Kane County Chronicle Boys Soccer Player of the Year: Liam O’Donoghue, Geneva, senior, midfielder

GENEVA – The growth and maturity Liam O’Donoghue experienced over three seasons prepared him for the player he has become.

O’Donoghue, a Geneva senior, blossomed from a young man navigating varsity level of play as a sophomore to earning DuKane Conference Player of the Year recognition as a midfielder in his final season.

“Liam has really matured throughout his time in the program,” Geneva coach Jason Bhatta said. “JV his freshman year and then he came up with us his sophomore year. I mean, he (was) a typical high school squirrelly his sophomore year. Just a goofball. The thing I am most proud of: the maturity he brought to the team and how he’s grown into being a leader.”

O’Donoghue’s brother Landon was a senior in 2021.

“I always looked up to a bunch of those guys, so I tried to get really close with them,” O’Donoghue said. “I was more focused on, I think, the relationship with the team more than my play (back then). I wasn’t really focused on the field.”

O’Donoghue proved he belonged. He was named captain his junior and senior seasons.

“The leadership he brought to the team, that’s just a reflection of who he is as a kid,” Bhatta said. “He takes his soccer seriously, but he’s ready to get everyone else on board along with him and make sure that day after day, training session after training session, that guys are meeting that standard and being at the level that he expects. Just to have that as a coach is huge.”

O’Donoghue finished with 10 goals and seven assists for the Vikings, who went 13-6-2 with a heartbreaking regional final loss to Glenbard West in penalty kicks this season. O’Donoghue was named an All-State selection.

Considering his positional value and overall resumé for the season, O’Donoghue is the 2023 Kane County Chronicle Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

The 15-second pitch of what O’Donoghue does on the field, in his eyes, starts with his passing ability and vision.

“I think it’s big that I can ping balls wherever on a dime, in my opinion,” O’Donoghue said. “For my size as well as a big 6-foot-2 center mid, I can whip balls out of the air, I can use my body, I can ... I definitely use my size to my advantage in the middle by winning balls out of the air and using my physical presence as well as my passing ability.”

“Before, he kind of just played as an all-action midfielder, box to box,” Bhatta said. “I know he likes playing forward a little more than he did this year, but knowing that he played centerback for his club, I knew he could hold the defensive game for us and really create a good foundation for us to be able to play from it.

“That’s on top of his technical ability, which you need if you’re going to play as a single holding midfielder. He’s got to have good ball retention, good passing range and Liam has got all of those. He can ping a ball 60 yards if he needs to. He can receive under pressure and he can read the game off the ball. He can put out threats as they come before they get into something big where we’re having to scramble just because of his position and awareness in the game.”

The aspect that Bhatta appreciates the most out of O’Donoghue’s play on the field are the assists he racked up.

“Yeah, would I like to put him a little closer to the goal? For sure,” Bhatta said. “When he gets up there, he’s dangerous. ... He wasn’t on our deadballs. He wasn’t on corner kicks, free kicks. He got assists just through the run of the game and then his goals came from that as well. He’s extremely smart in terms of even though he’s deeper, he knows when he can make runs moving forward and pick a couple balls out of the air.”