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Feugo let game get away early By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Southern Oregon Fuego coach Thierry Chouard liked almost everything about Wednesday night's exhibition game against the Westside Metro Rangers. He liked the big crowd that packed Phillips Field, he liked the way his team never gave up and, most of all, he liked the second half. But he did have one reservation. Southern Oregon Fuego's Todd Sesock (right) attempts to dribble past the defense of Westside's Bradford Doyle during Wednesday night's exhibition match at Phillips Field. Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE BARATTA "Well, you know, we had 15 lousy minutes at the beginning," he said, his smile shrinking. "We got caught on our heels three times. These guys play high-level soccer all the time. We play low level, and that showed badly in the first half." Did it ever. Behind a spectacular performance by World Cup hopeful Chad Barrett, the Rangers scored three goals in the first 15 minutes and played good enough defense the rest of the way to punch home a resounding 4-1 victory. Barrett, a U-18 national team starter who's headed to UCLA, wowed the crowd with an opening-minute goal, then added two assists in the sixth and 14th minutes to put the match on ice. He scored again 15 1/2 minutes into the second half for good measure, completing a one-man line to die for: seven shots, two goals, two assists. Remarkably, Barrett, who graduated from Beaverton's Southridge High, was responsible for 11 of the Ranger's 15 scoring opportunities. "He's the best player on Oregon at the high school level," Chouard said. Fuego midfielder Alex Christlieb, who will graduate from Ashland High on Saturday, added a point-blank score in the 78th minute to finally give the home crowd something to cheer about. By then, however, the only drama left was how much of Westside's dominance would show up in the final score. Much, as it turned out. The Rangers finished with a 15-6 edge in total shots and a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks. Fuego officials are hoping the team can gain a spot next year in a semi-professional league, making attendance and fan participation key to the night's ultimate success. To that end, Southern Oregon's premier men's team scored big. Though attendance figures were unavailable, the stands on the home side were filled to near capacity, and most of those fans stayed to the bitter end despite the lopsided score. "It's always fun to play in front of a crowd," Christlieb said. "It's great to have people come out." Most of the buzz was generated by the visitors, however, who head to Hawaii next for the U-18 regional tournament. Barrett started things off with a left-footed rocket that hit the back of the net only moments after the opening kickoff. Five minutes later, Barrett faked out two Fuego defenders before hitting Matt Dallman for a 10-yard boot. Dallman celebrated with a forward flip. Later, in the 65th minute, the explosive scorer was issued a red card, after which Fuego produced five of its six shots and two of its three corners. Cole McCool completed the first-half scoring with a gorgeous back-heel flick in the 14th minute, and Barrett scored his second goal from about 15 yards out in the 60th minute. Contributing to Westside's rout was former AHS all-star Matt Sharp, the Rangers' defender who hounded his former hometown teammates from beginning to end. Sharp, who played for Fuego in last year's exhibition loss to the Cascade Surge, said battling his former team in front of an Ashland crowd was exciting, but nerve-racking. "I was a little nervous coming into the game, playing in front of my home crowd," Sharp admitted. "Our team played really well. I thought I did OK. � There was an unsaid respect between us, between me and the guys from (Fuego), because obviously I played for this team and I plan on playing for them against the Cascade Surge (July 5)." The third exhibition between Fuego and the Surge will again be played at Phillips Field. Christlieb hopes Wednesday's loss helps Fuego adjust to playing high quality opponents. "It's a good eye-opener," he said. "We stepped it up a little more in the second half, we got used to the level of play. The level of play is the biggest difference as far as the quality of the team, and they certainly showed they were the better team today." LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -