Still kicking

By John Veasey
Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT July 24, 2008 12:08 am

— East Fairmont High School’s first-ever all-state soccer player will continue his career with the Davis & Elkins Senators this fall.
Vince Roman, who won North Central Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors last year and set a new school scoring record despite missing a season with a broken leg, has accepted a scholarship to play soccer at the school. He plans to major in biology.
East Fairmont soccer coach Jim Pearcy is very pleased for Roman.
“The past two years he has been a phenomenal player,” he said. “He was a superb player. As a senior he was one of the top six players in the state. And he was the NCAC Player of the Year.”
Pearcy said all the NCAC coaches knew him and they feared him.
“He was well known around the state,” he said. “He’s still on the travel teams playing in an adult league in Morgantown. He was well revered and definitely feared. He could make a play out of nothing.”
Roman scored 34 goals for the Bees as a senior — which was a new school record. He also had 13 assists. “He’s the first player I’ve had who had gone on to continue soccer in college,” Pearcy said.
Roman’s 75 career goals is also a school record.
“We’re very proud of Mr. Roman. He definitely brings light to the East Side of the river. We’ve struggled in the past against the competition of the Polar Bears but we’re getting better.”
D & E coach Mark Stollsteimer is extremely pleased to have Roman entering his program.
“I’m really excited about having Vincent in our men’s soccer program,” he said.
“We graduated a couple forwards and we hope Vincent can come in and produce the way he did at the high school level. He did exceptionally well at East Fairmont and we’re hoping he can continue that at the college level.”
Stollsteimer said that Vincent “has a lot of good things going for him. Great speed, a good knack at goal, he knows how to finish and he has good technical ball control.”
He said speed was extremely important in a soccer player.
“The quicker the high school boys adapt to the college level, the quicker he will get out on the field and get some playing time,” the D & E coach said.
Stollsteimer said that D & E is attempting to return to the high level of competition the school once had. The Senators won a couple of national championships back in the 1960s and 70s but after a long down period, the team is on the upswing.
“We put in a new scholarship program which allowed me to help a few kids,” he said. “We won the West Virginia Conference championship last year and hopefully can defend that championship this year and earn a berth in the NCAA playoffs.
“We’re trying to bring in some local kids and West Virginia kids. We hope to have four or five West Virginia kids entering our program this year.”
Vincent is the son of Fred and Debbie Roman.
Pearcy said that Roman has been used as an example of what one needs to do to get better.
“He has the dedication the other kids need to follow,” Pearcy said. “We have a few more coming up behind him who are just as serious. The dedication on the East Side has just started to kick in.
“Vince kind of led the charge and we are now able to compete against some of the better teams. We haven’t always been as serious about the sport as we should have been. At East Side, we’re about the team and not the individual.”
Roman missed his sophomore season, suffering a broken leg and having to undergo considerable rehab, but he remained an active member of the team even though he wasn’t playing.
He made honorable mention all-state as a junior and first team as a senior.
Fred Roman said his son started playing soccer at the age of six.
“He played club soccer since he was 10 and was on a travel team, West Virginia United. He’s pretty versed in the sport,” he said.
Roman started as a freshman at East Fairmont, playing with the Hamrick twins who also played football for the Bees. He was a freshman who went right into the mix while the Hamrick were both seniors.
“It about killed him to sit out as a sophomore,” Roman said. Fred Roman is an assistant soccer coach at East Fairmont.
“He kept our (score) book and was at every practice. Even though he wasn’t on the field, he was definitely in the mix.”
E-mail John Veasey at jveasey@timeswv.com.

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