Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
Complex hosts USA South event
Friday, November 6, 2009
By KAREN THOMPSON - Bulletin Sports Writer
Soccer fanatics need look no further than the Smith River Sports Complex for great action this weekend.
The complex is hosting the men’s and women’s soccer semi-finals and finals for the USA South Athletic Conference. The semis begin at noon today, while the conference title games start Saturday at 2 p.m. USA South, with headquarters in Fayetteville, N.C., comprises 10 full-member colleges located throughout North Carolina and Virginia. The schools are Division III and the majority are private institutions.
“We’re really excited about (the tournament),” said Dennis Toney, the executive director of the Southern Virginia Recreations Facilities Authority, which operates the complex. “It’s the first big event for us,” and “it’s a great start” for encouraging other sporting events to the area, he added.
Toney said the Authority sent a proposal in May to USA South, who visited the facility and later agreed to play the games there.
Previously, the championship was hosted by the highest-seeded school, so this is the first year the tourney is played on neutral ground. USA South agreed to a two-year contract, and the games will be back next year, Toney added.
Of the crowd estimates, Toney said, “We don’t know, but we hope it’s going to be good.” He added that he has heard Averett, located in Danville and seeded fourth in the men’s tourney, will be sending students to the games.
Averett begins the action at 5 tonight when it takes on top-seeded Christopher Newport University in the men’s semifinals. The CNU Captains (16-2 overall, 6-0 USA South) have yet to win a USA South title, although they did clinch the regular season championship in 2008.
CNU boasts the conference’s Player of the Year, Winston Mattheisen, who leads the team with 11 goals and three assists, and coach Steve Shaw has been named Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year. The offense has outscored opponents by 30 goals, with the defense allowing just 15 in 18 games this year.
Averett (10-7-1 overall, 3-3 USA South) is led by first-team all-conference honorees Samuli Markkanen, with eight goals and three assists in 16 games, and John Thrower, who has three goals and six assists on the year. Earl Levi leads in scoring with 10 goals.
In the 7:30 game tonight, No. 2 N.C. Wesleyan College plays No. 3 Methodist University.
N.C. Wesleyan (10-7 overall, 5-1 USA South) is seeking back-to-back titles, as it took the conference championship in 2008. The team also won the regular season title in 2007. The Wesleyan squad sports an aggressive offense, which outscored its opponents 55-27 and took nearly twice as many shots on goal as its foes. N.C. Wesleyan is led by Rookie of the Year Michael Muhseler, who has 17 goals this season.
Bret Brennan anchors Methodist in scoring with nine goals and four assists during the regular season. He also scored three game-winners and received first team all-conference honors. In the goal, Kyle Beach made 63 saves and carried a 1.59 goals against average.
The men’s championship game will be 5 p.m. Saturday at the complex.
On the women’s side, No. 1 Meredith is the team to beat. The Avenging Angels (14-3-1, 8-1 USA South) won the title match last year and have both Player of the Year, Alex Calvert, and Coach of the Year, Paul Smith. Calvert has scored 18 goals this season and her four assists lead the team.
Meredith faces No. 5 Methodist College at noon today. Methodist last won the conference title in 2007, when it also claimed regular season honors. Sophomore Danielle Minichello leads the Methodist squad (10-9 overall, 4-2 USA South) with seven goals and four assists.
The best threat to Meredith’s squad may be No. 2 Christopher Newport, who plays third-seeded Greensboro College at 2:30 today. Regular season champs last season, CNU won three consecutive conference titles and regular season titles under coach Kwame Lloyd from 2004-2006. The team has four players with four or more goals this year, led by Sam Ciarvino’s seven. CNU also handed Meredith its only conference loss, winning 4-2.
Greensboro (10-7-1 overall, 5-2-1 USA South) will square off with CNU. The Pride are led by Mary Reinhardt’s eight goals, though four other Greensboro players have scored five goals, including first-team honoree Tessa Hall, who also has seven assists. On the defensive side, goalkeeper Katie Allegro has posted seven shutouts and has an .809 save percentage.
The women’s finals will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the complex.
.jpg)
.jpg)
