JUST ANOTHER chance is all goalkeeper Nina Duron and the Hood College women's soccer team are seeking.
Last month's 6-0 loss to the College of Notre Dame left a bitter taste in the Blazers' mouths and knocking off the defending champions of Atlantic Women's College Conference would prove a sweet sendoff before Hood moves to the Capital Athletic Conference next fall.
"We had [an] off-day and didn't bring our 'A' game," the former Brooke Point High School standout recalled. "As long as we stick together, we can be successful."
Sticking together is of vital necessity since Hood's starting lineup normally includes eight freshmen. First-year coach Jen Wood thinks the Blazers turned the corner two weeks ago when they blanked Goucher, 1-0.
Last year, Hood fell to Notre Dame in the league final en route to an 11-8 record--the school's first winning season since becoming an NCAA member in 1995.
Duron, who originally planned to attend either Mary Washington or a college in Texas, was impressed with Hood following her visit to the Frederick, Md., campus, describing the players and coach as "down to earth."
And it did not hurt Hood was in the market for a starting goalie for the upcoming season.
Demonstrating a willingness to communicate with teammates as well as to challenge opposing attackers, Duron has performed beyond expectations in her rookie season. She has eight shutouts while yielding 1.53 goals per game.
The Blazers (9-5-1) conclude the regular season with Averett University this weekend prior to participating in the AWCC tournament Nov. 4-5 at Chambersburg, Pa.
Johnson still slam champSophomore Chris Johnson (Westmoreland County) scored a perfect score of 50 in the finals to successfully repeat as slam dunk champion in last Friday's LSU Fan Fest event that attracted nearly 5,000 spectators at Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
After the semifinals, Johnson and Dameon Mason were tied for second place behind fellow Tiger Magnum Rolle, who scored 48 out of 50 in the semifinals. Team practice began Saturday with pre-season games set for early next month.
Despite the showing, the 6-11 Johnson may be hard-pressed to increase his playing time from a season ago, when he appeared in 10 games, averaging 4.3 minutes in those contests for the Final Four-bound Tigers.
"We are going to try to play Chris around the goal even though he is not as strong as we would like," LSU head coach John Brady commented on the Tigers' Web page. "He's gotten stronger, but has not gained that much weight. We are going to try to get him around the basket because I think that is the best opportunity for him to get some minutes."
Traylor leads Captains' attackJunior Ashley Traylor (Colonial Forge) netted her team-high 15th goal as the 16th-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team helped its chances of receiving an NCAA Division III playoff berth with a 3-0 win over Washington & Lee.
Two regular-season games remain and with the possibility of the playoffs, Traylor has a shot at Wendy Wilson's single-season school record of 21 goals.
W.Va., Tampa capture titlesThe West Virginia and University of Tampa women's soccer teams earned first-round byes after capturing their respective regular-season titles last weekend.
Sophomore Lisa DuCote (Massaponax) opened the scoring in the ninth minute of play and West Virginia beat Providence 4-0 in Big East American Division play on Sunday. It was her third goal of the season.
Meanwhile, Tampa netted a school-record seven first-half goals en route to the Sunshine State Conference title and an 8-0 victory over Eckerd.
Marisa Mohammad (North Stafford) accounted for one of the Spartan goals, while her sister Marissa Mohammad aided the effort with two assists.
Brown sparkles in lossFilling in for injured starter Joe Fields, safety A.J. Brown (Liberty) recorded 10 tackles and forced a fumble in Syracuse's 28-13 loss to Louisville.
"I just came in and tried to do what I could to help the team," the sophomore commented on the Syracuse Web site. "I played all right, but there were plays I could have made that would have minimized their gain."
'Killers' Warlick, Ford feastLynchburg's Katie Warlick (Colonial Forge) and Shepherd's Kori Ford (Chancellor) were offensive weapons for their respective volleyball teams last week.
Warlick totaled 36 kills and had back-to-back matches with 13 digs as the Hornets (13-12) posted 3-0 victories over Southern Virginia and Guilford before downing Meredith, 3-1.
Meanwhile, Ford averaged 3.3 kills per game and a .441 hitting percentage in helping the Rams (11-15) extend their winning streak to seven matches before a weekend loss to Wheeling Jesuit.
Quick takesVirginia Military goalie Kathleen Underwood (Courtland) registered four saves as the women's soccer team blanked South Carolina State, 5-0. It was the freshman's fourth career start and her first shutout.
Freshman forward Adam Aldinger (Spotsylvania) netted a goal and back Chris Wondree (Courtland) keyed a strong defensive effort as the Shenandoah men's soccer team blanked Ferrum 4-0 to snap the Hornets' 12-game losing streak.
Florida State's Lauren Brick (Culpeper) achieved top-six finishes in nine events to help lead the women's swimming team to a second-place finish at the SMU Women's Classic meet. The senior won the 100-yard breast stroke (1:01.95) and 100 freestyle (50.69) as well as swimming legs for the victorious 200 free and 400 medley relays (1:34.16 and 3:43.73).
Sophomore linebacker Evin O'Sullivan (Colonial Forge) recorded a team-high 11 tackles to spark the Emory & Henry football team to a 21-17 victory over Bridgewater. It was the Eagles' second straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference loss after winning its previous 35 league games.
Ferrum senior Ryan Hall (Louisa) recorded his first career hat trick and assisted on Ferrum's other goal as well as the men's soccer team defeated USA South Athletic Conference rival Averett 4-1.
To reach KURT NICOLL:
Email: knicoll@freelancestar.com