DATE: Tuesday, April 15, 1997               TAG: 9704150431

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   39 lines

JEFF CLAYMAN: MAURY KEEPER TAKES ADVANTAGE OF CHANCE AGAINST COMMODORES

It had always been Jeff Clayman's dream to play well against the Kempsville soccer team.

So when he transferred from First Colonial to Maury this school year, he knew his chances would come down to one slim opportunity provided by an early-season, non-district match.

Clayman, a junior keeper for the fourth-ranked Commodores, made it all count last week when he helped his team battle to a scoreless tie against what was then the top team in the area.

In his first year as a starting keeper, Clayman registered an impressive 19 saves to stop one of the area's most potent scoring machines.

``They had a lot of good shots, too,'' Clayman said after he followed with a 2-1 victory over Eastern District rival Granby. ``(Adam) Schultz put a couple of nice ones at me. But I guess the best save was in the second half when they got a one-on-one breakaway and I had to dive to get a deflection.

``It was definitely the best game I've ever played. My adrenalin was pumping like crazy.''

The tie was especially sweet to Maury, as it came against a team that made it to the Group AAA final four last year.

``We started off with a disappointing loss to Churchland and tying Kempsville will go a long way to boosting our confidence,'' Clayman said. ``I know it did mine.''

Maury coach Mohsin Bouziane hopes that his new keeper is starting to realize how good he can be.

``He just had a good game, an incredible game'' Bouziane said. ``He's starting to know how much he can do for us.''

With his team now atop the Eastern standings, Clayman is hoping for another shot at the Chiefs - in the playoffs. ILLUSTRATION: Photo KEYWORDS: ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

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