WESTLAKE — Like a lot of Ohioans, David Schade suffered as he watched Ohio State lose yet another national championship game.
There was the usual fast Buckeyes start and then the gradual fade and ultimate disappointment that comes with any missed opportunity.
But, hey, what can you do? Those ACC teams are good.
That’s right, ACC, not SEC. Schade wasn’t watching the football or men’s basketball teams, he was watching that other national championship game the Buckeyes were in last year … the NCAA Division I men’s soccer final.
“They went up 1-0,” Schade said of the Buckeyes, “but Wake Forest is in a league of their own. There’s no shame in losing to them.”
Who knows, maybe Schade can help Ohio State get over its recent national-title hurdle … at least in men’s soccer. On Wednesday, the Westlake senior signed a national letter of intent to play for the Buckeyes, who had their best season a year ago in going 17-4-5 and reaching the finals of the NCAA College Cup, where they led the Demon Deacons 1-0 at halftime before falling 2-1.
“It’s always been my dream to go to Ohio State to play soccer,” said the first-team Division I All-Ohio midfielder. “It’s always been what I wanted to do.”
A four-year starter for the Demons, Schade had a lot to do with Westlake’s success in recent years, playing in four district finals and helping the team go 12-5-3 and make it all the way to the regional semifinals last season.
“He was one of the most outstanding players in this area last year with the leadership skills, the ball skills and the vision,” Westlake coach Mike Besu said. “He’s very deserving. I can’t say enough about what he did for the program.”
Besu knew Schade was special from the beginning, making him his starting center-midfielder as a freshman.
“That first game he was playing a little timid,” Besu said. “I took him aside and told him, ‘You’re going to be our center-midfielder and you’re not going to come out.’”
Over the next four years, he rarely did.
Schade has seven goals and 13 assists last year for the Demons and was second on the team with 20 points as a junior.
“He could score,” Besu said. “But he was not a big scorer. He was often the play-maker. He has the vision. He was double-teamed all the time and he was marked.”
A trip last summer to Denver with his club team, the Columbus Crew Juniors, got him noticed by the Buckeyes. It helped that his coach in Denver just happened to be John Bluem, OSU’s head coach.
Schade knows a little about the college game already. His brother, Dan, plays at Ohio Northern, and one of his good friends is former North Olmsted star Geoff Marsh, who will be a senior on the OSU team in the fall. In fact, Schade stayed with Marsh on a trip to OSU last weekend.
Marsh has tried to fill him in on what to expect.
“He just said it’s fast,” Schade said. “Speed is the big thing … and size. Everyone tends to be bigger.”
Schade is confident he can fit in.
“I just think I have a pretty good idea what the game’s about,” he said. “It’s hard to explain. You’re just in the game.”
Besu is certain Schade will thrive as well.
“He’s going to be a great college player,” he said.

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