THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504160198
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Pop!
When Hampton Roads Mariners coach Sonny Travis heard that sickening sound coming from the ankle of forward Darren Eales, one of the Mariners' most creative offensive players, during practice Thursday, he expected the worst.
``I thought he broke it,'' Travis said. ``All I could think was `Oh no.' ''
For someone who wasn't even expected to play, Eales did a magnificent job Saturday in Hampton Roads' USISL season opener. He scored the Mariners' first goal and nearly connected for another as Hampton Roads defeated the Delaware Wizards, 2-0, in the team's professional debut before a crowd of 2,773 at the Center For Effective Learning.
``It was a gutsy performance,'' said Travis of Eales, who estimated he played at 50 percent.
If Eales was only at half strength, there's no telling what kind of offensive output might be in store for Hampton Roads when he's healthy. Were it not for Eales' gimpy ankle, combined with an ineffective performance by fellow forward Wayne Pratt, the Mariners would have found the back of the net several more times.
Hampton Roads had several scoring opportunities in the first half, two by Pratt, but didn't convert until Eales' goal with 3:12 left before the break.
A kick-in by sweeper Brian Crane from the left side of the Delaware goal put the ball in front of keeper Pete Pappas. Chris Love took the initial shot, but Pappas couldn't control the ball and the rebound popped out to Eales, who drilled the ball into the net.
Pratt, the Hampton Roads Hurricanes' leading scorer last season, had his first chance six minutes into the game off a one-touch pass by Joe Hermann, but couldn't get a shot off.
Pratt nearly put the Mariners on the board midway through the first half. Eales played the ball through and Pratt used his speed to split the defense. Pratt stayed onsides and rushed in on the goal alone, but Pappas came out to challenge and deflected the shot away.
``In all honesty he should have finished at least one of those goals,'' said Travis. ``He was out of sync tonight, but he'll be back.''
Less than three minutes into the second half, it was again Eales' turn to rush the Delaware goal. Alex Kee served the ball over from midfield to a waiting Eales, who stayed onsides but outran a Delaware defender to reach the ball first.
Eales headed the ball down to get better control before firing a shot directly on goal. Pappas got a piece of it, punching the ball over the goal and out of play.
``The ball just floated over the defender and in front of me,'' said Eales. ``I saw the keeper coming off line and lobbed it over him.''
Hampton Roads bought itself some breathing room 6:20 into the second. Brandon Ward dug the ball out of the left corner and fired a cross in front of the goal mouth, and Hermann's shot skidded along the grass and into the right corner of the net.
Garth Lagerwey got the shutout for the Mariners, notching eight saves. A diving snare of a shot by Andy Logar with 12:35 left to play was his only real test. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/Staff
Mariners' forward Darren Eales celebrates his first-half goal in a
2-0 win over Delaware.
by CNB