THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 17, 1995 TAG: 9506170472
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
When he was 12 years old, Garth Lagerwey desperately wanted to play football.
Growing up in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst, Ill., Lagerwey was a Bears fan of the highest order who longed to hit the gridiron and become one with the turf.
His father was a bit more pragmatic. Seeing cuts, bruises, and broken bones in his oldest son's future, Wallace Lagerwey made him a deal - play soccer for a year and see how you like it. Then if you want to play football, you can.
Lagerwey's father didn't leave much to chance. In the great tradition of weighting the odds in your own favor, he started a soccer club for his son to play on, and appointed Garth the starting goalkeeper.
Two years later, Lagerwey was playing on the under-16 national soccer team.
``I never considered football again,'' he said.
No one is happier about that than the Hampton Roads Mariners, who host Roanoke on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Center for Effective Learning. In 10 games this season, Lagerwey has recorded four shutouts for the Mariners, currently in fifth place in the United System of Independent Soccer League's Atlantic Division with an 8-2 record. Both of the losses have been by one goal.
Lagerwey exceeded everyone's expectations in the third game of the season with a masterful 2-0 shutout of Greensboro, the two-time defending USISL champions.
``We were expecting a player to come in straight out of college with a lot to learn,'' Mariners coach Sonny Travis said. ``We didn't expect the defense in goal that Garth has shown us. He's come up big for us in every match.''
After graduating from high school, Lagerwey spent a year playing Division IV soccer in Germany before heading to Duke University. He started in goal for the Blue Devils for four years and spent the summers playing in the USISL, first for Raleigh and last year for New Orleans, where his 1.15 goals-against average ranked third in the league.
After earning degrees in public policy and history at Duke, Lagerwey decided to test the waters in Germany again and secured a tryout with a team in the second division in January. Although Lagerwey says the team wanted to give him a contract, the signing deadline had already passed.
``(The Mariners) had contacted me in December before school ended, but I told them I wasn't interested because I wanted to go to Europe,'' Lagerwey said. When that fell through, ``I started to get on the phone to try and work things out.''
Hampton Roads, however, was in hot pursuit of a goalie who had National B Team experience.
``Their first offer was a joke,'' Lagerwey said of the money the Mariners were offering. ``I figured I wouldn't be talking to the team anymore.''
That changed when Hampton Roads' initial choice for a goalkeeper failed to materialize.
``The numbers became much more reasonable after that,'' Lagerwey said.
Lagerwey has been worth every cent. He currently ranks seventh in the USISL with a 0.87 goals-against average and is coming off a shutout of second-place Raleigh.
``Garth tries to learn every time he steps out on the field, but he's tough on himself, almost a perfectionist,'' said Delroy Allen, the Mariners' goalkeeper coach. ``He's always trying to get better, and that's what sets him apart from other keepers. He doesn't mind coming out early or staying late.''
Although he believes a return to the pro leagues in Germany - or a stint with Major League Soccer at home - is right around the corner, Lagerwey seems satisfied with what he's accomplished in Hampton Roads.
``When I came to the team I figured I'd have to be brilliant for us to win. No one expected us to have this kind of start,'' said Lagerwey. ``I wish we played in a better stadium, with a bigger crowd, but I'm happy with it.
``We're winning right now and that's enough for me.'' ILLUSTRATION: L. TODD SPENCER
Garth Lagerwey, goalie for the Hampton Roads Mariners, minds the net
at practice Thursday. The Duke product is seventh in the USISL with
0.87 goals-against average.
by CNB