Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 31, 1990 TAG: 9005310475
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But in a season when several players and teams had outstanding seasons, Eddy emerged as a major offensive threat to become the 1990 Timesland soccer player of the year.
Johnson, meanwhile, guided Blacksburg to its second consecutive state championship game to become coach of the year.
Eddy, a senior striker, scored 24 goals and led Timesland with 16 assists. He heads a team that includes representatives from most of the top programs in Timesland.
Joining Eddy as repeat first-team selections were teammate Lang Wedemeyer, a senior midfielder and the 1989 Timesland player of the year, and North Cross senior midfielder Dustin Fonder.
North Cross, which finished 18-1-1, had three players on the team: Fonder, senior forward Joe Basile and senior goalie Jim Dixon.
Like Patrick Henry, Blacksburg and Roanoke Valley District tournament champion Cave Spring had two players each on the team. The Indians were represented by junior forward Nathan Warren and senior midfielder Darren Cross, the Knights by senior striker Bobby Ashworth and senior midfielder Ryan Manetta.
The other members of the team are Martinsville's Craig Bagby, a senior striker, and William Byrd's Shawn Niday, a junior forward who led Timesland in points.
"This year, I think, was the best of my three years at Patrick Henry," said Eddy, an All-Group AAA selection who led the Patriots in goals and assists for the second consecutive year. "I wanted to score, but I'm glad I also led in assists because it showed I wasn't just thinking about scoring goals."
With Eddy leading the way, Patrick Henry finished 10-3-1 and for the first time won a game in the Virginia High School League tournament. Eddy's goal midway through the second half against Heritage tied the score, and the Patriots went on to win 2-1.
"That was definitely my biggest goal of the year," Eddy said. "We wanted to make history this year. Our biggest goal was to become the first Patrick Henry team to win a playoff game, and we did it."
How big was Eddy's contribution to the Patriots? In the four games in which he didn't score, PH was 0-3-1.
On paper, Blacksburg didn't look like a very good bet to repeat as Group AA champion.
The Indians lost five starters from the 1989 team that finished 14-3. Johnson, who also was Timesland coach of the year in 1989, had no stars. But he did have a number of solid players who knew the value of teamwork.
"We bring them in as sophomores," Johnson said. "Then, usually by the time they are junior or seniors, if they're still with us, they can start or play an important role as backups. Everybody plays. This is the way I do it.
"We want to always be a well-balanced team. It's something we are continually striving to achieve. We thought we had a chance to repeat if we were able to focus on our own improvement. It wasn't just going to come. We had to work hard in order to achieve."
Blacksburg achieved a 15-1-1 record. The Indians' only loss was a 2-1 setback to Chancellor on penalty kicks in the Group AA championship game.
Along the way, Blacksburg handed North Cross its only loss - 2-0 on the Raiders' field - tied Cave Spring and beat William Byrd at Byrd in a state semifinal.
"You have to play wherever the ballgame is at that particular time," Johnson said. "Whether it's home or away, you have to be ready to play.
"Next year, we'll have seven returning starters. If they work hard, we might be all right."
BOYS' SOCCER 1990 ALL-TIMESLAND TEAM
\ Bobby Ashworth: Cave Spring, senior striker. Also played in the midfield as the Knights went 9-6-2 and won the Roanoke Valley District tournament. Ashworth may be small (5 feet 4), but he played a big role for Cave Spring. He had 15 assists and scored eight goals. Born in Brazil, Ashworth will play for Elon College.\ Craig Bagby: Martinsville, senior forward. Had 20 goals and 10 assists in leading the Bulldogs to a 13-3 mark before they fell to William Byrd in the regional final. Bagby was the Piedmont District's player of the year.\ Joe Basile: North Cross, senior forward. Had 29 goals and seven assists. The most prolific scorer in Timesland, Basile finished with a school-record 102 goals. He is a member of the state 18 1/2-year-old Olympic Development team and will try to walk on at the University of Richmond.\ Darren Cross: Blacksburg, senior midfielder. Scored 11 goals for the Indians, but was primarily a defensive specialist. A three-year starter at center halfback, Cross usually had the task of marking the opponent's top scoring threat.\ Jim Dixon: North Cross, senior goalie. Lost just once, 2-0 to Blacksburg, in 20 games as the Raiders finished 18-1-1. Dixon gave up 12 goals and had 11 shutouts.\ Michael Eddy: Patrick Henry, senior forward. The 1990 Timesland player of year. He had 24 goals and 16 assists to lead the Patriots in both categories for the second year in a row. He will play at Roanoke College.\ Dustin Fonder: North Cross, senior midfielder/sweeper. Had five goals and 13 assists. Smooth with the ball and has excellent vision and instincts. Fonder created much of the offense for the Raiders. He was switched to sweeper back for the final 13 games and North Cross went unbeaten, with the only blemish a 1-1 tie with Patrick Henry. Fonder was a top recruit for Roanoke College.\ Ryan Manetta: Cave Spring, senior midfielder. Directed the Knights' offense from center halfback and was able to move quickly from attack to defense. Manetta scored eight goals, including the two that beat Patrick Henry to give Cave Spring the Roanoke Valley District tournament championship. He also had seven assists. Manetta will join Eddy and Fonder at Roanoke College.\ Shawn Niday: William Byrd, junior forward. Had 32 goals and 13 assists to lead Timesland in scoring. Niday was All-Blue Ridge District and All-Region III as Byrd finished 15-3 and won the district and region titles. Although he is a junior academically, Niday has used up his soccer eligibility.\ Nathan Warren: Blacksburg, junior attacker. Was the Indians' primary scoring threat, with 21 goals and 11 assists. "That's quite a few in our scheme of things," said coach Pat Johnson.\ Lang Wedemyer: Patrick Henry, senior midfielder. Was Timesland's player of the year in 1989, when he had nine goals and seven assists. The Patriots' team captain scored 14 goals and assisted on 11 in his final season. An All-Group AAA selection, Wedemyer will play at Virginia Tech next year.\ Pat Johnson: Blacksburg. Timesland's coach of the year. His Indians went 15-1-1 and reached the Group AA championship game, losing on penalty kicks to Chancellor 2-1.
\ Second team: Chad Anderson, Roanoke Catholic, junior midfielder; Scott Austin, North Cross, junior midfielder; Mitch Barth, Martinsville, junior stopper; Rick D'Atre, Salem, senior midfielder; Frank Draper, Patrick Henry, senior defender; Jeff Gilmore, Patrick Henry, senior goalie; P.J. McCarthy, Roanoke Catholic, junior forward; Andre Pyle, Blacksburg, senior midfielder; J.D. Quioco, Cave Spring, senior sweeper; Robbie Scharpf, William Byrd, senior forward, and John Cheynet, Blacksburg, senior forward.
by CNB