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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 29, 2004 Fuego settles for tie against Liga del Valle By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings The battle of the Rogue Valley will have to wait for another day. In Friday night's exhibition soccer action at Phillips Field, the Southern Oregon Fuego and Liga del Valle All Stars of Medford knocked each other around until they literally couldn't see anymore, only to end in a 2-all draw when the game was called due to darkness. Technical difficulties left the stadium floodlights black the entire contest and, as time Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings southern oregon fuego's dylan lucky flies over the ball as Liga del Valle's Roberto Salamanca looks for an opening during exhibition soccer action Friday night at Phillips Field. The game ended in a 2-all tie. wore down and visibility diminished, the play became more and more physical. But the challenge seemed to inspire Fuego after a sluggish first half. "It's a tale of two halves," Fuego assistant coach Steve Isser. "We played kind of slow and lethargic the first half. The second half we changed the tempo." The total soccer strategy Fuego began employing at the start of the season didn't have the same level of effectiveness against Liga as it did during last week's game versus the Cascade Surge. "I think we do better against stronger teams," Fuego head coach Radovan Dhuly-Smith said. "For some reason, we have a hard time keeping our game up against weaker teams. But it happens. Every game is different." The difference on Friday turned out to be the final score. Although Fuego won't chalk one up in the W column just yet, the general consensus was that the knotted finish feels a lot better than a loss. "Just because it was two valley teams, I'm happy with the tie," Fuego forward Davey Grantland said. "We played much better against the Surge." The problems on the field were evident. "The other team, they seemed like they wanted it more," Grantland said. "I think we came out flat. They had a lot of talented players we didn't expect." The first 45 After almost 20 minutes of play, Fuego struck first. With Liga keeper Tomas Iboa drawn out of the box, Fuego forward David Peterson popped a loopy kick dead-center in front of the goal. The ball appeared to travel in slow motion, but no one would touch it before it caught the back of the net to put Fuego up 1-0 early. The rest of the game wouldn't be that easy. In the 26th minute, Liga's Rene Barajas slipped one into the right corner of the goal, far out of Fuego keeper Mike Welch's grasp. Each squad had decent looks at the net, but the two goalies ensured the half would end with a 1-all tie. "[Our] keeper was excellent today," Dhuly-Smith said. "He did a wonderful job and he had a lot of great saves." In addition to his stealth saves, Welch had several decent punts. He'd spent most of the week working on his deep kicks. "I think he was the best player on the team today," Dhuly-Smith said. The last half After a spotty first stanza, Fuego came out of the locker room looking like a different team. "I think, in the second half, we really improved," Dhuly-Smith said. "We played good soccer. They came out more physical." Fuego stayed together as a team better and was able to put together stronger downfield play. About 10 minutes into the second half, Grantland snagged the ball and squirted past a Liga defender at midfield to pass the ball off to midfielder Jeremy Warner. Warner drove the rest of the way down the left side of the field, working past two more defenders to take a shot right on goal and put Fuego up 2-1. After that, though, it was nothing but close calls and missed opportunities for Fuego. "Our system needs to be much better," Grantland said. "We need to want it more." Liga eventually scored on a free kick courtesy Francisco Miranda in the 80th minute that would be the last score for either team. Still, the tie is an improvement and Fuego has six games remaining on its summer schedule. "We have more games coming up and and I think this is good for us to always be aware of where we need to improve," Dhuly-Smith said. With just over a week until Fuego's two-game weekend road trip, the team will go back to fine-tuning the total soccer strategy for the contests against the Chico Rooks and the Sacramento Knights that could provide that elusive first win. "They're so hungry and they play with such heart," Isser said. "They're very dedicated." 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