FIELD HOCKEY PLAYER OF THE YEAR
* Stacey Greene, Francis Scott Key, junior, forward -- The county's most talented player didn't get a second straight state 1A championship this season but she did get a lot more rave reviews from opponents and coaches wherever she played. An exasperated Katie Rockwell of South Carroll, who held North Carroll's Amber Bosley reasonably well in check in a 1-0 upset over the Panthers, came off the field after trying to defend Greene and told South Carroll coach Stacy Stem: "I just can't stop her. I just can't do it." Greene scored two goals in the first 4:30 against South Carroll and added an assist before halftime, sending Key on the way to a 3-1 victory. Greene (5 feet 9) not only has a major height advantage on almost every other player in the county but she is stronger and faster and highly skilled. There is also a driving desire to excel for Greene, who already has tied the school career scoring record of 33 goals by Cindy Zale (1975-77). With one season left, Greene appears headed toward a possible career at a Division I field hockey school. She had 14 goals and three assists.
FIELD HOCKEY CO-COACHES
OF THE YEAR
* Stacy Stem, South Carroll -- In possibly her last season as field hockey coach at South Carroll, Stem was brilliant from the first days of practice (agreeing to give goalkeeper Jaime Moyer a tryout even though she had never played field hockey) to the 3A region finals where she almost guided the Cavaliers to an upset victory over third-ranked Centennial (1-0 loss). The decision to take a chance on Moyer, who had just been cut from the soccer team, will go down as one of Stem's best moves ever as a coach. Moyer became the first-team All-County keeper and twice made 19 saves in a game to single-handedly carry an undermanned South Carroll team to victories. Even though the Cavaliers were inexperienced, lacked depth and talent, they finished with an 8-5-1 record, which was a major improvement over last season's 4-8 mark. Stem has said she plans to move out of state at the end of this school year.
* Courtney Vaughn, Liberty -- Vaughn, like Stem, didn't have an abundance of talent this season. But she still guided her team to a 10-4 record and a berth in the 2A regional finals before losing to North Carroll, 1-0, in overtime. The Lions also rose as high as 10th in the metro area poll and came within a victory over South Carroll of winning the county championship. Vaughn engineered regular-season upsets over county-champion Westminster and North Carroll, giving Liberty a 3-3 county record, which was just one-half game behind the Owls (4-3). The Lions were Central Maryland Conference co-champions (6-2) with Westminster.
FIRST TEAM AT A GLANCE
* Jill Ballard, North Carroll, senior, midfield -- The 1993 Player of the Year in the county did not dominate as many games as last year, but she still was enough of a force to help the Panthers make the state 2A semifinals where they were on the verge of upsetting defending state champion Fallston before losing, 1-0, in double overtime. Like last season, Ballard scored some big goals off penalty corners but she also had the misfortune of having some important goals nullified by illegal hits.
* Amber Bosley, North Carroll, senior, forward -- Bosley, who has nonstop energy and enthusiasm, made a second straight strong run for Player of the Year honors in the county, scoring two of her eight goals in overtime to win important games. Her biggest goal of the season came seven minutes into overtime against Liberty in the 2A West Region final and sent North Carroll into the state tournament. Bosley also scored the winning goal to beat Francis Scott Key in overtime.
* Debbi Bourke, Liberty, senior, midfield -- Speed and more speed was the primary weapon Bourke brought to the Lions. The top moment for Bourke came at North Carroll when she got the ball to Amy North for a fast-break goal in overtime that gave the Lions a 2-1 victory and prevented the Panthers from clinching the county championship. Throughout her superb field hockey career, Bourke was known for her ability to play both the offensive and defensive ends of the field. Bourke moves up to the first team after being a second-team choice last year.
* Ann Brennan, Westminster, junior, forward -- A consistent performer, Brennan was one of the many Owls' players who took part in a 27-4 shooting binge against Northern of Calvert County in the 4A semis, only to see their team lose a 2-1 heart-breaker in overtime. Brennan was a second-team selection last season.
* Nikki Cornell, Westminster, junior, defense -- This aggressive defender made a lot of things happen. Cornell was good at marking the other team's top scorers, using her hustle and enthusiasm for the game to get the job done. She is one of 13 juniors returning for a team that figures to be tough to handle next season.
* Jessica Horneman, Liberty, junior, defense -- Horneman moves up to the first team after being a second-team choice last season. Horneman led a stingy Liberty defense that kept the Lions in many games until Amy North, Debbi Bourke and company could figure out a way to score. The way Liberty had trouble finishing its scoring chances, it was a good thing Horneman was around to fend off the opposition for long periods of time.
* Laurie Kreseski, North Carroll, senior, forward -- There were times when Kreseski was capable of carrying the Panthers until Amber Bosley and Jill Ballard got untracked. Kreseski was very quick to the ball and made teams pay if they ignored her too much to concentrate on Bosley and Ballard.
