THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 17, 1996 TAG: 9609170434
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 41 lines
It's only fitting that a guy named John Kennedy would come up with a stately performance.
But this had nothing to do with politics.
It was about soccer. About diving left, diving right. . . swatting one shot after another over the crossbar, snagging others in a basket created by his arms and stomach.
No, this Kennedy isn't the keeper of country. He's the keeper of the Catholic High goal, and last week his boundaries were protected better than this country's during the ``other'' Kennedy's regime.
In a big early-season game against defending Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools boys soccer champion Hampton Roads Academy, Kennedy came up big time and time again - finishing with an astounding 22 saves.
``He was the difference,'' Catholic coach Barry Hackett said. ``Hampton Roads dominated the game. By all rights, they should have won.''
But Kennedy wouldn't let HRA win, forcing a 1-1 tie that was a huge moral victory for a Crusader team picked to finish towards the bottom of the TCIS race.
And through it all, the 17-year-old junior who has been playing soccer since he was 4 was too busy to realize what he was doing.
``I didn't have too much time to think about it,'' he said. ``They have a great team and they were really pressuring us. The defense in front of me played great and I was fortunate enough to be in the right place and the right times.''
Kennedy didn't realize what he had done until he played a human highlight film back in his mind.
``I thought the number (of saves) was incorrect - too high,'' he said. ``But I thought about the game later on and then I realized that maybe it wasn't.
``During the game, I was real busy.'' ILLUSTRATION: John Kennedy by CNB