THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 9, 1996 TAG: 9606070167
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 94 lines
COX AND KEMPSVILLE, the area's two best girls soccer teams, led the voting for the 1996 All-Beach District team. Between them, they account for six of the first team's 11 spots as chosen by the district's 10 coaches.
The squad is led by coach of the year Terri Sawyer and player of the year Robin Dwyer, both from Cox. The Falcons finished 19-4, beating West Springfield in the Class AAA state quarterfinals before falling to Hylton in the semifinal round.
The first team features three repeat selections from last season, four who moved up from last year's second team and two from honorable mention.
Dwyer, a senior forward, led Cox with 12 goals and four assists, and senior sweeper Cara Reske, also a first-teamer, tallied four goals and four assists. Dwyer and Reske, along with second-teamers Natalie Stumpf and Erica Webb, formed the core offensive unit for the Falcons, whose only local loss was to the Chiefs in the district tournament final.
Kempsville placed four members on the first team: Lauren Rafal, Kristin Cholewa, Johannah Thompson and Monica Frey. Also chosen: Tallwood's Melissa Hancock, Bayside's Angie Hebron, First Colonial's Avery Willis, Green Run's Claudia Watt and Princess Anne's Becky Hicock.
Rafal was the Chiefs' go-to player with 15 goals and nine assists. Coach Ed Hackett calls Cholewa the team's emotional leader. ``She plays with great heart,'' he said. She finished with eight goals and seven assists and received a partial scholarship to West Virginia University. Thompson, a sweeper, recorded three goals and five assists and Frey one goal and 10 assists.
``She's our wheels, our legs,'' Hackett said of Frey. ``She would get the ball and unselfishly cross it.''
The Chiefs (14-5-2) advanced to the state quarterfinals before losing to eventual state champion Robinson.
Hancock, a junior midfielder, has been a first-teamer since her freshman year. Also named Tallwood's team MVP, she had three goals and five assists. ``She was pivotal to our success,'' said coach Joy King. ``I don't think we would have won the games we did without her.''
Bayside's Hebron, although primarily a forward, was the team's utility player, filling in at sweeper and stopper. The senior led Bayside in scoring with eight goals and will play field hockey at William & Mary.
Willis, a sophomore midfielder, led the district in scoring with 19 goals and one assist for First Colonial. ``She was our igniter,'' said coach Janet Rowlands. ``When things got slow, she got things going. She's very much a team player.''
Green Run's Watt finished with 11 goals and 10 assists, The senior midfielder earned a partial scholarship to Longwood. ``She has great vision,'' said coach Ken Bradley. ``She distributes the ball better than anybody at the Beach.''
Keeper Hicock is the first team's only freshman. A member of the U-15 state team, she recorded 118 saves and had a 1.47 goals-against average for Princess Anne. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Angie Hebron
Bayside senior
Johannah Thompson
Kempsville junior
Robin Dwyer
Cox senior
Monica Frey
Kempsville junior
Kristin Cholewa
Kellam senior
Melissa Hancock
Tallwood junior
Becky Hicock
Princess Anne freshman
Cara Reske
Cox senior
Lauren Rafal
Kempsville junior
Claudia Watt
Green Run senior
Avery Willis
First Colonial sophomore
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All-Beach Girls Soccer '96 by CNB