There was no sophomore jinx for the Ohio Valley Women's College Soccer League.

In its second summer of action, the league has found a home at Robert Morris University and continued to grow in terms of participation.

"We had players from Carnegie Mellon, Carlow, Chatham and Bethany participate this year," said Chuck Etta, a Sewickley resident and league founder. "We have two girls from Cleveland who played. I had one girl from Cincinnati who wanted to play. I told her it was too far [to travel] and hooked her up with a team in Columbus [Ohio]."

The league -- and the term is used loosely -- is designed to give college players a place to either sharpen or develop skills in the summer. There were four teams with about 20 players on each.

Games were played on the Robert Morris University soccer field at 2 and 3:30 p.m. Saturdays. Scores were kept but standings were not and the league ran from the start of June until the end of July.

Etta had college officials work the games but there were no designated coaches for the teams and no practices.

"We had the players coach their own teams and that has seemed to work out well," he said. "That way, we're developing some leadership and it's amazing how players will take turns in goal and playing different positions.

"I would maybe give teams some helpful hints at halftime, but that was about it. Just about everybody was pretty competitive, but we didn't want to make it stressful. The players get enough of that with their college teams."

And if one team has four substitutes and the opponent only one, Etta said a player or two would shift teams for that day so that playing time would be split equally.

"The idea is to give the girls a venue in which to play in the summer," he said. "It isn't about which team is better, which is why we don't have standings or anything like that."

At least 36 colleges or universities were represented in the league and Etta checked with the NCAA to make sure the league was in line with all of its rules -- such as having only five players from a Division I program on one team. Schools with players in the league included Pitt, Penn State, Ohio State, Akron, Virginia Tech, Westminster, Geneva, Toledo, Robert Morris, Bucknell and Massachusetts.

What didn't happen in the league this summer was the participation of more area high school players.

"I was hoping we'd get more high school girls," Etta said. "I had inquiries from a number of high school athletes, but when it came down to it they ended up playing for their club teams. We had maybe five high school players participate."

One of those was Marisa Czapor, who will be a senior at Norwin High School this fall. A defenseman, she played in the league as well as for her Penn's Forest club team.

"It was a great opportunity to go against college players and see how I'd do," she said. "I played in [an indoor] tournament at Saint Francis [Pa.] in the winter and that's where I heard about the league. I'm surprised more high school girls don't play in it. It was a good experience."

Etta said the league also provides an opportunity for younger players to be seen by college coaches. A few college coaches, mostly from area schools, would show up just to watch.

"They'd come to see their players, so a high school player might catch someone's eye," he said. "But the main purpose is to provide the players with a place to keep their skills sharp in the summer, rather than trying to find a pick-up game or something like that."

Last summer, games were played at California University of Pennsylvania and Quaker Valley High School. All the contests this year were at Robert Morris and Etta said the folks at the Moon Township school could not have been more hospitable.

"It was just a better location, easier for the players to get to than California," Etta said. "Plus, the field at Robert Morris is full size. It's what the college players are used to playing on."

Leigh Cullen, a North Allegheny High School graduate, is going into her junior year as a midfielder on the University of Akron team. She said playing in the league was great.

"I enjoyed it a lot. Anytime you can get touches in a game in the summer is good," she said. "The competition was pretty good."

The cost was also competitive. Players had to pay $100 and for that they received a jersey and had an eight-game schedule. The contests attracted a number of fans.

"More people showed up to watch than you might think," Etta said. "One of the girls said to me at one game, 'Look at all the people over there,' as she motioned to the stands."

Etta said his best advertisement for the league has been word of mouth.

Players who participated last year told their friends. He would like to see it continue to grow, but doesn't want the league to get too big.

"I don't think eight teams would work," he said. "I don't know if we'd want to get bigger than six teams because it would dilute the talent. But for our second year, I think we did pretty well."

Players interested in participating in the league next summer can e-mail Etta at: pghthunder@aol.com.