THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604210298
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Adonis Maxwell took a wind-aided pass and kicked a scoring shot to pace Washington to a 1-0 victory over the Hampton Roads Mariners Saturday night at First Colonial.
In the first half, the Mariners played against gusting winds that blew everything that wasn't tied down across the field. In the second half, the Mustangs battled the blasts.
``The wind is certainly a negative for both teams,'' Washington coach Jorge Zea said. ``You cannot do anything against the wind. You can play against other players, but not against the wind.''
At the 5:34 mark, a defender's pass cleared the Hampton Roads defense. Byron Mitchell attempted to head the ball out, but it sailed over him. Maxwell streaked across the open field and powered the winning shot.
The Mariners tried to strike back, but were unable to get past goaltender Jan DeWeer or overcome the weather.
``I thought we played an extremely strong defensive game,'' Zea said. ``I'm very proud of the players and the way they played.''
The wind wreaked havoc on attacking drives, forcing shots to sail just over the post. When the shots were on, so was DeWeer. He had eight saves, compared to three for Mariners' goaltender Mike Oehlmann.
``Every cross they put in was coming on goal or going just over the goal, as opposed to a normal game when they're just floating across the middle,'' DeWeer said. ``So I had a hard time. But the defense played great.''
DeWeer said the Mustangs lost their opener 2-1 Friday night on a late-game goal. They came to Hampton Roads prepared for 90 minutes of soccer.
The Mariners, however, failed to play a solid 90 minutes. Early in the game defensive holes allowed the Mustangs' attack to continually threaten Oehlmann and resulted in the goal. Less than 10 minutes into the game, the Mariners were back into their game plan, but the damage had been done.
In the closing minutes, the Mariners took six shots on goal. They brought the crowd of 2,190 to its feet, but could not convert.
``We needed the quality at the right time in front of the goal tonight and we never got it,'' Hampton Roads coach Shawn McDonald said. ``We had a few defensive lapses. That goal was very unlucky. The wind carried that ball and our guy couldn't head it like he wanted to. They got it and we were taken by surprise. But that was pretty early in the game. We should have been able to correct it.''
The Mariners took 18 shots on goal while the Mustangs took only eight.
``We've got to beat teams like this,'' McDonald said. ``That much pressure with the ball in the box that often, we've got to find a way to score a goal.''
The Mariners host the U.S. Olympic team Saturday night at 7:30. ILLUSTRATION: BILL TIERNAN
The Virginian-Pilot
The Mariners' Mark Waite, top, struggles against a Washington player
- and the wind - in the Mustangs' 1-0 win Saturday. Washington
scored its only goal with the help of the gusts.
by CNB