THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505050218
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 28 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
WHILE THE PRINCESS ANNE boys soccer team isn't talking about state championships, there is still considerable excitement in Cavaliersville.
Billy Peterson isn't surprised. He had a hunch things would be different this season.
The Cavaliers hadn't won a district game in the past two years and Peterson, among others, was getting a little tired of it.
Things have changed in a big way.
Princess Anne is 2-4 in the district - the wins coming against Bayside and Kempsville. And the Cavaliers took Cox, the No. 2 team in the state, into overtime. After a 2-11 campaign last year, Princess Anne is 4-6 so far.
Not the kind of record championships are made of, but Princess Anne has to learn to crawl before it can walk.
``I think the win over Kempsville was the first time ever,'' coach Matt Delaney said of Wednesday's 1-0 final. ``I know for sure that it's the first time since 1984, when I started following things.''
Peterson - Delaney said - is a big reason for the turn around.
Only a sophomore, he is the team's leading scorer and one of its captains.
Peterson is called upon by Delaney to do things usually reserved for seniors.
``I have a real problem in that I always forget he's only a sophomore,'' the coach said. ``He's the one I call on to run warmups before games and things like that. He's so young, but mentally he's not. He leads by example and does everything a team leader should do.
``Sometimes I think he forgets how young he is, too.''
One thing Peterson is not forgetting is how humiliating his ninth-grade season sometimes was.
``Our team was kind of a universal joke around (the Beach),'' said the Beach FC U-16 Premier team member. ``The team had this attitude, like ``hey, we're PA. So as long as we try, it doesn't matter.'
``We always went in expecting to lose and that's exactly what happened.''
Not any more.
After a loss to Salem in which the team squandered a 3-1 lead in the last 20 minutes, Peterson said he noticed a change in attitude.
``We didn't know how to win and we had that game,'' he said. ``We folded, but I did see more intensity at points.''
The team harped on those good moments in practice and followed with a 4-0 victory over Bayside.
``Man, that was sweet,'' Peterson said.
The Cavaliers followed with Cox, and held a 2-1 lead toward the end of the game.
``Gosh, we were really ready for that game and we were playing so well,'' he said. ``But Cox is such a great team and when they scored to go into overtime, the momentum really changed. They scored early in overtime and they just beat us.
``But it still burns me, that one goal that sent it to overtime. We beat them and it's front page stuff.''
But taking last year's state runner-up into overtime was moral victory of sorts.
``A couple of different bounces here and there and we beat Salem and Cox and we're right up there,'' said Peterson, a member of the state Olympic Development U-17 pool. ``At least we're starting to see it that way now instead of just taking defeat like it's supposed to happen or something.''
On Wednesday, Princess Anne faced Kempsville, a perennial powerhouse loaded with talent but struggling this season. The Cavaliers walked away with a 1-0 victory that was arguably the biggest in school history.
Peterson, president of his class, thinks it is a sign of things to come.
``We're no longer the Beach whipping boys,'' he said. ``. . . You can see more confidence.''
``We still don't know how to win close games just yet, but we're learning. I think we can actually win the rest of our games. It's very possible.''
Win them or not, at least things have changed for the Princess Anne soccer team. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by LEE TOLLIVER
``We're no longer the Beach whipping boys,'' says sophomore Billy
Peterson, Princess Anne's leading scorer and president of his class.
``. . . You can see more confidence.''
by CNB