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| Leesburg Memorial Field at Hubert O. Dabney Stadium, Home of the Jackets |
March 6, 2002|By Joe Williams, Sentinel Staff Writer
LEESBURG -- Leesburg Coach Jason Gray hopes goalkeeper Greg Fielder becomes a trendsetter for the Yellow Jackets' boys soccer program.
Fielder,
18, became the first player to sign with a college since Gray became
Leesburg's coach four years ago. Fielder signed Monday with Bluefield
College, an NAIA Division II school in Virginia with about 1,000
students.
Though there have been other Leesburg players who have played college soccer, they made their teams as walk-ons.
"This is really big for our program,'' Gray said. "This is the first time we have had anybody sign with a college.''
Fielder,
who was named to the Lake Sentinel's all-county first-team this season,
emerged as one of the steadiest keepers in the area, despite a 2.42
goals-allowed average, which was primarily the result of an
inexperienced defense. He entered this season with a 0.80 goal-allowed
average.
Fielder, who is 6-foot-3, used his size and range to his advantage in the goal.
It was Fielder who Gray put in charge of directing the defense on the field.
"He
has always been there for me,'' Gray said. "We were really young back
there [in defense] but he really took charge back there.''
Bluefield Coach Jeremy Schwartz, who is entering his second season with the Rams,
drove to Leesburg to meet with Gray about Fielder and left with a
couple of game tapes to study. He invited Fielder up for a visit and
Fielder liked what he saw.
He got to meet the players, played in an indoor tournament with some of the team, and visited with Schwarz.
"I'm
very happy for him,'' said Karen Fielder, Greg's mother. "He is a very
hard, dedicated worker and more than anything else, I am glad to see him
further his education.''
Finding a keeper was one of the major needs for the Rams, who are losing their only other keeper, Greg Andrews, to graduation.
"They
told me it [the starting spot] is going to be mine to lose,'' Fielder
said. "It is going to be exciting to play. I liked everything up there.
It's a nice place.''
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