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Ibeagha Became Rock at Center of SAFC Defense

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 11/21/17, 5:30PM EST

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New addition made major mark during first season in Alamo City


Photo courtesy Darren Abate / San Antonio FC

SAN ANTONIO – With his time at hometown club the Houston Dynamo drawing to a close at the end of last season, Sebastien Ibeagha knew what he wanted from his next professional destination.

That meant when San Antonio FC came calling this offseason, looking to tighten up a defense that had been good but not great in its inaugural season, the move was an obvious one for the 25-year-old center back.

“It was close to home, close enough to where my parents could come out and watch, so honestly it wasn’t that hard of a sell,” said Ibeagha recently. “I was looking for a team, I didn’t want to move too far, and they said, ‘well, hey, we’ve had you on our radar, how would you like to come here?’ I was like, ‘yeah, it sounds great.’”

The move could hardly have paid off more handsomely for either party. Ibeagha’s leadership in the back line for the USL’s strongest defense paved the way to his selection as the 2017 USL Defender of the Year and a season that saw SAFC take a major step toward establishing itself among the top clubs in the league.

That progression in the bigger picture wasn’t a surprise to Ibeagha, whose willingness to bring a discipline day-in and day-out to the club on the field only added to the established leadership hierarchy that had been developed by the likes of midfielders Rafael Castillo and Michael Reed and fellow defender Stephen McCarthy the season before.

But the freshness in the additions of players like Ibeagha and Ben Newnam in the back line, as well as Billy Forbes and Kris Trypak to the attacking corps, meant that there was a feeling of newness to the team, even with the players that had returned from 2016. That allowed the players to grow together throughout the preseason and become one of the best units in the league.

“I think it was the way the team was brought together in that open manner,” said Ibeagha. “Everyone was new from the defense last year, the only two [holdovers] were Greg [Cochrane] and Stephen [McCarthy], and then [SAFC Head Coach] Darren [Powell] experimented with many different formations, many different lineups and stuff like that, so I think it forced us to get comfortable with everybody who could be by our side, and I think that’s what the biggest key was. If one of our players went down, or someone got a red [card], anything, we could easily switch it out and still defensively be fine.”


Photo courtesy Darren Abate / San Antonio FC

That flexibility was tested at times, but throughout the year, the ballast that Ibeagha (2,700 minutes) and fellow defender Greg Cochrane (2,782 minutes) provided to the overall structure helped maintain a sense of continuity. Even the insertion of goalkeeper Diego Restrepo after an early-season injury to Matt Cardone ruled the opening night starter out for the remainder of the year proved a minor bump in the road, something Restrepo believes Ibeagha had an important role in.

“Sebastien is, first of all, a great teammate, and that obviously helps in everything that you do,” said Restrepo. “He’s a guy that was at the MLS level, he’s a guy that has played at high levels and he’s a young guy that wants to get up there again, so he gets up every day to show up and work his butt off to be the best that he can for himself and the team. He’s a leader, especially being younger, he’s a great guy, he’s a guy that’s well respected by everyone in the organization, and I have nothing but praise for him.”

The leadership Ibeagha brings has come about partially through his experiences since turning pro after a stellar career at Duke University and for the Premier Development League’s Carolina Dynamo. Electing to join AC Horsens of the Danish Superliga in 2013 provided a major opportunity for Ibeagha to broaden his horizons as a player and add to the talents that had earned him plaudits as an All-ACC First Team selection in 2013 and PDL All-League selection the year before.

“Playing overseas, playing in Denmark, really opened my eyes technically because the Danish league is a great league, but you don’t have as many athletes as you do in MLS and USL,” said Ibeagha. “There it’s all about [being focused] tactically and technically and thinking and being in the right position, and I think that really helped my development as a player. Coming straight out of college and being put in that position, and being like, ‘yes, I’m athletic, but can I think as fast as I can run?’

“I think that’s what really opened my eyes and my career to something to where I can win aerial duels, I can win one-on-ones, I can do that, but now it’s about thinking about the game and being smart about what you do. That’s the biggest thing I’ve picked up in my career so far, and it’s something I want to keep working on.”


Photo courtesy Darren Abate / San Antonio FC

That dedication to improvement saw Ibeagha flourish at the center of a San Antonio side that conceded a league-fewest 24 goals and recorded a league-leading 15 shutouts this season, finishing only two shy of the USL single-season record. Leading the league in the regular season with 190 clearances, while also winning 113 of 184 duels and 56 of 86 aerials duels, Ibeagha was one of those whose strengths came to the fore thanks to the strategy implemented by SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell.

“What I think Darren did well is getting us to mesh together so each characteristic that we have was shown in our team,” said Ibeagha. “With me, it’s the more serious attitude, with [Michael] Reed, it’s organization, with Stephen [McCarthy], it’s his drive, mentality and motivation. I think we all kind of played off each other’s characteristics, and I think that’s what helped us mesh.”

San Antonio was the hardest team to beat in the regular season, losing just four times, which set up the side as one of the favorites going into the USL Cup Playoffs. Those hopes evaporated in the Western Conference Semifinals as OKC Energy FC put in a big road performance to notch a late equalizer at Toyota Field before moving on in a penalty shootout.

“It’s tough, but it’s what we do,” said Ibeagha. “At the end of the day everyone was upset. Obviously, everyone wants to win, wants to move forward and win a championship, but what we do is bittersweet. When you win, you’re happy, when you lose, you’re angry, and that’s kind of what it comes down to. No one wants the season to end, everyone wants to win, and I think we were all disappointed. I was disappointed, but to that point, we still had a great season. I looked around the guys and said, ‘we still had a great season, and it was good.’”

As San Antonio looks ahead to its third season in the USL, the base that players like Ibeagha look set to keep the club in title contention for many years to come.

“I think we kind of came into this season with goals, and we shattered all of those goals, and so next season, the goals should be even higher,” said Ibeagha. “I think we set a great foundation, and if we can build on that and the organization can build on that each and every year, this team has a lot of potential.”

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