Playing Soccer

In terms of physical age, Centennial center Matt Laycock is young. The junior turns 17 tomorrow.But calculate his age in terms of sports and travel experience, and the bottom line is an athlete who is not afraid to compete with the most seasoned of athletes."

Archbishop Spalding goalkeeper Cassidy Babin, a second-team All-Metro selection last year, has made a commitment to play soccer at Massachusetts. In her second season starting this fall, Babin is 6-3-3 with five shutouts, 54 saves and seven goals allowed for the No. 4 Cavaliers.

McDonogh's Marissa Schuchat tried just about every sport as a youngster, but she found herself drawn to soccer for an unusual reason -- she wasn't any good at it.Eagles teammate Lauren Paul can vouch for that. In the fourth grade, Paul played on a travel team with Schuchat."She was horrible in fourth grade," said Paul with a laugh. "Then I hadn't seen her for four years and we get to tryouts in ninth grade and she's amazing."Schuchat, a versatile All-Metro senior for the No. 2 Eagles, was initially drawn to the challenge more than the sport.

D.C. United acquired forward Adam Cristman from the Kansas City Wizards for one of its 2010-2011 international roster spots. Cristman, who starred at Virginia, played in five games last season before suffering a fractured metatarsal that required surgery. Baseball: The Milwaukee Brewers claimed right-hander Marco Estrada off waivers from the Washington Nationals. Estrada, 26, was 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA last season. Pro basketball: The Maryland Marvels defeated the Tri-City Suns on Sunday behind 27 points from Eric Bigby , 26 from Curtis Massey (Bowie State)

ERNESTO MOLFINO M.D., 64 Retired General Surgeon, Avid Rec League Soccer Player Ernesto Molfino M.D. died Sunday of a heart attack while playing soccer, his favorite pastime and lifelong passion. Born in Lima, Peru, he came to the U.S. to become a surgeon and practiced in Baltimore for 31 years. Loved and respected by many, he selflessly dedicated his life to others. A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday June 23, 2007 from 10 am - 1 pm in the Tiffany Room at Turf Valley Country Club, 2700 Turf Valley Rd , Ellicott City, MD 21042.

Student achiever: Adom Crew, 17. School: River Hill High School. Special achievement: A perfect grade point-average. What he says about it: "It's been tough. It's been a lot of time management, especially with playing soccer [as well]. When I get home, I have to budget my time, know exactly how much homework I have and how long it will take." What else he does with his time: Peer mediation. "Usually the compromise is to stay away from each other. It works -- it gives them a chance to sort things out."

C. Milton Wright sophomore Molly Stryker was a member of last season's Class 4A state championship team and is the starting sweeper for the Mustangs, who are 7-2-1. Stryker is 5 feet 9, and coach Paul Austin said, "You can't miss her in the back. She shows very good judgment. She knows when to attack the ball and when she has to slide. For a sophomore, she has very good maturity." How did you develop a knack for knowing when to slide and when to attack on defense? I've been playing soccer all my life.

Chris Brewington, Howard Sport Indoor track BOYS STATS -- The junior standout has picked up where he left off last season, when he claimed the Class 2A-1A state crown in the 300 and earned second-team All-Metro honors. This season, he has been clocked at 36.05 seconds in the 300 and also recently anchored the Lions' winning 800 relay, which finished with a time of 1 minute, 33.6 seconds -- faster than the state record the team set last season. SIDELINES -- After playing soccer in his first two years of high school, Brewington went out for the football team in the fall and saw time at running back, split end and safety, while also handling the kicking chores.

Robert Hollasch, Liberty SPORT BASEBALL BOYS STATS -- A gap hitter, Hollasch batted .391 last season with a .435 on-base percentage, scoring 13 runs and driving in nine. His efforts helped him earn first-team All-County and All-Piedmont Conference honors. SIDELINES -- Though his main sport used to be baseball, the senior made his mark as one of the county's top soccer goalies in the fall, earning second-team All-County recognition and leading the Lions to a Class 2A state title. He now trains for soccer most of the year and hopes to continue that sport in college, most likely at either McDaniel College or York College.

Days until opening ceremonies: 31.Peay's priorities: U.S. defender Clint Peay (Oakland Mills) says he's thrilled to be playing soccer in the Olympics but has a greater goal in mind. "You still think of the World Cup as the ultimate goal," said Peay, who plays for D.C. United in Major League Soccer. "I think, in general, the Olympics is the ultimate goal for many. But as a soccer player, the World Cup is the best."Sail representatives: St. Mary's College sophomore Rodrigo Amado of Rio De Janeiro will represent Brazil in the two-man 470 class, and St. Mary's junior Paul Stoeken will represent the Virgin Islands in boardsailing.

