ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605280132
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY STAFF WRITER
The storylines woven throughout Saturday's opening of the 10th annual Crestar Festival Soccer Tournament were nearly as numerous and diverse as the record-setting 193 teams entered.
A smattering:
There was pleasure - as expressed by Ann Orrison Germain, coach of the Annandale (Va.) Sparks two under-10 girls' teams, who were participating in the tournament for the first time, and dominating their competition.
There was anxiety - as expressed by Roanoke Valley Youth Soccer Club executive director Danny Beamer, who was mindful of the damaging effects that an overnight rain combined with incessant play would have on the five fields of the brand-new Berglund Soccer Complex.
There was satisfaction - as expressed by Roanoke Star under-19 boys' red coach Dean Jones, who guided his squad to a 6-0 victory over the Fauquier Flash in his first game of the tournament.
There was exhaustion - as expressed by Dustin Fonder, who worked late Friday night preparing the fields, coached four games Saturday, and then readied himself to play Saturday night for the Roanoke RiverDawgs soccer team.
``I hope I can keep my eyes open tonight,'' Fonder said.
And there was disappointment - as expressed by Blue Ridge Lightning coach Clint Morse, who saw his under-14 boys' team's undefeated streak snapped by two out-of-town powers.
Nearly 3,000 soccer players from 10 states, ranging in age from nine to 19, played from nearly sunup to sundown at various sites around the Roanoke Valley. At 7:30 a.m. at the Berglund Complex and the adjacent Vinyard fields, for example, eight games kicked off simultaneously.
At one end of the near half-mile continuum, Jones was explaining the success of his team, which completed the day with a season record of 17-5-1.
``We wore 'em down,'' Jones said. ``We can play our game on these new fields. They're wide, they're flat, and with a good ground game, you can build [your offense] from the back.''
(Four hours later, the Roanoke Star U-19 boys' red team defeated North Central United, a team from West Virginia, 4-1.)
Several fields over, Morse was valiantly but unsuccessfully urging the Blue Ridge Lightning (a Vinton-based team) to overcome a 3-2 deficit at the hands of the Pocoshock (Va.) Panthers. The Lightning, which started the day with a record of 12-0-2 - including tournament championships in Winchester and Wilmington, N.C. - had never trailed in a game this year.
``We dominated them; we just couldn't get the ball in,'' Morse said. Later in the day, the Lightning suffered its second loss of the year, 2-0 to Charlotte (N.C.) Park Sharon White.
In between Jones and Morse, Beamer was lamenting the appearance of standing water on one of the new fields, and by day's end, he had opted to move several of Sunday's games to alternative sites.
``People asked why we couldn't play on the new fields if we could play on the others,'' Beamer said. ``We've been watering [Berglund's fields] every other day, and this new turf is just taking a beating.''
Opponents of the Annandale Sparks red and white teams could relate to the Berglund sod. Germain, who played for the United States women's soccer team from 1984-86, coached her teams to 9-0 and 12-0 wins in their first two games Saturday.
``Our kids are having a great time,'' Germain said.
Tournament play concludes today, and champions will be crowned in more than 20 divisions.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB