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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 22, 2004 Ashland falls in OT thriller By Rob McCallum For the Tidings Hollywood couldn't have written a better script for the Ashland-South Medford boys soccer match Tuesday evening at Spiegelberg Stadium. It was complete with drama, suspense and an ending for the movies. The epic match ended with the Panthers victorious in shootout overtime, 4-3. "It was remarkable," South coach Dave Potter said. "The first half was one chapter; then the second half had a completely different story line and then the overtime was yet another chapter." Tied at three after regulation and two grueling overtimes, the two teams went into the shootout. Both Ashland and South missed one out of five penalty kicks, forcing a sixth set, where junior midfielder Chris Swartsley converted for the Panthers. That put the pressure on Ashland's Cory Lescher, who missed high and right to give South the pivotal win. "It felt great," senior forward Shane Holiday said. "We came out and got things done, made our shots. I don't know what happened to the last shot. We just had more poise." South goalkeeper Mike Belzberg made some outstanding saves throughout the match, but on the final shot that went errant, all he had to do was watch. "I'm in a pretty nervous part of the game," Belzberg said. "Sometimes you get lucky, but I can't say enough about our shooters." The narrow loss negated a valiant comeback by the Grizzlies, who controlled the ball for the majority of the match. "We absolutely made a statement here today," Ashland coach Eisa Tiaa Toutou said. "Now we can play with any team in the state." Ashland trailed 3-1 at halftime, but six minutes into the second half junior midfielder Steven Fisher skirted the South defense and chipped in a shot. That set up the tying goal by senior striker Thomas Golding 28 minutes later. Senior striker Fabian Garcia-Flores missed a shot from 30 yards out but Golding was there to head in the rebound. "We knew we could come back because we were controlling the game and playing our style of ball," Tiaa Toutou said. The game went to overtime after a frantic final minute in which both teams had opportunities to score. The Panthers fired three shots into the Ashland box, all ricocheting off Grizzly defenders. Seconds later at the other end, a Garcia-Flores shot curved just to the right and a Logan Steinfeld shot went high before the whistle. Two 10-minute overtimes saw plenty of ball movement and shots, but no goals. South jumped out to an early lead with opportunistic and accurate shooting. In the sixth minute, Holiday was fouled just outside the Ashland box. Junior forward Bret Hamilton took the free kick off the side of his foot back to Holiday, who converted. In the 22nd minute, Alex Arazaga fired a rocket from 30 yards out into the far right corner of the net, and in the 34th minute, Bryan Waggener headed in a throw-in by Holiday. "In the first half, we created opportunities," Potter said. "We played smart, attacking soccer. Then we played to protect the lead, and it showed." Ashland's first-half goal came on a penalty kick from 3 yards out by Garcia-Flores. The penalty occurred when Belzberg jumped on Garcia-Flores to punch away a shot. But in the overtime period, South regained its spark. "We talked about picking up our intensity at the end of regulation," senior midfielder Oscar Aldana said. "Everyone gave it their all because we had to win this game." The Grizzlies are looking forward to the rematch between the two teams on Oct. 19 at North Mountain Park. "We are going to give them a 'Welcome to Ashland' game," Tiaa Toutou said. "It will be another good match." 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