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Friday, March 27, 1998

Young does it all and gets her teammates involved

By RICHARD DEAN Houston Chronicle

HOUSTON - Bonnie Young of Klein stands out on a soccer field. And not just because of her physical presence.

At 5-10, Young is taller than most high school players - and also more advanced in her skills.

One of the area's top scorers, Young is definitely coach Kit Miller's leader on the field and a player the younger Bearkats try to emulate.

"She's like a magnet," said Miller. "She attracts the younger players to her as well. They follow her around like ducks. They all want to be in her (practice) group.

"And they know when they're playing on the field with her, she will feed them. She will pass them the ball."

The 1997 Chronicle Girls Player of the Year for the Houston area, Young and Klein are having another stellar season in 1998. The Bearkats (22-2-1) beat Klein Oak 5-1 on Friday in the sectional round of the playoffs to set up today's 7 p.m. game with Elkins at Klein High School.

With players like Kristin Lindsay, Nicole Horn and Jessica Stamp, along with goalkeepers Lauren Mason and Ashley Lindley, Klein has one of the area's top teams. But it's Young, 17, who has signed with Penn State, who makes the Bearkats go.

During the regular season, Young had 27 goals and 23 assists for 77 points as Klein led the area in scoring with an average of 5.4 goals per game.

"She's a very dominant player," said Miller. "They talk about the pillars of soccer, and she has all four of them. She's got the physical size; she's got the maturity. She has tactical knowledge, and she has technical knowledge."

And she likes to spread the wealth.

A big-time scorer, Young's 23 assists attest that she likes to find the open teammate.

"I just like to spread it out," said Young, who began playing soccer at age 4 and also is a member of the Challenge Soccer Club. "And get the ball up front obviously as quickly as possible and work it around and try to get it to people in scoring position.

"We have good forwards so I like to set them up. In the easy games or whatever, I like to make sure everybody gets a chance to score."

Enough players are scoring and contributing that Klein again, along with Kingwood, appear to be the teams to beat in the region. Last year, Klein lost to Plano in the semifinals of the state tournament.

To return, the Bearkats have to get past Elkins tonight and then win this weekend's regional tournament. Both of Klein's losses have been to Kingwood (2-1 and 1-0). The Bearkats tied Cypress Creek 1-1.

"In the Kingwood games, we had lots of chances but we didn't capitalize, probably because it was early in the season," said Young. "We weren't working well with each other and following up."

An indication of Young's ability is here winning Most Valuable Player honors in the Fort Bend Tournament and Co-MVP in The Woodlands Tournament.

"She's one of those players that you dream of getting in all your years of coaching," said Miller. She's an easy player to coach. She does everything that is asked of her. If I told her to play sweeper, she would. If I told her to play keeper, she would."

And her teammates appreciate her, too.

"We work well together," said Horn, a sophomore who had two goals Friday against Klein Oak. "She brings everybody up to play to their potential. I enjoy playing with her."

Lindsay said, "The way she works so hard makes everybody work hard. She can dribble through everybody and her shot is awesome. It's hard."

What sets Young apart from other players is her attitude, according to Miller.

"She doesn't really look at herself as any better player than anyone else," said Miller. "She considers every person on the field to be a person that you need to look out for and play with.

"You get players that sometimes just think they're better than anyone else and think everybody should play to them. Bonnie's not that way and that's what makes her such an intregal part of the team."

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Distributed by The Associated Press