* Amy Layman, Francis Scott Key, senior, defense -- On a team known for its flashy offense and speed, Layman was a pillar of strength in front of a sometimes-beleaguered goalkeeper Missy Muller. Layman was also easy to coach and became a team leader, said coach Mindi Wagner.
She is one of six players to move up to first team from the second team last year.
* Megan Magee, Westminster, junior, midfield -- When the Owls took over a game with as crisp a passing game as any team around, Magee was in the middle of it all, doing all the right things. She improved tremendously from her sophomore season and was a very unselfish player. There were a lot of times when Magee had high-percentage shots but gave up the ball to her forwards.
* Kristy Matthai, Westminster, senior, forward -- It figures that Matthai would lead the county in scoring (17 goals, four assists) because she was probably one of the top finishers in the metro area. If she got the ball in the circle, it was almost automatic that Matthai would score. In all, it was a dream season for Matthai, who overcame anorexia in the 10th grade to continue her field hockey career.
* Jaime Moyer, South Carroll, senior, goalkeeper -- It may be a long time before any player in Carroll County, or any other county for that matter, duplicates what Moyer did in her first field hockey season. She simply got better with each game and even shut out North Carroll with 19 saves. With those kind of credentials, Moyer was able to zoom straight to first-team honors in a county that traditionally produces top-notch goaltenders.
* Amy North, Liberty, senior, forward -- On a team that didn't score a lot of goals, North was a runaway scoring leader with 10 goals and two assists. Almost all of North's goals were important and played a major role in Liberty's stretch drive of 10 wins in its last 12 games. North scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over South Carroll and had both goals in a 2-1 overtime victory over North Carroll.
* Laurie Ryer, Francis Scott Key, senior, defense -- If Ryer had not played most of her field hockey career in the shadow of Stacey Greene and on defense, there is no telling what kind of honors she would have taken home. Ryer's speed and tenacity have halted many promising scoring opportunities for the opposition. She even managed to frustrate high-scoring Pocomoke at times in the state 1A semifinals (3-0 defeat for Key) with her never-say-die attitude. Ryer took a hit in the face with a stick and kept on playing.
1994 ALL-CARROLL COUNTY FIELD HOCKEY
Player of the Year: Stacey Greene, F. Scott Key
Co-Coaches of the Year: Stacy Stem, So. Carroll, Courtney Vaughn, Liberty
First team
Name ... ... ... ... School ... ... Year .... ... Position
Jill Ballard ... .. North Carroll ... Senior .. Midfield
Amber Bosley ... .. North Carroll ... Senior .. Forward
Debbi Bourke ... .. Liberty ... ... .. Senior .. Midfield
Ann Brennan ... .. Westminster ... ... Junior .. Forward
Nikki Cornell ... Westminster ... ... Junior .. Defense
Stacey Greene .. F. Scott Key ... ... Junior .. Forward
Jessica Horneman .. Liberty ... ... .. Junior .. Defense
Laurie Kreseski .. North Carroll .. .. Senior .. Forward
Amy Layman .. .. F. Scott Key .. .. .. Senior .. Defense
Megan Magee .. Westminster ... ... .. Junior .. Midfield
Kristy Matthai .. Westminster .. .... Senior .. Forward
Jaime Moyer .. .. South Carroll .. .. Senior .. Goalkeeper
Amy North .. .. Liberty .. .. .. ... Senior .. Forward
Laurie Ryer .. F. Scott Key ... ... Senior .. Defense
Second team
Name ... ... ... ...School ... ... ... Year ... ... Position
Heather Carter ... Liberty ... ... ... Junior ... Goalkeeper
Jen Gallagher ... F. Scott Key ... ... Senior ... Defense
April Hall ... .. South Carroll ... .. Senior ... Forward
Carrie Herb ... Westminster ... .. .. Senior ... Forward
Laura Kenney ... North Carroll ... .. Senior ... Forward
Netia Little .. Westminster ... ... Senior ... Defense
Jen Medura ... Westminster ... ... Junior ... Forward
Ashley Meehan .. Liberty ... ... Sophomore ... Defense
Beth Moore ... North Carroll ... Senior ... Midfield
Missy Muller ... F. Scott Key .. Senior .. Goalkeeper
Mary Ann Oldani .. North Carroll .. Senior Defense
Katie Rockwell .. South Carroll ... Senior .. Midfield
Jessica Sutherland .. F. Scott Key .. Senior .. Midfield
Holly Talbert .. F. Scott Key .. ... Senior .. Forward
Honorable mention: Andrea Kirby, Becky Towns, Westminster; Becky Bosley, Jen Richards, Rachel Hare, North Carroll; Robin Day, Jen McDaniel, Francis Scott Key; Danielle Gray, Cindy Collins, Kelly Grammes, Liberty; Carli Benham, South Carroll.
PICKING THE TEAMS
The Baltimore Sun 1994 All-Carroll County volleyball and field hockey teams, were selecte by Glen P. Graham and Bill Free, respectively, after consultation with staff and county coaches.