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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels October 20, 2004 Grizzlies clinch top seed By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings With a resounding thump, and some hugs in between, the Ashland High boys' soccer team buried one streak and started another. Not even the rain could spoil this one. Ashland s Senior stopper Matt Pavlich leaps in celebration as he's greeted by teammate Cory Lescher (7) after the Grizzlies' 2-0 win over South Medford, Tuesday afternoon at Ashland Middle School. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings "It's beautiful," said Ashland coach Eisa Tiaa Toutou. "We played an awesome game today." For once, their archrivals couldn't argue. The Grizzlies got a goal from freshman Alex Murray in the first half and another from senior Thomas Golding in the second en route to a 2-0 victory over South Medford, Tuesday at Ashland Middle School. Ashland's first win over South since 2000 clinched at least a tie for the Southern Oregon Conference title - the team's second straight - and, perhaps more significantly, guaranteed Ashland the conference's No. 1 seed to state. The Grizzlies (9-2 SOC) have two regular season matches remaining but already know their first-round postseason fate. They'll open the 32-team Class 4A state tournament Nov. 6 at home against the No. 3 seed from the Midwestern League. South (7-3) is still battling North Medford (7-3) for the second seed. No doubt Less than a month after a heartbreaking shootout loss to South at Medford, the Grizzlies left no doubt this time. Ashland out-shot the Panthers 16-9 and scored the only goal they would need in the 19th minute, when Murray converted during a scramble in front of the net. Golding added an insurance goal in the 59th minute after sophomore Rodrigo Ramos centered the ball perfectly from the right wing. After the 10-yard tap in, Golding yanked his jersey over his head and sprinted back toward midfield, arms spread wide. The Grizzlies showed even more emotion after the game. Fists clenched, they skipped off the field and waved to the fans. Assistant coach Thierry Chouard hugged everyone within reach. "It's hard to explain," said Grizzly striker Fabian Garcia-Flores, probably the leading candidate to receive the SOC player of the year award. "The emotion's so big that I can't put it into words. But we're ready for the playoffs." Much like the first time the two SOC powerhouses squared off, Ashland stayed on the offensive for nearly the entire first half. Unlike the first game, the Grizzlies were the first team to finish at the net. Murray did his part first, after receiving a pass in the box off a corner kick by Golding. "The ball came across, my assignment is to stay in front of the keeper," Murray said of the goal. "The ball bounced off the keeper right down at my feet. I poked it in, right through the legs. "These guys have been saying the whole time, 'You're going to come up big in a big game.' It just happened to me today." Ashland had several more chances to put the Panthers in a deeper hole before halftime. Garcia-Flores' header in the 25th minute was wide left and Cory Fisher's rocket one minute later cleared the crossbar by two feet. Still, Ashland's muscles were fully flexed and South spent most of the half in retreat mode. "Basically, we just played the way we did all season," Golding said. "Our forwards have been scoring lots of goals, our defense has been stopping everyone, so there was no need to change anything." The second half South cranked up the heat in the second half, unleashing a risk-taking, aggressive style that seemed to even out the battles for possession, if not field position. The Panthers' best chance to tie the game came just six minutes into the second half, when Kyle Ross booted a hard line drive toward the right corner of the goal. Ashland keeper Gregory Cross had to dive, but got just enough of the ball to deflect it out of bounds. Thirteen minutes later, Ramos broke free and right-footed a pass to Golding just as the defense converged. Golding had only South all-star keeper Mike Belzberg to beat. It was no match. "Rodrigo just took it, gave me the ball and I just put it in," Golding said. "I didn't have much to do." Golding said his celebration was spontaneous - sort of. "After the goals, it's been a thing. I've been doing different celebrations," he said. South Medford coach Dave Potter said the Grizzlies could be well on their way to many more celebrations. Potter, who guided the Panthers to a 4A state championship last season, likes the Grizzlies' postseason chances. "They're an outstanding team," he said. "I would look for this team to go a long, long way in the state tournament. I would lean in favor of them having the edge in winning a state tournament this year. I'm looking at them compared to where we were a year ago and when I saw them back in the first game I just went, 'Wow, this team has everything it takes to win a state tournament.'" Finishing strong Ashland's 4-3 loss to South back on Sept. 21 forced the Grizzlies to finish the regular season with a flurry to have any shot at capturing their third SOC title since 1999. Mission accomplished. The Grizzlies have won all but one match since that day, including the recently-completed sweep of the Medford teams that wrapped up a nearly flawless five-day span. Tiaa Toutou credited his team's resolve. And with a team chemistry he said is excellent, Toutou likes Ashland's chances at state. "Every year, a dynamic of the group will come out," he said. "This group, they've been together a long time, they're still friends, they still hang out together. "There's a lot of room to improve, but the team is perfect, ready to go, in playoff mode." 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