Ivy League due serious business

By Jim Fenton, Enterprise staff writer

They were once soccer rivals who competed against each other in the Independent School League and on the summer club circuit. That was before the fall of 2002 when Darnell Nance of Stoughton and P.J. Scheufele of Plymouth became classmates and teammates at Dartmouth College.

“When we found out we were both going to Dartmouth, we decided we could be friends,” said Scheufele with a laugh.

Now seniors at the Ivy League school in Hanover, N.H., Nance and Scheufele are more than just classmates, teammates and friends.

The Big Green midfielders, who were both second-team All-Ivy League selections in 2004, are also partners in a business venture, one of the numerous ideas Nance and Scheufele have collaborated on since arriving at Dartmouth.

Nance, a graduate of Milton Academy, and Scheufele, a graduate of Belmont Hill, are attempting to market a cleat guard.

The device would be used to cover cleats, protecting them from wear and tear when players walk to and from playing fields on concrete.

“It’s something to be used to protect the studs on the cleat so you can walk on concrete or cement or when you’re walking on a floor indoors,” said Scheufele, one of Dartmouth’s co-captains and the team’s leading scorer. “The cleat guard goes in smooth over the cleats. We came up with this idea three years ago and started pursuing it last winter.

“We’re working on getting a patent now, talking with a patent lawyer. We’ve got a prototype and we’re working on getting it manufactured.”

Scheufele said the idea originated while the players were walking back and forth to practice every day with the cleats on.

Nance and Scheufele wanted to find a way to preserve the cleats as long as possible, an idea that will be helpful to soccer players beginning at the youth level.

“We always throw idea off of each other,” said Scheufele. “This is one that really clicked. It has a real opportunity to work. It can be useful to youth players and really all players in all sports.”

Nance, a sociology major who would like to attend graduate school, said the duo has spent long hours during their time at Dartmouth looking for a business idea that worked.

“Both of us are entrepreneurial,” said Nance, who is third on the team in scoring. “It’s fun for us. We’ve had a lot of ideas that we talked about that weren’t really practical. This one is he best idea we’ve had.”

In an interview with Dartmouth Big Green Sports News, Coach Jeff Cook said, “My biggest concern is that when they make their millions is that they keep their former coach in mind and the Friends of Soccer. They are both creative, bright guys and they have a lot of enthusiasm, so it can be successful. I am sure they will make it work.”

In addition to forming a business partnership, Scheufele and Nance have been key components to a Dartmouth team that shared the Ivy League championship in ‘02 and won it outright in ‘04.

The Big Green reached the NCAA tournament last season, losing on penalty kicks to Boston University, and they are off to a 6-1-3 start this season, including 2-0 in the league.

“P.J. and Darnell have been cornerstones of the team throughout their careers,” said Cook, whose Big Green host 23rd-ranked Vermont today. “They’ve been important players.

“I remember the first year, we won the Ivy League in ‘02, I said to my assistant coach during a game at Princeton that, during the last 30 or 35 minutes, we had P.J. and Darnell playing midfield as freshmen. They’ve been good players for us. And they are pretty innovative guys who have tossed around a lot of ideas.”

Scheufele has two goals and three assists for a team-best seven points after getting a goal and an assist last season, both coming against Columbia.

“We felt P.J. would be a good Div. 1 player when he got here, and his career has gone a little bit better than I thought,” said Cook. “It’s been through a lot of hard work and dedication.”

Scheufele, who moved to Plymouth from South Carolina at the age of five, looked at Ivy League an New England Small College Athletic Conference schools before choosing Dartmouth.

The mathematics/social science major earned playing time right away as a freshman when he appeared in 17 games and had two assists.

“We went to Scotland for 10 days in the preseason and I did pretty well and then I started the first game against BU,” he said. “I just wanted to contribute and I had that chance.”

Scheufele has been a midfielder three years, playing outside fullback as a sophomore. His scoring output has increased this season.

“Right now, I’m doing what I can to control the game from the midfield,” he said. “I’ve been happy with how my career has gone so far. We won two Ivy League championships and got to play in the NCAAs, which was great.

“Going to the NCAAs was a great experience. It was heartbreaking to lose the way we did on penalty kicks, but it was good to get there. It’s been the best four years of my life with everything, school, the team, being up here.”

In addition to pursuing the business opportunity with Nance, Scheufele is hoping to play professional soccer next year. He had a stint with the Cape Cod Crusaders last summer.

Nance, who has lived in Stoughton since moving from New Jersey at the age of three, played 16 games each as a freshman and sophomore. He scored the game-winning goal against Columbia last season and has two goals and an assist this season.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder had a goal and an assist in a 2-2 tie with Michigan State last month. Nance headed in a goal off a Scheufele throw-in during the 89th minute to even the score.

“Darnell’s had an excellent career here,” said Cook. “He’s really contributed greatly to what we’ve done. He’s an attacking player and he creates for others. Defensively, he wins a lot of possessions for us.

“Darnell was a fairly visible prospect (before college) and we thought he’d make a significant impact.”

Nance began playing soccer at the age of seven, following in the footsteps of his mother, who played in Jamaica. He spent summers playing for the South Shore Blazers, a club team that would go against Scheufele’s Greater Boston Bolts.

“I was always taller than most players and I felt like I had a natural advantage,” he said. “I think I am good in the air and I am creative with the ball.

“When I got here, I remember thinking the main goal was to win the Ivy League title and we’ve done that twice. I really didn’t have any individual goals for myself.

“It’s been a great experience. We’ve got a chance to repeat in the Ivy League and win three out of four years. It would be ideal if we could get back to the NCAAs in my senior year, because these are my final soccer days.”

Dartmouth has seven regular-season games remaining as it bids to make it back to the tourney. After that, Nance and Scheufle will remain teammates in their cleat guard project.

“Before I got here, I knew him out of the rivalry we had in school,” said Nance. “Every time I saw him, I wanted to beat him. But as soon as we got here, everything clicked for us. We were both freshman and lead similar lifestyles. We want to take this business idea as far as we can.”

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