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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels September 8, 2004 Grizzlies come up short By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Tuesday was a step in the right direction. Although Roseburg came from behind to dump the Grizz girls' soccer team 2-1 late in the season-opening match, Ashland sparked something that had been missing from so many games in 2003. The team had a chance. Ashland Midfielder Sylvia Van Ausdal (right) attempts to steal the ball away from a Roseburg defender during Southern Oregon Conference girls' soccer action Tuesday at North Mountain Park. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings Two years after an freshmen-laden team surprised the Southern Oregon Conference, a year following the disappointing seventh-place league finish the underclassmen-dominated team mustered, the Grizzlies may have found a middle ground. "I'm very happy with how they performed," third-year head coach Eric Wolff said. "I think it was a very good team effort. Everybody was working hard." Still, the agony at losing the first contest of the year stung afterward. "Everybody was very depressed after the game because you don't want to start with a loss," Wolff said. "We're never content or happy with losing." The biggest frustration comes from the lead the Grizzlies had through 55 minutes of play and the tie they held onto until the final 13 minutes of the game. In the end, the Indians simply outworked Ashland on the field. "In the last five to 10 minutes we were definitely pushing hard," Wolff said. "It was back and forth." But Ashland had three defenders at less-than full strength and all the other SOC teams squeezed in one extra week of daily doubles, an endurance-builder Ashland missed out on because of the school district's early entry into classes. "You could tell we had a hard time with that in the end," Wolff said. Right there Ashland went toe-to-toe with the Indians, trying the Grizz youthfulness against the 10 returning starters Roseburg boasts. Through the first half, the game remained scoreless despite the solid looks each team had. Around the 25th minute, Roseburg earned a corner kick that could have nestled right in the back of the net, but junior goalkeeper Aly Yant deflected the ball. A Roseburg player took control inside the goalie box, but the swarm of Grizz defenders in the zone thwarted any scoring effort. "Aly, she did very well," Wolff said. "She had some very big saves." In the closing minutes of the first half, the Grizzlies mounted an almost-successful drive of their own off of a penalty kick. The Roseburg goalkeeper snagged the ball above her head to secure the tie. "We played out some good opportunities and Roseburg played out some," Wolff said. "It was a close game." Leading ... for a bit After wearing down the Indian defense for half of the match, in the 43rd minute junior forward Katie Cowger took advantage of a muddled situation around the Indian goal to score for Ashland. Junior forward Jamie Roupp charged the Roseburg goalie, but come up short. Junior defender Hannah Sohl jumped into the mix of things, but her shot on goal also failed. Cowger got control of the ball long enough to score the only Grizz points of the game. "That's exactly what made it happen," Wolff said. "It was an aggressive play by Jamie." But the Indians, rated fourth in the SOC preseason coaches' poll, would respond. In the 55th minute, Roseburg's senior all-star forward Carl Godard snaked one past Yant to tie the game. Twelve minutes later, in the 67th minute, Michelle Davis scored the game-winning goal for Roseburg. "I know we can beat that team," Wolff said. "We can put it all together." Ashland will get its chance to upend Roseburg yet this season. The new double-round robin schedule the SOC teams adopted means the Grizzlies can get back to team tactics, hit up the basics and get the best of the Indians next time around. "We can even things up," Wolff said. "We have a chance to get back at them." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams