COACH OF THE YEAR
* Nancy Ferguson, Fallston -- The 10-year coach hit it right on the button before last season when she said 1994 could be the Cougars' year. Last season, they made their first state playoff appearance and lost to eventual state champ Loch Raven in the semifinals. That experience plus having just about everyone back put them over the top this season. "The key was we wanted to get back and weren't happy with the way we played in states last year," Ferguson said. "We lost only one senior, knew we'd have to adjust some positions but thought it would be a strong year." Ferguson, who also coaches the girls basketball and lacrosse teams at Fallston, has taken all three programs to state tournaments, with this year's girls soccer team the first to come home with a title. "Winning states is always a goal, but to have it realized is something entirely different -- it was a fantastic year," she said. In going 17-0 to capture the Class 1A-2A state crown -- the first ever in Harford County -- the Cougars outscored their opponents a combined 102-8. They accomplished the feat starting just two seniors with five juniors and four sophomores. Ferguson inserted junior Emily Weibel in goal at the start of the season when senior Suzy Harrison went down with a back injury. Weibel flourished with 12
shutouts and 102 saves in 17 games. * Laurie Schwoy, McDonogh -- The junior is simply in a class by herself. Her 69 goals and 23 assists would make for a great four-year career. Schwoy put up those numbers this season alone, boosting her career totals to 146 goals and 58 assists. The Catholic League's repeat Player of the Year led the metro area's top-ranked Eagles to a 21-0-2 season and extended their unbeaten string to 40-0-2 dating back to November 1992. Every opposing team knew all about Schwoy going in and each tried different ways of shutting her down, but none found a way. She constantly beats double- and triple-teams with a combination of great speed and gifted ball-handling skills. Schwoy's game consists of finesse and tenacity and when she sees an opening, she can find a corner of a goal from just about anywhere. That's only the start of what Schwoy can do on a soccer field. The attention she draws from would-be defenders opens up plenty of opportunities for her teammates, and she also has a knack of finding them with sharp one-touch passes. She is a member of the under-16 Olympic Developmental National Team and tagged Olympic-caliber player" by the team's coach, Carlos Juarez. * Julie Baker, McDonogh, jr., midfield -- A North Carroll transfer, Baker fit right into the talented McDonogh lineup and turned out to be a team catalyst at midfield. She finished the season with nine goals and 12 assists and produced a number of different ways throughout the season. A scrappy player who also possesses a great deal of finesse, Baker sees the entire field and distributes accordingly, has a dangerous long throw and wins a lot of balls in the air. She goes to the ball hard and challenges defensively very well.
* Beth Blasi, Fallston, jr., forward -- The Harford Player of the Year saved some of her best for last with two solid efforts in leading the Cougars to the Class 1A-2A state title. In their 3-2 win against Liberty in the semis, she assisted on the first goal, scored the second and got things started on the third. In the 3-1 win against Oakland Mills to give the Cougars the state crown, Blasi scored the all-important first goal. Her 18 goals and 13 assists this season show she can do it all offensively. She has two-year totals of 37 goals and 20 assists.
* Michelle Clare, Centennial, jr., forward -- A natural scorer and clutch performer in the Eagles' undefeated Class 3A-4A state championship season, Clare finished the season with 22 goals and eight assists to lead Howard County. Clare, who earned second-team All-Metro status as a sophomore, does a great job moving without the ball and knows what to do when she gets it. She came on particularly strong late in the season with overtime goals against Wilde Lake and Oakland Mills before scoring seven times in the playoffs to go with two assists.
* Michelle Clawson, Liberty, jr., defense -- Whatever the Lions needed in their state playoff run, Clawson seemed to find a way to get it done. At 5 feet 7, she owned the middle of the field with the ability to go left, right and strong in the air. She also made plenty of things happen offensively with a potent long throw, dangerous through balls and big goals. Clawson finished the season with three goals and five assists, including the only goal in the Lions' 1-0 win over rival South Carroll.
