Crossover full of surprises

The girls soccer teams from Downsville and Davenport are the featured guests as the two will meet for the second time this season in the crossover championship at 3:15 p.m.

"If you told me at the beginning of the season that we'd be 15-1-1, I would have been surprised," said Davenport coach Ray Preston, whose team went 9-0-1 in the Delaware League to win the Upper Delaware Division, despite graduating top scorer and 2005 Daily Star First Team All-Star Courtney Adam this past June. "Both of us have kids who have been able to step up."

Graduation thumped reigning Delaware League champion Downsville particularly hard as the Eagles lost 2005 Daily Star co-Players of the Year Courtney Hoyt and Alexa Henderson following their 24-0 Class D state championship season. Downsville, also 15-1-1 overall, still managed to go 8-1-1 in league play to clinch the Delaware Mountain Division.

"I think that shows the great programs we have," said Burt Reed, the 2005 Daily Star Coach of the Year whose team dropped a 2-1 decision to Davenport on Sept. 14. "(Preston) seems to be in there every year. He's doing something right."

Preston's best move may have been sliding senior Nicole Frank from center-midfield to sweeper this year. In addition to anchoring a defense that protects a goalie to be announced at the moment, Frank is second in team scoring with 14 goals and six assists. Last season, Frank had nine goals and five assists.

"I'm really proud of what our defense has done so far," said Preston, whose backfield also features sophomores Lauren Ryder at stopper and another converted midfielder, Stephanie Adam. "They've hung in there a lot and haven't given up a lot of goals. I've always been a defensive coach and have always tried to protect the goal first."

Another sophomore, Chelsea Haight, already has surpassed the 2005 team-best points total of speed-demon Courtney Adam. She finished her senior season with 59 points (24 goals, 11 assists). Haight enters Saturday's league championship with 62 points, on 26 goals and 10 assists. Haight quietly amassed the Wildcats' second-best points total (34) as a freshman last fall.

Still, Davenport may have to work extra hard Saturday to contain a Downsville team that has matured offensively since a 2-1 setback to the Wildcats on Sept. 15.

"I need a calculator," Reed joked when adding up the 37 goals and seven assists for junior forward Stephanie Shellman. While she poses no threat to catching the 2005 assist totals of Henderson (33) and Hoyt (29), Shellman is 10 goals shy of matching's Henderson's area-best 47 last fall. Additionally, Shellman already has passed Hoyt's 35 goals as a senior.

"She's starting to find herself in the right spots," Reed said of Shellman, who has 23 goals in her last six games and doubles in the fall as one of the area's top cross-country runners. "The other players are starting to find her and lead her better. It's just one of those things that took time to click offensively."

Complementing Shellman, who had eight goals and eight assists last season, is junior forward Macy Davis. She has 24 goals and 14 assists, a year after finishing with 14 and eight, respectively. Reed said Davis keyed the Eagles' early season success.

"We won games with just pure Macy," Reed said. "She did outstanding things by herself. ... In the beginning, it was all just Macy and Steph. Last year, a lot of coaches said they were a younger version of Courtney and Alexa. I wasn't sure if they were ready to take that step, but they have shown me a lot and have taken over as the offensive leaders."

Downsville, which beat Margaretville, 6-0, in the 2005 DL final, has the edge in goal with returning Daily Star First Team All-Star keeper Monica Nuzzo back for her senior season. Nuzzo's known for her aggressiveness, but at times, that same spirit can leave Downsville's goal exposed.

"Our defenders know they don't have to play perfect," Reed said, "but they have to limit the opportunities."

Davenport could be without regular goalie Brittany Westcott for the third straight game. Preston said he was unsure if Westcott would be back from a neck injury she suffered during a 3-1 win over visiting Jefferson on Oct. 10. That should put the pressure on back-up Sam Meyerhoff, a freshman who scored four goals as an eighth-grader.

Westcott's absence also forces Davenport to take away a piece of its offense. Meyerhoff scored in the Wildcats' Sept. 14 triumph, which snapped Downsville's 28-game winning streak. Haight had a goal and an assist in the win, and Westcott made seven saves.

"They're a very athletic team," Reed said. "Chelsea Haight, she's a gamebreaker like Courtney Adam was."

Shellman scored Downsville's goal off a pass from Davis, and Nuzzo stopped six shots.

"The first game was up-and-down and could have gone either way," Preston said. "We happened to get the goal, but that was a long time ago. I'm sure both teams have improved since."

Saturday's final is part of a championship quadrupleheader at the WNSC featuring the boys and girls finalists from the Delaware and Tri-Valley leagues. The first game is the T-V girls championship between Milford and Edmeston at 1 p.m. Admission to all four games costs $5.

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Dean Russin can be reached at drussin@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 215.