DATE: Wednesday, May 28, 1997               TAG: 9705280688

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C4   EDITION: FINAL  

SOURCE: BY CHIC RIEBEL, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   56 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** The Princess Anne girls soccer team lost to Douglas Freeman, 3-2, in the Group AAA state quarterfinals. Wednesday's editions contained an error. Correction published Thursday, May 29, 1997, page C2. ***************************************************************** KEMPSVILLE TAKES WIND, AND A WIN

Ed Hackett didn't need much help making his decision Tuesday night. He saw the American flag snapping atop the pressbox at Ocean Lakes, noticed the flags marking the corners seemingly frozen at a 40-degree angle and watched as the pony tails on his players' heads levitated nearly parallel with the ground.

``When we won the coin toss, I decided to take the wind in the first half,'' the Kempsville girls soccer coach said. ``It seems like every game we played this year was in the wind, so we were used to it. Besides, you never know if the wind is going to stop in the second half.''

The Chiefs took the opening kick and ran like the wind. A minute and 35 seconds later, Lauren Rafal scored the game's only goal as Kempsville posted a 1-0 victory over Midlothian in a Group AAA quarterfinal game.

With the win, the Chiefs (15-4-2) advanced to a state semifinal game Friday at 3 p.m. at C.D. Hylton against Robinson, a 5-0 winner over Patrick Henry. Princess Anne, which defeated Douglas Freeman 3-2, faces W.T. Woodson, a 3-1 winner over Woodbridge, in a 1 p.m. semifinal. Details of the Princess Anne victory were unavailable at press time.

The wind played a role in Rafal's goal when Midlothian keeper Lynne Bowman struck a weak ball into the stiff breeze on a goal kick. Rafal intercepted just outside the box and promptly drilled the ball into the right side of the cage.

``You always have to be ready for anything,'' Rafal said. ``When I got the ball, I shot it right away because I knew she wasn't set.''

Hackett didn't know it at the time, but the Chiefs were through scoring.

``I thought we'd get two or three goals with the wind in the first half, then hold them off in the second,'' he said.

But that didn't happen. Although Kempsville dominated territorial possession and outshot Midlothian (14-6-1) by 10-1 in the first half, the Eastern Region champs didn't produce many quality shots and were always one bad bounce away from getting tied when the Trojans had the wind at their backs.

``There's a lot of pressure on the defense when the other team has the wind,'' said Chiefs defender Johannah Thompson. ``The offense can shoot from so far out that you have to play them further from the goal.''

Fortunately for the Kempsville defense, the Chiefs' offense dominated even when it went into the wind. Midlothian was no match for the speed and skills of the irrepressible Katie Johnson and the assertive, physical play of Rafal and Emily Becker.

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