SOCCER IS IN COX'S BLOOD Q.H. SENIOR FOLLOWS IN SIBLINGS' SUCCESSES.Byline: Gideon Rubin Special to the Daily News QUARTZ HILL- Shannon Cox Shannon Cox (born July 3, 1986) is an Australian rules footballer for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League. Cox, an Indigenous footballer, was picked up as a rookie by Collingwood at the 2005 National Rookie Draft, and following some good isn't the only Quartz Hill High girls' soccer player eager to prod the Rebels back atop the Golden League after rival Highland ended its seven-year title reign last season. She just happens to have added incentive. Cox is the last in line of a family steeped in school tradition. She is the younger sister of multisport mul·ti·sport also mul·ti·sports adj. 1. Composed of, involving, or accommodating several sports: a multisport competition; a multisport stadium. 2. standouts Jodie and Kellie, both of whom played during the program's dominance that began in the early 1990s, with the Rebels winning 10 league titles in a 12-year span. ``It's very personal,'' Shannon Cox said. ``I feel like I've got to keep up the tradition.'' Kellie Cox just concluded her career at Cal State Fullerton, where she was selected the Big West Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year this fall. Jodie Cox went to Fullerton on a softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' scholarship. ``It's pressure, but it's good pressure,'' Shannon Cox said. ``It's not really that competitive, it's just that I aspire to aspire to verb aim for, desire, pursue, hope for, long for, crave, seek out, wish for, dream about, yearn for, hunger for, hanker after, be eager for, set your heart on, set your sights on, be ambitious for be like them.'' Cox, a junior center midfielder, is an elite-level amateur player who is involved in the prestigious Olympic Development Program. She has a strong supporting cast that includes senior forward Aja Mandrell, senior midfielder Kelsie Banks, and senior fullback Kia Barnett. The Rebels figure to face a difficult challenge from Highland, which returns several important players, including senior midfielders Janet Mendez and Farrin Townley. Mendez is a member of Mexico's national team. Upstart Knight also figures to be in the mix. The third-year school doesn't have a senior class, but it features several talented players, including sophomore midfielder/forward Lauren Carr, junior center midfielder Daniela DeLeon and sophomore defender Nancy Marquez. Cox is slowly returning to form after suffering broken fibula fibula (fĭb`yələ): see leg. and tibia tibia: see leg. bones playing indoor soccer
A surgical repair of the injuries included the insertion of a 14-inch rod in her shin. ``It put me out for a long time, so right now my focus is on getting my touch back,'' she said. At full strength, the swift and powerful Cox is a dynamic playmaker play·mak·er n. A player in a sport with goals, such as a guard in basketball, who initiates offensive plays. play and one of the league's most exciting players. ``She's a great playmaker who prides herself on assisting other goalscorers,'' longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective Quartz Hill coach Maury Cauchon said. ``She's a great teammate, and she's well-accepted by everyone.'' Cox expects to fully regain her feel for the game by the time the Rebels open league play in January, which she hopes will put her back on the scholarship map after missing valuable club exposure. ``When you're out for six months, you stop getting letters from colleges,'' she said. ``Now I'm trying to come back.'' Cox said her goal is to play for a Division I program. Her relationship with Cal State Fullerton coach Ali Khosroshahin, whom she knows from following Kellie's career, figures to give her a foot in the door. She does after all have a tradition to uphold up·hold tr.v. up·held , up·hold·ing, up·holds 1. To hold aloft; raise: upheld the banner proudly. 2. To prevent from falling or sinking; support. 3. . ``It's nice to have my name out there before even I got here,'' Cox said. Gideon Rubin, (818)713-3607 gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com FIVE TO WATCH Shannon Cox, Jr., MF, Quartz Hill Janet Mendez, Sr., MF, Highland Aja Mandrell, Sr., F, Quartz Hill Farrin Townley, Sr., MF, Highland Lauren Carr, Soph., MF/F, Knight CAPTION(S): box Box: FIVE TO WATCH (see text) |
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