Men’s soccer head coach Jon Freeman places his players into two categories: piano players and piano carriers.

In this analogy, finesse players such as graduate senior forward Guilherme Karaoglan, sophomore forward Adam Mitchell and freshman forward Eric Ashley would be considered piano players. They make all of the fancy plays and create the scoring opportunities that most casual soccer fans notice.

During Thursday’s second half against No. 2 Gannon, the Eagles were playing a fine tune. They scored three goals in the last 30 minutes and knocked off the Golden Knights.

They could not have done that without the play of sophomore Ian Jacobs and graduate junior Keiichi Nguyen in the central midfield.

Jacobs is a piano carrier. As a holding midfielder, his job is to link the defense, midfield and forwards together. Offensively, he distributes the ball to the outside of the field when play gets too packed on the inside. Defensively, he gets himself and his teammates into the right positions to win the ball back and create counterattacks.

Assistant coach Ashton Campbell likens him to an offensive lineman in football. Just as a center gives his quarterback and receivers time to operate, Jacobs does the same for AU’s piano players.

“Ian is that guy for us, and he’s quality at it,” Campbell said.

Jacobs learned to play soccer growing up in Perrysburg. He played sweeper for his youth club team from the time he was nine until he was 14, before moving on to play for Toledo Celtics and Pacesetter Soccer Club, two of the premier youth soccer clubs in Northwest Ohio.

Freeman first noticed him at a club tournament in Columbus over Thanksgiving weekend of Jacobs’s junior year of high school.

“The biggest thing I liked in him was just the spirit and the fire he had on the field every time he played, not just one game,” he said.

It took some convincing from Jamie Dollar, now a senior defender for the Eagles, to get Jacobs in an AU uniform. Dollar and Jacobs played together at Perrysburg High School.

Once Jacobs got to AU, he immediately showed the same intensity every day in practice that Freeman saw in those club games. Campbell, in his first year at AU, has been equally impressed with the sophomore.

“I’ve noticed Ian more than anybody else on the team every day,” Campbell said. “Every day, Ian gives you 100 percent. His intensity, his work ethic, his drive never drops, and it’s difficult as a player to have that every day.”

Nguyen, who plays alongside Jacobs in the center of Ashland’s 4-4-2 (four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards) formation, is a hybrid between a piano carrier and a piano player.

He has many of the same responsibilities as Jacobs, but he also presses forward from time to time to help with the attack. Against Gannon, he had all three assists for the Eagles.

Nguyen is a 23-year-old graduate student from Wellington, New Zealand. He began playing for a local youth club at age four and went all the way to the top level of men’s soccer in New Zealand after graduating high school.

For the past year-and-a-half, however, he was in Japan teaching English and playing recreational futsal (similar to indoor soccer). He got to AU on a recommendation from his friend Zaan Janse, who is a junior midfielder/forward for AU.

Since arriving, he has had to get used to the more direct attacking style of American soccer, as opposed to the slower-paced style he has played in the past.

“To be honest, I thought it was a bit crazy at first, just 100 miles per hour, but hopefully I’ve gradually adjusted to it,” he said.

Listed very generously at 5-feet, 7-inches, Nguyen has also had to play against athletes that are bigger, stronger and faster than those in New Zealand. He has performed brilliantly, winning headers and driving opponents mad with his tackling.

“I wouldn’t say I have a chip on my shoulder, but I guess you’ve got to have a bit of self-belief, especially because I’m not as big as other players,” he said.

Jacobs has been impressed with Nguyen’s defensive presence in the midfield.

“His ability to tackle is just ridiculous,” Jacobs said. “He pulls off some crazy tackles. Little toe-pokes out and stuff. Just overall, the way he plays with his body size is impressive to me.”

Jacobs, also a stellar defender on the ball, and Nguyen seem to swarm the middle of the field at times, going into every challenge like the ball has their name on it. It is a style that is familiar to AU men’s soccer.

Senior midfielder/defender Danny Lusheck had been known for his ability to win the ball in all areas of the field despite his 5-foot, 7-inch stature. He is also, according to Jacobs, the hardest worker on the team.

“Danny’s a totally different character,” Jacobs said. “He’s just a frickin’ brute… I can’t even say I probably work half as hard as him. He’s a machine, legitimately.”

Unfortunately, Lusheck broke his leg during the offseason and has had to spend his last college soccer season on the sideline. It has taken a total team effort to replace Lusheck.

“I feel like our whole defense is just made to tackle this year,” Jacobs said.

A driving force behind the win over Gannon was the change of formations from a 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2. The switch has allowed Nguyen to take more of an offensive role, but it also puts more pressure on Jacobs to hold the middle when his partner goes forward.

The key to success in the 4-4-2 is an understanding between the two central midfielders: Jacobs knowing when to hold up play and Nguyen when to go forward, and both knowing where each other are on the field.

“Each day gets better and better with them,” Freeman said.

As Nguyen attacks more, he will become less of a piano carrier and more of a piano player. Assists will lead to goals, and goals will lead to more recognition. That is fine with Jacobs, who has gotten used to being his team’s piano carrier.

“It’s just getting comfortable with the fact that you’re still gonna do something, whether you’re gonna be that stat or not,” he said. “For me, working hard is my stat.”