THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505210212
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
For the Hampton Roads Mariners, there's no place like the road.
Even though the Mariners have spent the past three weeks away from their field at the Center For Effective Learning, they haven't been homesick. Fifteen goals added up to three wins as the team stayed undefeated in the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues.
But when the Mariners took the field at home on Saturday against the Charleston Battery, the team looked like they were on anything but familiar ground. Hampton Roads had numerous scoring chances but couldn't connect on any, falling to Charleston, 1-0, for its first loss of the season.
``They were playing in a zone, and that took us out of our game,'' midfielder Brandon Ward said. ``There was a period in the first half where we were flat and a little disorganized.''
The loss knocked Hampton Roads (6-1) out of a three-way tie with Charleston and Raleigh for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Battery (6-1) hasn't lost a game since its season opener.
Charleston scored the game-winner with 10 minutes left in the first half. Paul Young took a corner kick from the left side and placed the ball in front of the goal. Andrew Coggins took the initial shot, but Mariners goalie Garth Lagerwey got a piece of the ball.
With a mass of players in front of the net, the ball bounced off Hampton Roads' Matt Kirk and right to E.J. Bossman, who drilled a shot into the goal.
``There was nothing Matt could really do with it. He was just trying to get the ball out,'' Lagerwey said. ``I didn't do a good job of getting up on the first ball.''
It was the first goal the Mariners have surrendered at home this season.
``Their height was giving us some problems, but we knew it would coming in,'' Mariners coach Sonny Travis said. ``They hurt us on the corner (kick).''
Early in the second half, defender Alex Kee charged to the sidelines to track down the ball and took Charleston midfielder Pearse Tormey down hard. While the referee was reaching for the yellow card, Tormey retaliated and punched Kee in the face.
Tormey was given a red card and sent off. Hampton Roads would have had a man advantage, but the yellow was Kee's second, resulting in an automatic ejection.
``I was very surprised. I thought it was a bad call,'' Travis said of Kee's second yellow card. ``It was definitely a foul, but I thought Alex just went up hard.''
Wayne Pratt, who started the second half in place of Keith DeFini to inject more speed into the lineup, had one of the Mariners' best scoring chances of the night.
Dribbling the ball in from midfield, Pratt unleashed a bullet of a shot from the corner of the box. Keeper Mike Compisi dove to his right and just got a hand on it.
Hampton Roads peppered Compisi with shots but couldn't break through.
``You can't win them all, and we never expected to go undefeated in this division,'' Travis said. ``It's a credit to the players that we were in this game to the very end.''
The Mariners take on the other division leader this Saturday at the Center For Effective Learning with a 7:30 p.m. game against the Raleigh Flyers. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff
Mariners forward Darren Eales misses wide left on this first-half
attempt against Charleston.
by CNB