THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 11, 1996 TAG: 9605110462
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Kellam won its first regular-season Beach District boys soccer championship Friday with a 2-1 victory over Kempsville.
Kempsville and Kellam entered the game ranked first and second, respectively, in the area with 7-1 district records.
The Chiefs fielded a talented lineup featuring a pair of national age group team members and several more region-level standouts. Kellam countered with arguably the fastest team in the area.
In the end, speed prevailed as the Knights (8-1 district, 12-2-1 overall) simply beat the Chiefs to the ball more often.
``They really did,'' Kempsville coach Kevin Denson said. ``They had a well-executed game plan.
``It was a great game, a great crowd and atmosphere . . . all positives for soccer.''
Kempsville (7-2, 11-2-1) was left, however, with a big negative. The Chiefs must now fight through the district tournament if they want to advance to region play.
``Yes, we've definitely got the pressure now,'' Denson said.
Kellam, however, can use the tournament to sharpen an aggressive attack. With the championship, the Knights earned the district's automatic region berth and will face the Eastern District's No. 2 seed in two weeks.
Kempsville struck first, causing Kellam coach Don Hart considerable concern.
``Our plan was to not let them take us out of the game and they started to,'' he said. ``We didn't want to get dragged into their game.''
But that's exactly what happened eight minutes into the contest when Kevin Knott took a header pass from Tyler Nickle and blasted a close-range shot past Knights keeper Mike Pekera. Joe Buchholz started the play with a corner kick from the right side.
Kellam tied the score with just over eight minutes left in the first half when Ryan Key controlled a crossing pass from Jason Bonnett, beat two defenders and sent a quick shot past Chiefs keeper Brian Richards.
``I pulled it back on two people and just ripped a shot,'' Key said. ``I don't thing (Richards) expected me to pull it back on two defenders, so I know he wasn't expecting the shot.''
Ed Stockunas then scored the winner with 25 minutes remaining, when he took a feed from Jay Gunia, who had controlled a free kick by Mike Binetti.
From there, Kempsville turned up the heat only to have Kellam's defense respond.
``We communicate well,'' sweeper Chris Phelan said. ``We're all like one back there, like one brain.'' by CNB