THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9506220182
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
THE 1995 ALL-BEACH District girls soccer team is a mixture of new and old faces.
The first team - chosen by the district's 10 coaches - features three repeat first-teamers, four members of last year's second team, two from the honorable mention and three first-timers.
The squad is led by district player of the year Julie Miller of Salem and coach of the year Ed Hackett of Kempsville.
Playoff representatives Cox and Kempsville led the balloting with three players each on the first team - while First Colonial and Salem placed two each. Kempsville added four players on the second team.
A senior midfielder, Miller scored 10 goals and added 11 assists. She also made first team on the coaches' All-Eastern Region and All-Group AAA teams.
Hackett led the Chiefs to a 13-7-1 record and an appearance in the Group AAA state quarterfinals - where Kempsville dropped a 3-1 decision to Hylton.
Joining Miller on the first team are teammate Kirstie Neidlinger; First Colonial's Allison Birkhead and Jenny Fentress; Cox's Liz Coon, Robin Dwyer and Kirsty Hale; Kempsville's Nicole Frey, Amy Phelps and Lauren Rafal; Green Run's Eryn Craft; and Tallwood's Melissa Hancock.
Neidlinger, a senior, managed nine goals and seven assists despite being moved to defender in the last four games. Like her teammate, she is an all-region and all-state first-teamer.
Cox advanced to the Group AAA semifinals, thanks in part to the strengths of its three first-teamers.
Hale - a senior forward - leads the way as one of the most prolific scorers in Beach history. She finished the season with 33 goals - 75 for her career. She scored in 20 of 22 games this season and is a two-time All-Tidewater and first team All-Group AAA selection.
Coon - a senior fullback - is a second-team all-stater this year and finished with five goals and one assist. Dwyer - a junior forward/midfielder - scored nine goals with two assists and made second team All-Group AAA this season.
Rafal, a sophomore forward, led the team in scoring with eight goals and eight assists - four goals coming in the playoffs. She was a first-team All-Group AAA selection.
Phelps, a senior, was the team's captain and quarterback in the midfield. She had three goals, three assists and was named to the state's second team.
Frey, the placekicker for the football team, made the state's honorable mention team. Because of her kicking abilities, she took all the Chiefs' goal kicks, surprising some teams with blasts past midfield that got the offense started quickly.
First Colonial's defense was led by its All-Beach selections. Both played key roles in the development of first-time keeper Katie Bolcar, who was filling in the shoes of graduated three-time all-district keeper Stephanie Reavis.
Birkhead - a senior sweeper - finished the season with 22 defensive saves, while Fentress - a senior stopper - had 13.
Craft - a senior - was an all-region and second-team all-state keeper. She registered 207 saves and surprisingly scored four goals.
Hancock - a sophomore forward - had five goals and three assists. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Melissa Hancock
Robin Dwyer
Kirsty Hale
Julie Miller
Kirstie Neidlinger
Jenny Fentress
Lauren Rafal
Eryn Craft
Amy Phelps
Allison Birkhead
Liz Coon
Nicole Frey
by CNB