THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 1996 TAG: 9608270430
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 78 lines
Forty players have filtered through the Hampton Roads Mariners this season.
Now, four key injuries and a slew of roster moves have chiseled the group down to 25 playoff contenders. Eighteen of these will dress tonight to battle against the Minnesota Thunder in the Select Six playoffs.
The Mariners host one of the two round-robin brackets, including Minnesota and Long Island, with games slated for tonight, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 at Old Dominion. The other three contenders, Richmond, California and Charleston, play in Richmond.
Throughout the season, the Mariners would appear to be a playoff contender, then lose a key player.
Early on, team captain Wayne Pratt went out with a knee injury. Steve Provan came in, then was lost to a hip injury. Forward Darren Eales was in and out with a hamstring pull. He never reached full strength. Leading scorer Jesse Marsch was lost when his leg was broken in the final weeks and sweeper Tony Velkov returned to his native Bulgaria.
What were the key ingredients in the Mariners recipe for success? A never-failing belief in themselves and a coach who always found the needed player.
Goalkeeper: Hampton Roads started the season with former Old Dominion standout Nathan Olansen, then suffered setbacks when Olansen's replacements Mike Oehlmann and John Cone went out with injuries. Olson joined the team in the fifth game of the season and immediately became one of the top keepers in the Select League. He led the league in goals against average until the final games of the season and still carries a respectable .96 average.
``Matt Olson is the cream of the crop,'' McDonald said.
His teammates admire his ability to save a shootout and feel confident with Olson as the final stop.
``In a shootout, I know we're going to win because of Olson,'' defender Byron Mitchell said.
Defense: This has been their strength all season.
The sweeper slot bounced between Nate Houser, Chris Penny and Jim McGeough before landing back with Penny.
``Now that I know that's my position, I can focus,'' Penny said. ``I feel comfortable there.''
Penny covered the spot for two years at Lockhaven University before moving into a man-marker defensive role.
Now, he and man markers Mitchell and Dave Schifrin have become a cohesive and tough unit, allowing the Mariners to protect one-goal leads throughout the game.
Midfield: Houser has covered midfield from all angles, offensively and defensively. After doing a brief stint at sweeper, he returned to the position he loves. He played his favorite attacking midfield role in the playoffs against Carolina.
``I just try to do whatever the team needs,'' Houser said of his flexible role. ``It's good experience for myself. I see more of the field at sweeper, to last game when I was attacking and could score goals. It suits me.''
And it suits McDonald. Houser has been the clutch goal-scorer for the Mariners all season. After a string of powerful shootout goals, he blasted the winning mini-game shot against the Dynamo.
``Nate Houser has come up big lately,'' McDonald said.
Houser has now joined team captain Mark Waite, Joe Herrmann and Scott Lawler as regulars at midfield.
Forward: This has been a virtual revolving door, with no set striker from game to game.
The season started with Stilian Shishkov and Mike Guerrero debuting in the slot, then five players alternating roles. For the playoffs, only Sterling Wescott and Paul Cann are certain starters.
Marsch, Eales, Ryan Leib, Chris Faklaris and a host of players no longer with the team have seen playing time at forward. Danny Creech and Dustin Swinehart threaten opposing defenders from their sometimes starting or 12th man roles. For the playoffs, Leib is missing due to work and Creech has just recovered from abdominal pulls.
``I think Sterling has done a very good job and has been very consistent'' McDonald said. He could not, however, say for certain who the third forward would be.
While the Mariners may not have that star player that an opponent looks to shut down, they are positionally one of the deadliest teams in the league. This should be an asset against Minnesota tonight.
``Their top three players up top are quality players, but position by position, I think we are individually better,'' McDonald said. by CNB