DATE: Sunday, June 1, 1997                  TAG: 9706010244

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: WOODBRIDGE                        LENGTH:   61 lines

WOODSON STIFLES KEMPSVILLE'S ATTACK

Katie Johnson's narrowly missed header told the tale of Kempsville's 1-0 loss to W.T. Woodson on Saturday in the Group AAA state girls soccer championship at Hylton High.

Midway through the second half, Johnson sent a header from close range to the Cavaliers' right post, beating keeper Catherine Fulkerson. But the ball hit the post, spun off and trickled along the line before Fulkerson controlled as Johnson charged.

``I thought it was going in,'' said Johnson, whose goal would have tied the game. ``It just kind of shows the kind of luck we had today.

``When we had opportunities, we just couldn't take advantage of them.''

And the Chiefs (16-5-2) had very few.

Woodson (17-3-1) made the midfield its territory with a physical style that often frustrated the Chiefs.

``Well. ... when you touch someone at the Beach and it's a foul, and you come to the state tournament and they let brutal things go, yes, it's frustrating,'' Kempsville coach Ed Hackett said.

But in fairness to Woodson, Johnson added: ``Some people are mad because they said the hacks won, but Woodson played good.''

Especially in the center of the field, where Kempsville couldn't make many good turns or feeds. And when the Chiefs did, the Cavaliers' defensive line made getting a shot next to impossible.

Things were different for the Cavaliers. Woodson finished with a 15-6 shooting advantage in a game that saw the teams combine for 33 fouls.

``We do a lot of things in the midfield and our girls do a good job of really muddling things up,'' Cavaliers coach Jay D'Alessandro said. ``We knew they had some really good players in there and we made some little changes that seemed to work on them.

``And you have to make the little things count in the playoffs.''

Kempsville made the little things work in Friday's semifinal victory over Robinson (USA Today's fourth-ranked team). But Hackett said that overtime win and Woodson's style of play could have taken its toll.

Heidi Gribble's header with 21:47 left in the first half was the winner. The freshman took Teri Joyce's free kick after Kempsville defender Johannah Thompson was called for taking down Joyce just outside of the 18-yard box.

``I wasn't sure, I had no idea it would win the game,'' Gribble said. ``I felt we controlled most of the game, so there was a chance.''

Woodson had another good chance earlier in the first half, when Caitlin Downey took Morgan Johnson's pass and beat Kempsville keeper Sarah Willis, who was charging. But Chiefs' defender Jennifer Baker came in from behind and cleared.

Kempsville, trying to become the first South Hampton Roads girls team to win a state title, had only the one good opportunity - Johnson's.

Woodson midfielder Andi Rowe was assigned the task of making sure of it.

Lauren Rafal ``and a couple of other girls for them up front are just tremendous players,'' D'Alessandro said. ``We saw what they did to Robinson yesterday, so I think Andi did a great job on them. She really shut down their chances.'' ILLUSTRATION: HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot

Players on Kempsville's bench sweat out the final seconds of their

team's loss to W.T. Woodson in the Group AAA state championship

game.

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