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Wednesday, April 3, 2002 DeLand senior tops areaBy BOB POCKRASS | News-Journal Staff Writer DELAND — The biggest complaint, if it really can be classified as a complaint, that DeLand girls soccer coach Allen Mandell has about Rachel Ross is that she doesn't know how good a scorer she really is. Too many times, Mandell saw her pass the ball instead of go to goal. Ross changed that most of the time this season, but she still is a little bit naive about her talents. For instance: Do you know how many goals you scored this year, Rachel? "Nope. I really don't know." Assists? "Nope." What do you think of opponents watching you during pregame warmups to know who to focus on? "People do that? They don't do that, do they?" Explain the game-winning goal against Seabreeze. "To be honest, I could not tell you anything about that Seabreeze goal until after I watched it on TV." Do you like the role as the leading scorer? "I don't really think about it. It's fun to be able to make an impact, but I don't look at myself as a leading scorer." Okay, so maybe she doesn't realize how good she is. But Rachel Ross is as good as they come in Volusia County. Her 24 goals and 11 assists in leading DeLand to a 21-2-1 record have earned her News-Journal Player of the Year honors. "Her willingness to really attack the goal has really increased this season," Mandell said. "Before, she would get in striking distance and pass it off. She wouldn't take the chances, to the point where it has driven me nuts. "She could have scored more. Now she has developed a nose for the goal." Ross had scored only three goals before Sarah Stock went down in the 11th game of the season. Ross scored 21 goals in the next 14 games, going scoreless in only two of them. She bucked her trend of passing off the ball and flourished as a lethal scorer for the Five Star conference champion Bulldogs. "Naturally, when I have the ball, the first thing I do look to is to pass," Ross said. "I don't know if that's very good, seeing that I'm a forward. "For me, I have to focus on going to the goal." Ross loves her role as a goal scorer — she thinks defense would be too much pressure — but doesn't think that it makes her a special part of the team. "Many of the goals are the result of someone else working her tail off so you can tap it in," she said. But there can be times where everyone on the team works hard and the forward then kicks the ball wide, high or right at the goalie. "She has a combination of different abilities," Mandell said. "She's fast, strong, two-footed, excellent vision and an excellent first touch. "What makes her stand out so much is she's an all-around player." Like most DeLand players, Ross would trade all her individual awards for a state championship. The Bulldogs, ranked first or second in the state much of the season and whose only loss during the regular season came in the Akers Classic in a post-overtime shootout, lost to Lake Brantley in overtime in the district semifinals. Lake Mary, the district champs, won the Class 6A state title. Ross went to that game, but she spent the last five minutes underneath the stadium not able to watch. "That was disappointing, but I still loved every second that I played," said Ross, who helped lead the team to the state finals last year. Ross began playing soccer in sixth grade ... reluctantly. "I didn't want to play soccer — my dad signed me up to play without telling me," she said. "I was so upset for three days. "I should probably tell him, `Thank you' now." HICI Special Report — Team Sports: Getting a Kick out of Soccer |
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