THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 24, 1995 TAG: 9509240190
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KEVIN DOEPP, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
When Brett Phillips was a young boy growing up in Tampa, Fla., he would go and watch professional soccer games, hoping one day he'd get his chance. Now the former Old Dominion goalkeeper, who graduated in 1991, is there. He recently appeared in his first all-star game for the Las Vegas Dustdevils of the Continental Indoor Soccer League.
``It was a big honor for me to play (in the all-star game),'' Phillips said. ``I was very excited and it was a lot of fun. It was great being around all of the players.
At Old Dominion, Phillips led the nation in goals-against average at 0.32. He was an All-Colonial Athletic Association pick and a second team All-South Atlantic Region selection in 1991.
The 26-year-old Phillips, 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, didn't like the thought of playing indoor soccer at first. When he graduated he signed on to play with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, an outdoor team.
But that winter, he was drafted by Harrisburg, and he has been in the indoor league ever since.
``I hated playing indoor, but then I got used to it,'' Phillips said. ``I have had more success with it.''
The indoor pace is rapid-fire: on a given night Phillips may face anywhere from 50 to 70 shots.
``In the indoor game . . . the keeper always has to have a good night,'' Phillips said. ``You are always going to be tested.''
Heading into the weekend the Dustdevils were 12-13 and are fighting for the league's eighth and final playoff spot. Phillips has started all 25 games and has given up about seven goals a game.
OLD DOMINION REPORT: The CAA has been ranked the fifth strongest conference in baseball for the second straight year according to the 1995 NCAA RPI report. It ranks behind the Southeastern, Atlantic Coast, Southwest and Big West conferences. It finished ahead of the Big Ten, Big Eight, Big East, and Pacific Ten. The Monarchs were ranked 11th in the final RPI power ratings. Richmond finished 14th and James Madison was 24th. . . . Diego Valor and Miguel Rosa will be third seeds in the National Collegiate Clay Court Tennis Championships in Baltimore.
NORFOLK STATE UPDATE: The Spartans men's cross country team was led by Junior Mitchell at the U.Va. Invitational. In the 8,000 meter run, he finished 15th with a time of 25:07.10. . . . The women's cross country team finished fourth out of eight teams at the Delaware State Invitational. Karen Sinclair finished 13th in the 5,000 meter run with a time of 21:18. Freshmen Tamara Clarke and Tamara Laing finished 16th and 17th. Senior April Holmes finished 22nd.
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN REPORT: The men's basketball team has added three newcomers to the 1995-96 squad. They are Gerald Martin, a power forward from Indian River, Sam Presti, a guard from Concord, Mass., and Don Mercier, a swingman from Winchester, Va. Martin, who rejoins Indian River teammate Percy Slight, will see time at power forward. Martin sat out last year, but in 1994 (his senior year at Indian River) he averaged 16 points per game and 16 rebounds per game. Presti play point guard and the wing. At Carlisle High School he averaged 15 points per game and 6.5 assists per game. Mercier, who has been in the Navy the last four years, averaged 11.5 points per game in 1990 at James Wood High. He should be a 3-point threat.
ALUMNI REPORT: Lindsay Huffman (Maury), a 1994 All-ODAC women's soccer player at Randolph-Macon College, has helped lead the second-ranked Lady Yellow Jackets to a 6-0 record and the nation's longest regular-season unbeaten streak, dating to September 1993. They are ranked No. 1 in the South Region after last week's action.. . . Matt Whalen (Cox) a freshman for the Virginia Tech soccer team, forced overtime with his goal, then assisted on the winner in the Hokies' 2-1 win over George Washington. . . . Eryn Craft (Green Run) leads the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference in goalkeeping at Longwood. She has a 0.50 goals against average. . . . In CVAC men's play, Longwood's Taylor Tucker (Princess Anne) is third in goalkeeping with a 1.29 goals-against average. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Brett Phillips
by CNB