Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 15, 1993 TAG: 9307150303
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Just last month, the NHL Canadiens won their 24th Stanley Cup, extending their record as the most decorated franchise in major North American athletics.
But for 15 Roanoke boys, their coach, friends and families, thoughts of Montreal, "the Cup" and championships will forever conjure up images of soccer.
Coach Dean Jones and the Under-15 Green team of the Roanoke Valley Youth Soccer Club won their division of the Laval Cup June 26-27. Laval is a suburb of Montreal.
Roanoke lost only one of its five games during the two-day period. The team redeemed that loss to a top-seeded Quebec team with a come-from-behind 4-3 victory against that team in the championship. The title game was determined by a penalty kick shootout.
The team also received its division's discipline award, a recognition Jones compared to sportsmanship.
Including indoor competition, the team played more than 50 games this year, but Laval was its first tournament championship. The U-15 Green boys finished second in the Crestar tourney in May.
"I never expected us to win [at Laval]," Jones said. "Considering the excitement of traveling to a foreign country, I felt it would be very difficult for us to remain focused. I would have considered it a success if we had won one game."
The winning players are Hunter Balmer, Sean Bennington, Hunter Carson, Jay Clements, Gerald DeMasters, Khuong Dinh, Chris Hewitt, Bryan Jones, Mike Jones, Allen Lawrence, Eric Millard, Andy Newton, Jonathan Shorter, Chris Sowers and Jarrett Spencer.
Sixteen teams - representing New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and several Canadian provinces - competed in Roanoke's bracket.
More than 190 teams in 16 divisions participated in the tournament.
Jones said the level of play was very competitive, and all of Roanoke's wins were decided by one goal. In the semifinal and final games, Roanoke trailed by two (2-0 against Gloucester on Sunday morning, and 3-1 against Quebec on Sunday afternoon) at the half.
During intermission of both Sunday games, Jones' pep talks centered on adapting to the other team's style of play.
"The Canadian teams seemed to be fast and physical," Jones said. "They played long-ball kickball, but weren't as competent with their ballhandling and passing on the ground. We tried to take away their strength.
"We had to get straight in our heads what we had to do."
The strategy worked. Roanoke shut out both Canadian opponents in the second half, while scoring three goals against Gloucester and four times against Quebec.
Jones praised the play of Mike Jones, three tournament goals plus the decisive penalty kick against Quebec; Lawrence, game-tying goals in both Sunday games; Spencer, two key assists; Bennington, winning goal Sunday morning; and Balmer, the goalie who made a diving save to stop a Quebec penalty kick during the shootout.
Aside from winning their division, team members also gained several other benefits from going to Montreal, Jones said. "The bonding that results from traveling together, sightseeing together, eating together and sleeping together is tremendous."
Andy Newton said a benefit was attending his first major-league baseball game, a contest between the Montreal Expos and the Atlanta Braves.
"I liked seeing the Braves. My favorite players are Ron Gant, Deion Sanders and Otis Nixon," said Newton, who "used to play a little center field myself."
Chris Hewitt cited the physical play of the Canadian soccer opposition. "The refs didn't call penalties on high kicks and what we considered to be dangerous plays, so we had to get it together and play as a team."
"I'd love to go to Montreal again but I wouldn't want to live there . . . People there really don't know how to drive; they just park in the middle of the road," said Hewitt, who is taking drivers' education.
"People in Montreal were nice to us," Chris Sowers said, "and the weather was, too. Everyone seemed to be able to speak English and French."
Sean Bennington, who moved to Roanoke from San Diego last fall, returned from the trip savoring the feeling of his team hugging him when he scored the winning goal against Gloucester.
"I said to myself, `I'll just shoot it right in the corner.' When the ball went in the goal, it was shocking. Our guys really showed good team spirit," Bennington said.
With his first major journey behind him, Jones, who started coaching a recreational team in 1977, is already dreaming about another soccer team trip.
Jones said the team looked at tournaments in San Diego, Boston and Fairbanks before deciding on Montreal. "I talked to a [tournament representative] from Fairbanks one Sunday afternoon for 45 minutes," Jones said, eyes widening. "Her description of the tournament, the weather, and the scenery sounded wonderful. She even guaranteed me that she could arrange for Roanoke to play a game at midnight [without lights].
"You know they call that area the `Land of the Midnight Sun.' "
by CNB