DATE: Sunday, June 1, 1997                  TAG: 9706010220

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: WOODBRIDGE                        LENGTH:   63 lines

KEMPSVILLE RULES ONCE MORE AFTER BLANKING COX

Seconds after winning the Group AAA boys soccer championship Saturday at Hylton High, the Kempsville boys soccer team rushed the sidelines and, following its pre-game plan, posed for a team photograph.

The Chiefs showed off those impressive organizational skills for 40 minutes of the second half against Cox, dominating a 2-0 victory that gave Kempsville its third state crown in the '90s.

So controlling were the Chiefs (21-1-1) that the Falcons (18-3) didn't get off a shot in the second half until 7:36 remained in a game that was scoreless at halftime.

Kempsville fans can thank coach Kevin Denson's pre-game request for his players to write on cards how many hours of soccer they had played at Kempsville.

``Some of the seniors were coming back with 1,500 and 2,000 hours,'' Denson said. ``I reminded them of that at halftime, because I thought they looked a little tired in the first half. I told them they couldn't be tired. And I think we got stronger.''

Kempsville took control of the ball from the whistle and got on the board with 28 minutes left when Kevin Knott took a long feed from Joe Buchholz, beat a pair of defenders to the right post and put it past Falcons keeper Colin Kibler despite a horrible angle.

``We told them after the first goal to get the second within five minutes,'' Denson said. ``The second one really took the wind out of (Cox).''

It didn't come within the designated time, but it was just as effective.

Adam Schultz took a long feed and worked the ball to the right side of the 18-yard box, then sent a perfect crossing pass to the middle of the goal as Kibler came out on the attack.

There, Joey Moriarty waited for the easy goal much as he did Friday when he punched in the sudden-death overtime winner against Hylton.

It might have been that hard-fought victory that left Kempsville, meeting Cox for the fourth time this season, sluggish in the first half. Cox controlled play in the first 40 minutes but failed to convert any of its five scoring chances.

``I just told them at halftime to keep doing what they were doing,'' Falcons coach Jim Snodgrass said. ``I thought we were all over them in the first half. But those missed chances came back to haunt us because (Kempsville) pulled some adjustments and really did a number on us. They were alive and on the ball more in the second half.''

Denson agreed.

``We just played so much quicker in the second half,'' he said. ``We didn't hold onto the ball as much and it was just a real pleasure to watch.''

But probably not as fun as it was for the Kempsville seniors, who had said that simply beating Hylton in Friday's matchup of nationally ranked teams was not enough.

``We've been going after state from the start,'' Schultz said. ``Beating Hylton was very nice, but no, it wasn't enough. We've got 10 seniors who have been working on this for four years.''

And they've got the timecards to prove it. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot

After missing on their first attempt, members of Kempsville's soccer

team get coach Kevin Denson with the water bucket to celebrate their

victory over Cox that clinched the state title. KEYWORDS: BOYS SOCCER

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