THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 21, 1996 TAG: 9608211216
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 59 lines
Nate Houser duped the Carolina defenders, dribbled through the box and smashed the ball past Dynamo keeper Scott Garlick to push the Hampton Roads Mariners to a 1-0 mini-game victory and secure them a spot in the Select Six national championship.
The victory earned Hampton Roads (20-7) its first national championship playoff berth. The Select Six playoffs, matching the top six teams in the Select League, are Aug. 27-Sept. 1 at sites to be announced.
The Mariners struggled early Tuesday night at Old Dominion, losing 4-0 in the second game of the home-and-away South Atlantic Division championship. The loss pushed the two teams into a mini-game tiebreaker. The Mariners defeated Carolina 1-0 Saturday.
In the 30-minute mini-game, the Mariners' offense came to life and outshot the Dynamo 6-1.
``That's what we get paid to do, to win at the end of the season,'' Houser said. ``After that first game we came together. We're a better team than anybody for 15 minutes.''
Houser has been tough in tight situations all season, scoring the winning goal in two of the Mariners' final three shootout wins.
``He's a good finisher,'' Mariners coach Shawn McDonald said. ``He's composed around the goal.''
After suffering the 4-0 loss, the Mariners had just 15 minutes to regroup and focus on the mini-game. Carolina beefed up its lineup with leading scorer Yari Allnutt, who had missed the earlier game with a suspension.
McDonald altered the Mariners lineup, pushing two strikers out front and fortifying the midfield to increase scoring power. The ploy worked. Mariners keeper Matt Olson, who had faced 20 Carolina shots in the first game, was challenged only once. The forwards took command.
``It's a strange system,'' McDonald said of the mini-game. ``It worked to our favor, we got the goal when it really counted. I told the guys in a 30-minute game, there's probably going to be only one goal. That game went so quick.''
Conversely, the first game seemed endless for the Mariners. Carolina's Chugger Adair slipped a shot past Olson at 28:36 of the first half for an early 1-0 lead. The score held until late in the second, when Kevin Sloan struck from the left for a crushing 2-0 lead. Less than a minute later, Sloan scored again for a 3-0 margin.
Foreseeing the mini-game, both coaches subbed heavily to rest players. Carolina's Alan Pramplin streaked down the sideline to score the final goal in the closing minutes.
``I think we were down after that first game,'' McDonald said. ``We had to put that behind us. Some of the guys did it immediately and some of the guys didn't. But as the game wore on, they all did.''
The United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues will announce the playoff schedule today. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot
Nate Houser, who scored the winning goal to give the Hampton Roads
Mariners a 1-0 victory over Carolina in the South Atlantic Division
title game, played this ball while on his back Tuesday. by CNB