After spending the first two years of his career playing defense, Brandywine senior Dominic Stella has moved forward and it is paying big dividends for the Bobcats.

Stella has become a force as a scorer for Brandywine, which has now won nine consecutive matches and is one of the top teams in the BCS Athletic Conference.

But he wasn’t always a scorer for the Bobcats.

“Through my freshman and sophomore years I played defense,” Stella recalled. “I would always push up too far and was getting yelled at by my coach. So he finally put me up there to see what I could do.”

That move paid off for Brandywine coach Evan Winkler.

“His freshman and sophomore years he played defense because of a need,” he said. “We had some upperclassmen who were forwards then and needed him at defense.

“He always had an offensive mentality even in his freshman and sophomore years. Playing defense, I would always find Dominic too far up the field. So finally, the second half of last season and this season he is in his natural spot on the field and has flourished.”

Stella said that he looked up to those seniors his first two years and now tries to emulate them.

“I always tried to follow what the seniors did,” he said. “I try to lead the same way and do the same things they did. I think I bring leadership to this team. When everyone is down or things are not going well they look to me to bring them back up. I think I am a good leader for this team.”

Stella hasn’t had to bring his team up much this season as the Bobcats are 11-2 on the season following a 4-3 win over Lake Michigan Catholic in a battle of BCS undefeated teams Thursday night.

The Bobcats are now 5-0 in BCS matches.

“This is 100 times better than the last three years,” Stella said of Brandywine’s success. “The last three years we have been way under .500. It is nice to finally be the team that beats people 8-0. It feels great to be winning.”

Part of the reason for the Bobcats’ success according to Winkler is Stella’s attitude.

“He has a never give up attitude and is working hard,” Winkler said. “He is tough and determined. It doesn’t matter how many times he gets knocked down, he keeps coming back for more. He never stops. If I was a defender I would not like to play against him.”

Brandywine will travel to Dowagiac on Saturday.