Scholastic Notes
Southern region
NORTH CAROLINA
ASHEVILLE, NUCKOLLS KEEPING EYE ON OPPONENTS
Perhaps the single most heart-warming story of the 2007 season is the play of Asheville (N.C.). The team started the season winning 17 of its first 19 matches.
The goalkeeper, senior Ryan Nuckolls, has 15 shutouts on the season. She flops in front of hard shots, makes clears, and sets her defenses even though she has no depth perception. She lost an eye two years ago, but has not let it stop her backstopping the Cougars to what could be a dream season.
“After a game at Chapel Hill, the coach of the team we were playing told me, ‘Your goalie is outstanding.’," Asheville head coach Lauren Kaye tells The Asheville Citizen-Times. "I told him, 'She just has one eye.' The coach made Ryan come over so she could see for herself because she didn’t believe me.”
KENTUCKY
SACRED HEART WINS APPLE -- AGAIN
You wouldn't have thought Louisville Sacred Heart (Ky.) had the same mojo after a tremendous senior class graduated after last year's perfect campaign.
But lo, the Valkyries were able to start 2006 the way it started the last four seasons: with a season-opening Apple Tournament championship.
This year's heroines for Sacred Heart was Taylor Collins, whose 45th-minute penalty corner was the difference.
“The ball didn’t exactly go where it was supposed to go on that corner,” Collins told BeyondTheDerby.com. “Someone shot it, and it bounced off the goalie’s pads. It hit my stick, and I just flicked it in the left corner.”For last year's notes, click here.