Document text
South, Ashland one step from final They host state semifinals today By GREG STILES The postseason is turning into a reception line of old friends for the South Medford boys soccer team. First, it had a rematch against South Eugene in the Class 4A state quarterfinals. Today, the Panthers again meet Mountain View at 2 p.m. at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park. And naturally, South Medford would like to cap its reunion tour against Ashland on Saturday -- in the state championship game. But such speculation counters the one-match-at-a-time South Medford mentality. Also today, Ashland puts its 13-0-4 record on the line in a 2 p.m. contest against Metro League champion Jesuit at Ashland Middle School. In the Class 3A-2A-1A boys semis, Phoenix tackles defending state champion La Salle at 1:45 p.m. in Milwaukie. After dispatching top-ranked and defending state champion South Eugene, 1-0, last Saturday. South Medford (12-4-1) faces Intermountain Conference champion Mountain View (17-0), a team that edged the Panthers, 2-1, in the first match of the season. The one thing South Medford wants to avoid is finishing the season like it began. "When we left the field, I remember making the comment to their coach (John Stockton) it would be nice to see each other later in the year," second-year South Medford coach Dave Potter says. "It took 30 seconds to realize that they were one of the quickest teams in the state. In the first five minutes, they blew by us time and again. We were lucky we weren't out of it in 10 minutes." As a result, Potter promises his Panthers will approach today's match in similar fashion to last Saturday's distinctly defensive tact. South Medford's game plan drew a lengthy whine from South Eugene co-coach Andrew Gregor in the Eugene Register-Guard. "I'm just disappointed that a team, especially this team, has to come out and lose to a team that doesn't want to play. But that happens," Gregor said. "They packed it in and tried not to get scored on and didn't care if they scored." Potter lets the criticism drain off his back like so much Willamette Valley rain and plans more of the same today for Mountain View, which has outscored its opponents 72-5 and 8-1 in the playoffs. Spurred by junior forward Taylor McCool, the IMC player of the year, sophomore middle fielder Grayson Tenney and junior middle fielder Chris Skaggs, Mountain View poured past Westview of Beaverton like a flash flood in a 4-0 quarterfinal win. That's prompted Potter to tighten the defensive grid even more. "`I would anticipate a low-scoring game," Potter says. "Four-nothing against Westview is huge production. It's important for us to play a low-scoring game. If anybody scores over three goals, it better be us." The Panthers are the lone playoff team left that didn't win its league championship. It's still afloat due mainly to its defensive wedge: Sweeper Craig Tomlins, fullbacks Ben Buchta, Chris Campbell and Ryan Guthrie, along with center middle fielder Corey Parks. South has reeled off three straight shutouts in the playoffs, with 2-0 wins over Lincoln and North Salem prior to the victory over South Eugene. "We've definitely achieved more than we expected," Buchta says. "In our hearts we felt this was possible early in the season. Even in conditioning I could tell we had the talent. I just knew it was too early to talk about it. Now it's a possibility for us to go to the final." Buchta cites a shootout loss to crosstown rival North Medford as the pivotal moment in the Panthers' season. "We realized we had to step it up or we weren't even going to make the playoffs. That and we've been praying before every game. This team has a spiritual togetherness. "We've definitely grown as a team. Before we had some conflicts, but we got over that and we've bonded and changed as a team." Of course nothing would be better in South's mind than a rematch against Ashland. "Two teams in the semifinals," Potter says. "The rest of the state has got to be looking at that. Jesuit better take Ashland for real; they're that good. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.