Littlefield heading to U.Va.
“Why don’t I try and use soccer to get into a better school, one that is proven?” said Littlefield, who as a sophomore at Coastal Carolina was all-Big South after totaling 16 goals and three assists for a team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament
Deciding it was worth pursuing, Littlefield checked with other Division I men’s soccer programs before choosing to transfer to the University of Virginia, winners of five national championships in men’s soccer. The sophomore will finish up this semester at Coastal and then enroll in Virginia for the fall.
“It came down to my wanting to go to Virginia since I was little, their soccer tradition, the environment and it’s my home university,” said Littlefield, who also looked at Duke and the University of North Carolina.
Littlefield, who carries a 3.5 grade point average, was also looking for a school that could increase his chances of getting into medical school. That is if his first career choice, pro soccer, doesn’t work out.
“The exposure you can get with Virginia and playing in the ACC for pro teams is a lot greater than at Coastal Carolina,” Littlefield said.
Littlefield wasn’t recruited by Virginia out of high school, but he started to think he could play at that level after his banner sophomore season in 2002. Coastal Carolina released him from his scholarship, but not after head men’s soccer coach Shaun Docking hoped to persuade his star player to stay.
Docking offered to give him a full scholarship for his final two seasons, but Littlefield was intent on transferring.
“In the end, he told me he wouldn’t stop me. That was a big weight off of me,” Littlefield said. “I’m glad he didn’t stop me and gave me my release. I appreciated it.”
In going to Virginia, Littlefield heads to a team that will need new faces up front. The Cavaliers’ top two scorers from last season are gone: national player of the year Alecko Eskandarian (25 goals) was the No. 1 overall pick in Major League Soccer’s SuperDraft and Ryan Gibbs (eight goals) was a senior.
The Cavaliers finished 15-7 after losing to William & Mary 3-2 in a shootout in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
WRESTLING
Seth Cameron (Stonewall Jackson ྟ) has qualified for his third straight NCAA Division I Tournament. The James Madison University senior advanced as a wild card for the second consecutive season to the tournament, which is March 20-22 in Kansas City.
Cameron, who is 0-4 in his three trips to the NCAA Tournament, finished second last weekend at 174 pounds at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships at Hofstra University.
After wrestling most of his college career at 165 pounds, Cameron moved up 10 pounds in late January. Although he had only 10 matches at that weight, Cameron still posted a 5-2 CAA dual record.
Also heading to Kansas City as a wild card is Virginia’s Tim Foley (Brooke Point ྟ). Foley lost in the third-place final at 157 pounds at the MAT JAM/Atlantic Coast Conference Championships at Appalachian State University.
BASKETBALL
Tamika Dudley (Woodbridge ྟ) has been named to the all-Northeast Conference team for a school-record third time. Dudley led Long Island University in scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounds (9.3 rpg). At last weekend’s conference tournament, Dudley had 23 points in the Blackbirds’ 51-48 quarterfinal win over Sacred Heart Saturday and then had 22 points and 18 rebounds Sunday in the team’s 59-53 semifinal loss to top-seeded St. Francis.
BASEBALL
William & Mary sophomore Jeff Dagenhart (Osbourn Park ༽) improved to 4-0 Saturday when he struck out seven and allowed three hits and no earned runs over eight innings in an 11-1 win over Columbia.
Dagenhart has a 2.94 earned run average, 29 strikeouts and 12 walks in 33.2 innings.
Jose Pabon (Potomac ྟ) went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBI as Virginia Commonwealth University won its 13th straight game Wednesday with an 8-3 win at Maryland. Teammate Danny Lopaze (Potomac ྟ) scored two runs.
The Rams (15-3) face a big test this weekend when they meet cross-town rival Richmond (11-1), which is ranked No. 12 in the country.
TRACK
Donny Fowler (Woodbridge ྟ) earned all-East honors at the IC4A Championships last weekend in Boston. Fowler was a member of Duke’s 3,200-meter relay team that placed third with a school-record time of 7:30.17.
David Fawcett’s They’re In College Now column appears Fridays in the Potomac News & Manassas Journal Messenger. Reach him at [email protected] or at (703) 878-8052