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Good will, good player

Ike Egbukwu exits the South Philadelphia High locker room with apple juice and a small plastic bag of pretzels. He passes the bag around to his fellow athletes.

The soccer player is just as generous with his teamwork on the field, having helped the Rams advance to the Public League playoffs, which begin next week.

"I make them work as a team and motivate them sometimes," Egbukwu said.

The junior forward, a native of Nigeria, does more than just cheer on the squad. He has scored at crucial points in recent games.

On Monday, Southern and Lamberton were scoreless at halftime, but Egbukwu got his team on the board with a second-half goal. Freshman forward Olsi Dajti scored the game-winner. His older brother, Rezargden Dajti, a senior forward, is the Rams’ top scorer.

In Friday’s 2-2 tie with Fels, Egbukwu inspired his teammates by scoring Southern’s second goal with 15 minutes left in regulation. The Rams entered yesterday’s regular-season finale against Mastbaum, with a 7-2-2 record — good enough for third place in Division B. The match began after press time.

The top four teams in the division make the playoffs.

Egbukwu, 16, who has nine goals on the season, does whatever he can to help his teammates. That includes shortening his name to Ike, since his given name — Ikechukwu — can present a challenge.

Coach George Anderson, who said 11 nations are represented on his roster, spends the first couple weeks of the season learning to pronounce his players’ names.

"Once you get the phonetics down, it’s not that hard because I am with them every day," he said.

Anderson is very familiar with Egbukwu’s family, after coaching his older brother, Toochukwu, and sister, Odochi, two years ago. Another brother, Udochukwu, is a senior kicker on the Rams football team. The Egbukwu children grew up playing the sport in Nigeria before moving to South Philadelphia six years ago. Egbukwu, formerly of 15th and Marston streets, said his brothers and sister taught him some soccer skills.

The practice has paid off, as Anderson said the forward is a very quick and unselfish player.

"He is like a point guard. He puts the ball right where it’s supposed to be for other guys to take the shots," Anderson said.


When the Rams play as a team, it’s like members of the United Nations coming together for a meeting. Southern players hail from countries such as China, Albania, Ethiopia, Cambodia and Haiti.

Egbukwu said his parents emigrated to the United States to get better jobs. Each of his teammates has his own unique background story to tell, but when they take to the field, winning is their common goal.

"During the games, we know the positions of where we are supposed to be, so we just pass the ball to each other," Egbukwu said.

The majority of the players arrive at Southern knowing the basics of the game, as soccer is more popular in their native countries than in the United States. Impromptu soccer matches are comparable to pick-up basketball games here.

Over the years, Anderson has noticed differences in the players’ styles. He said the Albanian athletes are aggressive, the Asian players are very disciplined and the African athletes are innovative on the field. The coach uses a very simple approach to unify the players.

"You can’t talk fast and you can’t use terms that aren’t common," he explained.

Anderson also counts on the universal desire to win. The Rams will need a strong offensive output to improve their chances in the postseason.

"Defensively, we are not as strong and the other teams in the playoffs are going to be more disciplined," Anderson said. "Our best chance of winning is a shootout."

Egbukwu, an honor-roll student at Southern, likes his squad’s chances of making a strong playoff run.

"We have two teams that beat us so far, and we are confident that we can beat them during the playoffs," he said.

The player’s optimism about soccer extends even further. He wants to earn a scholarship to continue playing on the college level.

Anderson said the potential is there.

"I am going to have to try and get him to buy into weight training, speed training and playing over the summer in an outside league and I think he would have a chance," the coach said. "He has the skills, but because he is short, he is going to have to get quicker and stronger so he doesn’t get pushed around."

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