* Amber Clutter, South Carroll, sr., forward -- A two-time Carroll Player of the Year and second-team All-Metro choice last year, Clutter closed out the most heralded girls soccer career in the county's history with 17 goals and nine assists this season. She set county marks in scoring for a career with 70 goals and 26 assists and brought much more to the field than those impressive numbers. Her mere presence brought on constant double-teams, but Clutter still found a way to collect a ball and get it where it needed to be.
* Kara Cristaldi, McDonogh, sr., defense -- The senior dealt with a serious knee injury and changing positions this season and overcame it all to close out a stellar high school career. A converted midfielder who was a second-team All-Metro choice in 1993, Cristaldi moved to sweeper this season and looked like she played back there all her life. She played a major role in the top-ranked Eagles' 21-0-2 season that featured 13 shutouts. Moving back to defense didn't stop her from being a constant offensive threat as she finished the season with five goals and 19 assists. Cristaldi finished her career with 22 goals and 48 assists.
* Ginny Dye, Oakland Mills, jr., forward -- A crafty and relentless worker up front, Dye was the go-to player for the Scorpions all season long, finishing with 17 goals and 12 assists -- second in Howard County. She was in on more than half of the Scorpions' 48 goals. Few players came up with bigger goals in postseason play than Dye, who scored six of the team's 10 playoff goals to help carry it to the state Class 1A-2A title game. Two of the biggest came in 1-0 wins over Wilde Lake (region playoffs) and Hereford (state semifinals).
* Nicole Froman, Loch Raven, soph., defense -- Only a sophomore, the Raiders' sweeper moves up to the first team after claiming second-team honors as a freshman. Little gets by the 5-9 Froman, who has all the tools needed in a quality sweeper. She has great speed, works the ball well out of the back and is solid in the air. The glue to a defense that recorded 11 shutouts, Froman also made things happen offensively with three goals and 10 assists. Her long throws added another dimension to the Raiders' potent attack.
* Kate MacFarlane, Hereford, soph., goalie -- A natural in goal, MacFarlane was the single biggest reason the Bulls reached the state playoffs for the first time ever. She got things started in the opening round of the region playoffs with a 26-save effort in a shootout win over last year's Class 1A-2A state champ Loch Raven, turned back 14 more shots in a win over Catonsville and led the Bulls to a region title with a shutout win over Towson. With her knowledge of the position and agility, MacFarlane does a great job of anticipating the action. Also a very capable field player, she scored seven goals and added five assists during the regular season.
* Jess Marion, South River, jr., forward -- Marion was an easy choice for Anne Arundel County's Player of the Year. Most rival coaches agreed that not only was she the best this season there wasn't anyone even close. She dominated from the beginning, using her speed, strength and tremendous ball skills to score 22 goals and assist on five others. Chosen to the All-State first team, she has 59 career goals with another year to go. She often came through in the clutch, and may be most remembered this year for scoring in overtime to defeat perennial power Severna Park for the county championship.
* Lauren Molinaro, Centennial, soph., midfield -- Molinaro can simply do it all and did just that this season in guiding the Eagles to their third state crown in four years. No other player in the area controls a game at center midfield quite like Molinaro, who got raves from her own coaches along with opposing ones. She has great one-on-one ball skills, the knowledge to know when to distribute and plays hard all the time. She finished the season with 12 goals and six assists, including a goal and an assist in the Eagles' 2-1 win over Perry Hall in the state finals.
* Jessa Phoebus, Perry Hall, jr., midfield -- A talented midfielder with all-around skills, Phoebus was the Gators' field general in their run to the Class 3A-4A state finals. In finishing with nine goals and 16 assists, she did a great job of collecting the ball and knew exactly what to do with it. Phoebus always had opponents guessing with her ability to find open teammates and to score from long range with a precise shot from outside the 18.
