By Chris Vaccaro
Pride soccer player Gary Flood has thrived for two seasons in pressure situations and debilitated opposing offenses single handedly.
Flood often perplexes opposing players, and contains them for the duration of a game, not allowing many opportunities.
Playing nearly every minute of his collegiate career, and dominating to the fullest extent, Flood has become a focal point for many opposing coaching staffs.
Starting every game is a challenge given the long season, practices and travel schedule. Flood managed to play in every minute of his first 25 games. The streak, which ended at the Clemson University Tournament in a 3-2 loss to Coastal Carolina, lasted 2,390 minutes.
In a shocking occurrence, Flood sat on the bench for the first time in the 81st minute, mainly because of humidity and travel fatigue. He missed tying the school record of 26 consecutive games set by Arni Gunnarsson in 2002.
“I had nothing left,” Flood said. “The streak never really crossed my mind, so it didn’t bother me to sit out when I did. I could barely walk and there was no reason to stay in the game with the lead we had.”
In the same tournament, the Pride earned its first win against an Atlantic Coast Conference (CAA) team; 3-0 over the host Tigers. Like he does with most highly touted players, Flood held Tigers leading scorer Steven Rhyne to one shot, which didn’t even hit net.
It is not exactly the best job on the field, but blanketing the more talented players from other team’s rosters is Flood’s major task.
As a freshman Flood had the chore of guarding Old Dominion University’s (ODU) Attila Vendegh, who ended up CAA Player of the Year, on a team that was ranked No. 4 in the nation.
By game’s end it was clear Flood had set himself aside from many other defenders, not allowing Vendegh to get a single shot on net.
Besides Vendegh, Flood matched up against four 10-goal scorers. George Mason University’s Steve Alabi was the only one to score, but his goal came on a penalty kick that Flood had no direct connection to.
“I’m anxious to play against the bigger name players. There’s nothing to lose. If I stop them, I only help myself,” Flood said.
There are obvious reasons for his superhuman ability to stick to players, but he possesses other innate characteristics. Many athletes have basic speed and agility, most can’t say they have the ability to read the field and read other individuals on the field. His field balance and patience allow for a precise timing on when to attack the man and ball.
“It comes natural, my ability to read the field,” Flood said. “I do it better than most, and can read a play before it actually happens. Where a pass will go or when a shot will be taken.”
If a player can juke him, Flood has the advantage of a quick directional change and backpedaling.
“He is so talented physically, but it’s not mentioned as much as his smarts for the game,” Pride coach Richard Nuttall said. “He’s a hard worker and easily fits into the top three defenders in the country.”
Flood contours to any style of defense. His play is susceptible to change depending upon the defensive strategy the Pride runs. Although the man-to-man style of play doesn’t hurt Flood, the team plays zone, allowing him to serve as a main defender in the center of the field. So instead of charging various areas of the field, which he is more than capable of doing, he sits back and waits, concentrates and maintains physical dominance while offensive players enter his designated area of coverage.
Flood attended Hauppauge High School on Long Island and shined all three years he started on Varsity. As a senior he was named all-region, All-New York State, All-Long Island, All-Suffolk County and All-Conference. As team captain and MVP in that same year, it was evident the Pride had recruited a gem for its backfield.
“He’s a tremendous athlete, who really wants to win,” Hauppauge coach John Ruffini said. “He’ll do what it takes to win, and becomes a better player in important games.”
This season the Pride (7-9-1) spent a month away from home on a six game road trip. Each game was against an opponent that at one time or another was nationally ranked. The Prided ended the trip (2-3-1) with a loss to Coastal Carolina, a win over the Tigers, a tie at 1 against The College of William & Mary, 2-0 loss to ODU, 1-0 overtime loss to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), and finished up with a 3-2 victory over the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW).
Flood supported an overworked backfield that faced a slew of tough encounters. Every game had the potential of being a Pride victory, but positives were still drawn even from the losses.
“We learn from everything we do, and have gotten better as the team came together,” Flood said.
Flood has missed two games this season due to a sprained ankle suffered in the early minutes of the VCU game. He missed his first collegiate game against UNCW and returned just in time help the Pride make a late season playoff push.
“Gary is a warrior. Because he’s still hurt, he’s using his intelligence to play rather than his physical skill right now,” Nuttall said.
Flood will assist the Pride in its attempt to clinch the team’s first CAA playoff at Drexel University today at 7 p.m.