Calvert Hall forward Pete Caringi III has signed a national letter of intent to play men's soccer at UMBC, where his father is the coach. The younger Caringi was a first-team All-Metro player after scoring 15 goals this fall, the second straight season he led the team in scoring. In other news, forward Nirav Kadam , who played at Northwest in Germantown and at UNC-Greensboro, signed a grant-in-aid and will matriculate at UMBC this spring; he'll have two years of eligibility.

Former Loyola soccer player Sarra Moller , now a Greyhounds assistant coach, has signed a contract to play for Kvarnsvedens IK, a professional women's soccer team in Sweden. Moller is the first Loyola women's soccer player to play professionally overseas. Moller concluded her college playing career in 2008 by earning All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference first-team honors for the fourth consecutive year. She was the conference's Defensive Player of the Year during her freshman and senior seasons.

Let's talk about soccer. No, stay with me here. The whole column's only 750 words. How painful can it be? I write about the game today because this is an exciting time for soccer fans in Baltimore. For one thing, we're coming off the big Confederations Cup final between the U.S and Brazil, which the Brazilians won, 3-2, for a very simple reason: They cheated. No, I'm kidding. The Brazilians won because they're terrific players and outworked the Americans in the second half. It's that simple.

A three-season goalie, Aimee Chotikul helped the Saints' boys soccer team win the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference title last fall. She is also the goalie for the girls indoor soccer and lacrosse teams. Chotikul, 17, has a 3.4 grade-point average and will play lacrosse at Rutgers next year. Involved in many clubs, including the culinary club, the choir and the National Honor Society, she also plays bass guitar and is in the chorus of the spring musical, Crazy for You. What was the first sport you played?

A forward-midfielder for Maryvale's soccer team, Sophia Thomas plays a key role in a pivotal season for the Lions, who moved up to the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference after winning the B Conference tournament last season. Thomas, an IAAM All-Star in soccer and lacrosse, has committed orally to play at lacrosse at Georgetown next year after also considering Maryland and Virginia Tech. She plays club lacrosse for TLC. Interested in math and science, she is considering a career in forensic science and has a 3.65 grade point average.

Brittany Dashiell has learned a lot while playing sports at John Carroll. She played on the varsity soccer team that won the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference title in the fall of 2005, and she also was on the lacrosse team that captured the conference championship last spring. But her most recent title might have been the most satisfying. Dashiell, who's been playing soccer and lacrosse since she was 5, scored three goals to help John Carroll win the A Conference indoor soccer title recently.

Football fans are looking for someone to blame for the criminal element in their sport, and they have settled on us -- soccer moms. If we minivan mothers would let our precious little honor-roll babies play football, the theory goes, the National Football League might not be left with nothing but thugs to choose from. If we didn't freak out every time a player was carted off the field in a neck brace, professional teams might not have to hire those burly nannies to keep their star players out of drug busts and bar fights.

Soccer was Julie Kickham's life."It was everything to me," said the Mount Hebron senior.Kickham started playing soccer in fourth grade. She loved the game and played it well.Lacrosse?Never gave it a thought.Until, that is, when neighbor and friend Amy Fine told her about the summer lacrosse camp at Mount Hebron."I had never played before," said Kickham. "She told me to give it a shot and I did and it worked out pretty well."You could say that.Kickham attended the camp two months before her freshman year.

Samantha Novy has helped the Severna Park girls soccer team to three consecutive Anne Arundel County championships and is looking for a state title. Novy scored the winning goal a week ago as the No. 4 Falcons edged No. 12 Arundel, 2-1, for their third straight title and ninth overall in the 14 years of the championship game. The four-year varsity player's game-winner, in the 69th minute, gave the Falcons (13-2 overall, 12-0 county) a 2-0 lead. A midfielder who was second-team All-County last year, Novy has a 3.5 grade-point average and hopes to play in college.

Along ball came in from midfield and Jimmy Becker scored on a diving header. As it turned out, one of Becker's prettiest goals over his four years at Chapelgate Christian was also his biggest. It came in the team's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference championship game during his sophomore year against Beth Tfiloh. He scored with 30 minutes left to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead that would stand. Chapelgate successfully defended its title last year, and with an 8-0 league mark this season, the Yellowjackets appear primed for a run at three in a row. Becker, who started playing soccer when he was 4, is the team's leading scorer, with 15 goals and 10 assists.