THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 5, 1995 TAG: 9507050168
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Hampton Roads battled back twice to tie the game before a controversial no-call denied the team a penalty kick, and Brian Kamler's goal with 7:30 remaining lifted the Richmond Kickers to a 3-2 win over the Mariners Tuesday at First Colonial.
With 14 minutes left in the second half, Hampton Roads (11-3) worked the ball into the penalty box. Mariners forward Nate Friends was in position about six yards in front of the goal and Richmond keeper Jeff Causey, but was pulled down from behind before he could accept the ball.
Center referee Bob Kuhnle declined to call a foul as the crowd of 1,621 booed emphatically.
``To me, that was the turning point of the game right there,'' said Hampton Roads coach Sonny Travis. ``I don't see how the ref could miss it, it was so obvious.
``We worked hard to get the ball in there, and we should have gotten a penalty kick.''
Asked about the call after the game, Kuhnle replied that he had ``nothing to say.''
The game winner for the Kickers (14-0) came after a Mariners' defensive lapse in an otherwise strong second half. After a shot by Darren Eales sailed wide of the Richmond goal, the Kickers came downfield with a 3-on-3 break.
With the ball being kicked around in front of keeper Garth Lagerwey, the Hampton Roads defense had opportunities to clear the ball, but failed. Leigh Cowlishaw tapped the ball from the left post to the front of the goal, where Kamler punched in the winning shot.
``We did not defend that well,'' Travis said. ``I'm sorry we lost the game on a soft goal - I thought we played better than that.''
The Mariners were without starting defender Chris Love, who received two yellow cards against Roanoke and was ineligible.
Richmond went out to a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute on a goal by Rob Ukrop. Ukrop, the Kickers' leading scorer, tallied his 10th goal of the season on a shot from 20 yards that was just out of Lagerwey's reach.
``That was just a good individual effort. He hit a bomb and put it right underneath the bar, and over me,'' said Lagerwey. ``You have to tip your cap on that kind of play.''
But midfielder Joe Hermann answered for the Mariners 22 seconds later with a superb effort of his own, beating Causey to the ball and tying the game with a shot that banged into the net off the far post.
With under 10 minutes left until the half, Lagerwey stopped a shot close in by Corey Turnage. The rebound came out in front, and Kamler lofted the ball towards the net. The ball hit off Friends' shoulder and found the net for an own goal and a 2-1 Kickers lead.
Despite the absence of midfielder Mark Waite, who missed the game with a back injury, the Hampton Roads offense got working and tie the game again.
Less than ten minutes into the second half, Brandon Ward hesitated at the top of the penalty box as if to shoot, then passed to Ryan Lieb on the left side.
Lieb, who entered the game as a substitute only minutes earlier, ran down the ball near the end line and sent a cross to the front of the net, where Eales was in place to slide a shot past Causey. But Kamler's punch-in about 30 minutes later gave Richmond the win.
``Richmond has a great team. They've done everything right to put the wins up,'' said Travis. ``You've got to make your own luck, and they've done that.''
Richmond 2 1 - 3
Hampton Roads 1 1 - 2
Scoring: 1. Rich: Ukrop, 14:54. 2. HR: Hermann, 15:16. 3. Rich: own goal, 20:22. 4. HR: Eales (Lieb), 39:11. 5. Rich: Kamler (Cowlishaw), 52:30. Total shots: Rich: 7-10-17; HR: 5-15-20. Shots on goal: Rich: 5-3-8; HR: 2-5-7. Saves: Rich: Causey, 1-4-5; HR: Lagerwey: 4-3-7. Fouls: Rich: 5-3-8; HR: 2-3-5. Attendance: 1,621. ILLUSTRATION: MARINERS FALL, 3-2, TO RICHMOND
[Color Photo]
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
Staff
Hampton Roads' Nate Friends, left, gets tangled up with Richmond's
Jon Hall as the players work for control of the ball. In the
Mariners 3-2 loss, Richmond got a goal that deflected in off
Friends.
Hampton Roads defender Alex Kee, left, tries to make a move to the
ball past Richmond midfielder Ben Crawley.
by CNB