SLIPPERY ROCK — The 2011 soccer season proved to be a step backward for then Slippery Rock University junior Drew Donoghue.

But the Butler graduate and SRU defender didn’t step out on his senior season.

He stepped up.

“It’s quite a story what he made out of this year,” Rock men’s soccer coach Mike Bonelli said. “He went from being pretty much a part-time player to becoming a team captain and one of the best players in the region.”

Donoghue started only 10 of 17 games for The Rock his junior year. He scored one goal as the team finished 7-8-2. The previous year, SRU went 11-7-1 and reached the PSAC semifinals as Donoghue started 15 games and was one of only six Rock players to see action in all 19 contests.

“We moved some guys around last year to try filling some holes in the lineup and I was tried at center-defensive midfield for a while,” Donoghue said. “I didn’t do a very good job there and got beaten out by some younger players for playing time.”

Bonelli said Donoghue never complained about the situation.

“I’m sure he wasn’t happy, especially after missing his freshman season due to (lower back) injury,” the coach said. “He accepted his role. Drew is a tremendous team player and human being.

“That’s why we made him one of our captains,”

That decision — and an impressive performance by The Rock last spring — served as a springboard for Donoghue’s senior campaign.

“We beat West Virginia and Robert Morris in the spring and I saw what kind of team we were capable of putting out there,” Donoghue said. “I wanted to be part of that. And when the coaches made me a captain ... That was a responsibility I wasn’t taking lightly.”

Donoghue wound up starting all 21 of SRU’s games this fall as the team finished 11-4-6, dropping a 1-0 decision to Mercyhurst in the PSAC championship game.

While Donoghue led the team with four assists, he also anchored a defense from his center-back position that allowed only 18 goals in 21 games.

He was named first team All-PSAC and second team all-region.

“Our entire unit just clicked back there and Clayton (Master) was tremendous as our goalkeeper,” Donoghue said. “We took great pride in defending our goal.”

Bonelli said the senior class keyed The Rock’s run to the conference title game.

“Some guys as seniors rise to the top, they’re motivated and they carry it through,” he said. “Our seniors did that and Drew was at the front of that list.

“He’s such a quiet person by nature ... Two years ago, I never would have imagined he’d become a captain. But he became a man growing up in this program. One of the thrills of coaching at the collegiate level is seeing transformations like that.”

Before coming to Slippery Rock, Donoghue was boys soccer Defensive MVP in 2007 and 2008 at Butler, helping the Golden Tornado win a section title his senior year.

A political science major, Donoghue will graduate from SRU next summer — and put soccer in his rear-view mirror.

“I’m going to miss it immensely,” he said. “Soccer has taken me to different places in the world and all over the United States.

“I’ve played the game since I was a kid. Soccer at SRU is like a brotherhood. Guys who played here in the 1970’s still follow what we’re doing. That’s awesome.”

The Rock fell a couple of goals short of winning the league championship this year. But Donoghue and his fellow seniors left the program in good shape.

“Drew took ownership of that leadership role and played with so much more confidence this year,” Bonelli said. “Guys like him are why a coach should never quit on a player. Let the player quit on himself.

“Obviously, Drew never did that.”