COLUMBUS -- There always seems to be one kid at camp or on the playground that is the recipient of a "kick me" sign discreetly attached to the back of his shirt.
At times, novice defender Danny O'Rourke must feel like he's been singled out, although the piece of paper covering his No. 5 Crew jersey would read "penalty kick me."
O'Rourke is the runaway league leader this season in committing fouls that have led to penalties. He was penalized in each of the first two games, had another four games later and added a fourth call against him in the Crew's 13th game, after fouling the Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham.
That's four of the five penalty kicks Crew opponents have taken. No other team has been victimized more than three times.
"He's given up some penalty kicks, but in fairness, not all we're just. The Beckham one wasn't a penalty kick," Crew assistant coach Mike Lapper said.
The problems for O'Rourke have been a combination of naiveté while learning a position, some borderline officiating in the eyes of the Crew, and, yes, possibly his reputation in prior years as a hard-nosed midfielder.
"I had that midfield kind of enforcer role and I embraced it. That's what the team needed so that's how I played," he said. "If (referees) have that opinion of me it would be very disrespectful of refs going into game thinking that right away. If the foul warrants a PK or warrants a card, so be it, but you can't go into it thinking 'This guy's got a reputation for fouls' or 'This guy's got a reputation for diving.'"
The 2004 Hermann Trophy winner at Indiana had been a midfielder until he was moved to the backline at the start of this year. He knocked down Toronto's Jeff Cunningham inside the box in the season opener and fouled Oscar Echeverry of New York in the next match.
Luckily for him, goalkeeper Will Hesmer made stops on both attempts from the spot. The Crew was as fortunate against Kansas City when O'Rourke got entangled with Kansas City's Scott Sealy. All was quiet for O'Rourke until he breezed by Beckham on June 21 and the English international went down in the box.
"Obviously, the last one against Beckham I didn't think was a PK," Crew coach Sigi Schmid said. "Toronto first match was a PK. The second against New York was also a PK. The third one against Kansas City, I'm not sure that was a PK."
Lapper said O'Rourke is still understanding the nuances of when and where to make a play for the ball and his opponent. The consequences of a foul 40 yards from goal, such as the kind O'Rourke was used to as a midfielder, are less than one inside the box.
"Athletically he's good but he has to learn the position things," said Lapper. "There's certain areas you can tackle on the field and certain areas you can't. He's learning that. As long as he keeps an open mind and is accepting of criticism and has heavy shoulders, because we're trying to help him, not kill him, as long as he understands that he'll be OK."
O'Rourke has not shirked his responsibilities for the PK calls -- half of them, anyway.
"The first two were pretty legitimate. Those were learning curves when I was a little too aggressive. The last two were awful. Everyone would agree with that as well," he said. "I've made it a point to work on it to not be as aggressive in the box and play more positional. If I dwell on it and think about it it's not going to help. It will make me a worse player. I put it behind me and hope the refs get a clue and things start changing. Hopefully, they will.
"After the first two games I had to step back and really work on it and I think I did. I've watched the other two (calls) over again and they were Sunday league calls, so I don't understand what they're doing."
Despite the penalty kick fouls, O'Rourke has not been afraid to make challenges in tight situations.
"Danny has big enough shoulders and confidence in his own ability to learn from it and get better," Lapper said.
Yet, new challenges have been tossed to O'Rourke even as he learns the fundamentals of playing in the back. Injuries to Gino Padula and Ezra Hendrickson and national team duty for Frankie Hejduk have left the defensive lineup unsettled.
In the past three matches the right-footed O'Rourke has started at right back, center back and last Saturday against Colorado he made his debut at left back.
"Obviously, not practicing there all week made it different but a defender should be able to play all roles in the back," he said. "I might not be like Frankie is in getting up and down but I feel comfortable with the other three we have.
"Outside back is a little more cut and dry depending on what kind of formation you're playing against. If you're playing a 4-4-2 it's basically your job to take that outside back and talk to Robbie (Rogers), the outside midfielder. Center back is a little more positional, which is different for me."
Lapper, a former defender with the U.S. national team, appreciates O'Rourke's versatility.
"If we had to rank him in order of how we see him with what this team needs it would be center back, right back, then left back," he said. "We haven't found anyone to put that name on the left back position. We're still looking."
Schmid is still pondering where to put O'Rourke for Saturday's match vs. Chicago, "I like things he does as center back -- his speed and the ability to cover there. Right now the way our team is with a couple of injuries it makes sense for him to play left back as he did the last game. Going against Chicago, I don't know if he'll be in the middle again paired with (Chad) Marshall or on the outside."
Or, maybe there's a new gig for O'Rourke in a season of surprises.
"They mentioned me going out and finishing up with the forwards -- just a hint for the next game," he joked after Tuesday's practice.
One area he won't go is between the posts.
"My roommate is Will (Hesmer)," he said. "He'd take a little offense to that if I tried to take his spot. I might find the locks changed by the time I got home."
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