Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 6, 1993 TAG: 9311060120
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"This is the best team I've had and the deepest," said Scott Allison, Roanoke's eighth-year coach. "We're not hiding anybody out there. I'm not worried to have the ball on the foot of any of our 11 players."
Nor is he worried to have to relieve any of those 11 players.
"We've won some games that were pretty even before both [coaches] had to go to the bench," Allison said, "but when we had to substitute, there was not a significant drop-off."
The result was an 18-3 record and a No. 19 ranking, the highest since 1984 for the Maroons, who meet No. 13 Methodist College (14-3) at 11 a.m. today in Fredericksburg in a semifinal of the NCAA South Regional.
Host Mary Washington (14-3-1) will meet Virginia Wesleyan (15-3-2) at 2 p.m. in the other semifinal.
"If it works out that we can beat Methodist, I don't know if there's a team in the [NCAA] field that we can't beat," Allison said.
Top-seeded Mary Washington defeated Roanoke 1-0 in the final regular-season game in Salem, or Roanoke might have been chosen as the regional host. Mary Washington, which features former North Cross School standout Andy McDonald, also knocked off second-seeded Methodist 1-0.
"Methodist has everything to lose," Allison said. "Methodist was considered the preseason power in the region. [The Monarchs] feel like the Mary Washington game was just one of those days when they weren't on."
Allison is hoping this will be the start of an NCAA tradition for the Maroons, despite the impending graduation of seniors Dustin Fonder and Nelson Vasquez.
Fonder, from North Cross, was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference player of the year after setting school records for goals (21), assists (19) and points (61) in a season. He was joined on the AllODAC first team by Vasquez on defense and Andy Smith up front.
"Dustin has gotten all the accolades," said Allison, the ODAC coach of the year, "but the kid [Vasquez] has been tremendous. We have limited opponents to very few scoring opportunities."
The Maroons have posted 12 shutouts and, not counting a 9-1 loss to Division I power Duke in the opening game, have limited 20 Division III opponents to 11 goals.
"As valuable as [Fonder and Vasquez] have been, I'm not convinced we won't be very, very strong again next year," Allison said.
by CNB