local Sports Sept. 10: Grizz girls shut out Vikings

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--> --> Sept. 10: Grizz girls shut out Vikings By Sarah Petersen Ashland Daily Tidings The Ashland High girls soccer team came prepared in its first home game of the season. The Grizzlies shut down North Salem 3-0 Saturday afternoon in a non-conference battle at North Mountain Park. Ashland's first game of the season resulted in a disappointing 2-2 tie with Phoenix Thursday afternoon, but the Grizzlies weren't discouraged by the tie. "These early games really build our confidence," head coach Iman Siadat said. "Today we played on our home field which is bigger than most of the other fields that we will play on during the season. It was definitely an advantage. We could be more spread out unlike the other day at Phoenix's field." The difference was obvious from the beginning. In the first minute of play junior midfielder Angela Heine fired two shots at the goal which were stopped by North Salem's Elizabeth Gesner. But the Grizzlies were undeterred and at the 18-minute mark got on the scoreboard with a straight shot in the back of the net by sophomore forward Kim Thompson. The shots kept coming. Three minutes after Thompson scored, Heine did some fancy foot work and kicked the ball over the head of North Salem's goalie to put the Grizzlies up 2-0. "It's early in the season, but the goal that Angela put into the net today will arguably be one of the best we will see all season long," Siadat said. "The way she placed the ball and the force behind the kick was really good." Ashland kept the ball on the visitor's side of the field for most of the first half only allowing North Salem to have one shot at the goal. At the 38-minute mark, senior defender Darby Fallon found sophomore forward Danya Rose-Merkle who connected in the right corner of the net for Ashland's final score of the game. "I thought Darby had a solid performance today," Siadat said. "She kept the team together and made some awesome plays for us. She lead the team." Both teams went scoreless in the second half. "I felt like our game against Phoenix was a wakeup call," Fallon said. "The girls came prepared today and it was much more positive and fun. We still need help and work on our second half conditioning, but we did a good job. Next week we will be training hard. Everyone now realizes that we have to train hard." Ashland continues its preseason schedule Thursday with a home matchup with Class 3A foe North Valley. The game is slated for 4 p.m. at North Mountain Park. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing