THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996                  TAG: 9605260228
SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C9   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE:    SATURDAY NIGHT TURNED INTO A GOALKEEPERS' SHOWDOWN. AND IT WAS
HAMPTON ROADS KEEPER MATT OLSON WHO CAME OUT ON TOP, GRABBING HIS SECOND
STRAIGHT SHUTOUT AS  THE MARINERS DOWNED TAMPA BAY 2-0 SATURDAY NIGHT AT FIRST
COLONIAL HIGH.    OLSON REJECTED FOUR SOLID CYCLONES SHOTS, WHILE HIS TAMPA
BAY ADVERSARY, DIDIER MENARD, PROVED TO BE THE CYCLONES' MAIN ASSET.LENGTH:   49

linesMARINERS PUT CLAMPS ON TAMPA BAY 2-0 GOALIES' DUEL WON BY OLSON, AS HIS TEAMMATES PEPPER CYCLONES' MENARD.

``He's a tremendous athlete,'' Hampton Roads coach Shawn McDonald said. ``He's a very good athlete. He comes out and takes chances, though. You've got to take advantage of that. I told the guys that at halftime and finally we did.''

Menard spent the night leaping and rolling, deflecting 13 shots to keep the game close. In the first half, he faced Wayne Pratt on three breakaways and won all of those head-to-head showdowns.

``I did all right. It wasn't anything spectacular. I wish I could have had those other two,'' Menard said, referring to the shots that got past him for tallies.

``I felt I had the chance. Overall, I thought we played okay, but we got the loss which is what really counts.''

The Mariners maintained an aggressive style of attack throughout the game.

Hampton Roads outshot the Cylcones 25-14, the first time Tampa Bay has been outshot all season.

``I was really pleased with the way we played most of the time,'' McDonald said. ``I thought we got a little rattled in the second half. We could have made the job a little easier.''

Mark Waite broke the Menard spell with a header from the left at 25:45 of the first.

That score stayed on the board until 35:38 of the second when Hampton Roads' Jesse Marsch faked out Menard, who came out to meet him, then ripped a blast into the open net.

``Last week, I thought several players had their best games,'' McDonald said. ``I don't think anybody played their best game, but I thought we played well as a team. We played very well collectively as a team.''

The Cyclones offense stepped up in the second half, but could not get anything past Olson.

The Mariners' Nate Houser received a red card in the second half. He will be ineligible to play in the Mariners game against Roanoke Wednesday. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

L. TODD SPENCER

Hampton Roads' Wayne Pratt, center, shoots wide of the goal as Tampa

Bay's Didier Menard slides out to challenge and Dony Cordona runs

in. by CNB