* Beth Rappold, Fallston, jr., midfield -- A solid two-way player who complements the players around her, Rappold played center midfield and also saw time at stopper. She did a lot of the things that often go unnoticed and also made the big plays in the Cougars' Class 1A-2A state title season. More of a defensive-minded midfielder, Rappold filled the net to turn back a Liberty shot in the state semifinals with the game scoreless.
* Tania Riismandel, Centennial, jr., defense -- Whenever the Eagles would see any kind of pressure from opposing offenses, Riismandel always had an answer. The junior continually frustrated opponents with a knack for breaking up potential scoring chances before they got started. Her great speed and overall game awareness helped lead the Eagles to four shutouts in their six playoff games that resulted in another Class 3A-4A state title. She came up particularly big in the state finals against a pressing Perry Hall team.
THE TEAMS
A1
Player of the Year: Laurie Schwoy, McDonogh Coach of the Year: Nancy Ferguson, Fallston First team Name .. .. .. .. .. .. School .. .. .. .. Year .. .. .. Position
ABeth Blasi .. .. .. .. Fallston ... .. .. Junior ... .. Forward
Michelle Clare . .. .. Centennial . .. .. Junior ... .. Forward
Amber Clutter .. .. .. South Carroll . .. Senior ... .. Forward
Ginny Dye ... .. .. .. Oakland Mills . .. Junior ... .. Forward
Laurie Schwoy .. .. .. McDonogh ... .. .. Junior ... .. Forward
Jess Marion . .. .. .. South River ... .. Junior ... .. Forward
Julie Baker . .. .. .. McDonogh ... .. .. Junior ... .. Midfield
Lauren Molinaro ... .. Centennial . .. .. Sophomore ... Midfield
Jessa Phoebus .. .. .. Perry Hall . .. .. Junior ... .. Midfield
Beth Rappold ... .. .. Fallston ... .. .. Junior ... .. Midfield
Michelle Clawson .. .. Liberty . .. .. .. Junior ... .. Defense
Kara Cristaldi . .. .. McDonogh ... .. .. Senior ... .. Defense
Nicole Froman .. .. .. Loch Raven . .. .. Sophomore ... Defense
Tania Riismandel .. .. Centennial . .. .. Junior ... .. Defense
Kate MacFarlane ... .. Hereford ... .. .. Sophomore ... Goalie
Second team Name .. .. .. .. .. .. School .. .. .. .. Year .. .. .. Position
AErin Hon . .. .. .. .. St. Mary's . .. .. Junior ... .. Forward
Courtney Benner .. .. Fallston ... .. .. Junior ... .. Forward
Robyn Harry . .. .. .. Loch Raven . .. .. Senior ... .. Forward
Melissa Wagner . .. .. Chesapeake-AA . .. Senior ... .. Forward
Ali Schuch .. .. .. .. Dulaney . .. .. .. Junior ... .. Forward
Shanna Ziegenfuss . .. Liberty . .. .. .. Sophomore ... Forward
VTC Kristen Riismandel ... Wilde Lake . .. .. Senior ... .. Midfield
Stephanie Van Deusen . Atholton ... .. .. Senior ... .. Midfield
Shara Boonshaft ... .. Centennial . .. .. Senior ... .. Defense
Jen Cook . .. .. .. .. Fallston ... .. .. Sophomore ... Defense
Katie Douglas .. .. .. Wilde Lake . .. .. Senior ... .. Defense
Denise King . .. .. .. Old Mill ... .. .. Senior ... .. Defense
Miranda James .. .. .. C. Milton Wright . Junior ... .. Defense
Kristen McLewee ... .. Dulaney . .. .. .. Junior ... .. Defense
Rima Sidhu .. .. .. .. Centennial . .. .. Junior ... .. Goalie
PICKING THE TEAMS
The Baltimore Sun 1994 All-Metro girls soccer teams were selected by the local sports staff after consultation with area coaches. The capsules and chart were compiled by Glenn. P. Graham.