us all the way to St. Louis (site of the 2006 College Cup)."