THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, June 25, 1995                  TAG: 9506250207
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C9   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   52 lines

IN USISL SCORING, WINNING ISN'T EVERYTHING: GOALS COUNT, TOO

A glance at the standings in the Atlantic Division finds Hampton Roads a mere 37 points out of first place. But the Mariners are still right in the thick of things.

Huh?

With the scoring system in the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues, a team can make up ground quickly. A win in regulation or overtime gets a team six points, and additional bonus points are awarded for up to three goals. In a shootout, the winning club gets four points; the losers, two.

In Hampton Roads' favor is the fact that the team has played five fewer games than second-place Raleigh (101 points), and three fewer games than division-leading Charleston (102 points). The Mariners have played only 10 games that count toward USISL standings, the fewest among Atlantic Division teams.

``I don't think at this point that the players and the coaching staff are concerned with the standings because we've played fewer games. It looks like we're in fifth, but really we're in first or second if we continue on our trend,'' said Hampton Roads coach Sonny Travis.

Last season, the Mariners won nine of their last 11 games to make the playoffs.

``(The standings look) very misleading, and that's one thing people have to get past.''

As of Friday, Hampton Roads trailed Greensboro by 11 points for the fourth and final playoff spot.

EALES HONORS: The accolades keep piling up for forward Darren Eales. Last week Eales was named the GTE Academic All-American of the Year as selected by the College Sports Information Directors Association. Eales graduated from Brown University with a 4.0 in economics.

On Tuesday, the Mariners' leading scorer was named to the USISL Pro Team of the Week for his two-goal performance against Roanoke. Eales is tied for fifth in the league in points (30) and is third in goals (16).

GOOD STUDENT REWARD: Local students, kindergarten through 12th grade, with at least a B average who bring their report cards to today's game between the Mariners and New Orleans will be admitted free.

U-23 NATIONAL TEAM GAME UPDATE: The match between the Mariners and the U.S. National Under-23 Team will be played at First Colonial High School on Mill Dam Road in Virginia Beach. Tickets, available through ticket outlets or by mail order are $8 for youth 16-under and $10 for adults. Call the Mariners office at 464-6257 for information. by CNB