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St. Mary's continues its run photo by Drew Fleming Crusaders on roll, eye state playoff berth By Greg Stiles There will be more memorable days than Tuesday for the St. Mary�s girls soccer team. The way the Crusaders are playing, however, this could be an unforgettable season. With wins over Hidden Valley and Phoenix in the bank, the Crusaders are eyeing their first trip to the Class 3A/2A/1A state playoffs. St. Mary�s jumped on visiting Mazama early, then eased up on the reins and coasted to a 4-1 District 6 victory. The win boosted the Crusaders to 5-1 in league and 8-1-3 overall. They have matches against Cascade Christian and Henley remaining. The red-letter date, of course, is Oct. 24 when St. Mary�s tackles Henley at Klamath Falls. "It would be huge to beat Henley, as big or bigger than Phoenix," said sophomore Emily Smith, who has been a scoring machine for the Crusaders. Aside from a 2-0 loss at North Valley, one of two unbeatens along with Henley at 4-0, St. Mary�s has been a load for its foes. "The girls are starting to believe in themselves," said St. Mary�s coach George Tiger. "You can see the energy when they go out on the field. I think they�ve elevated their game." The Crusaders pressured the Vikings from the start, controlling the flow throughout the first half. "This team didn�t mark us like the others have before," said Smith, who tallied two goals and one assist. "It was a lot easier not having two people follow me around the whole game. It opens things up so I can pass and receive passes or break away." Smith scored her first goal at 10 minutes, taking a pass from Nellie Bernard 15 yards from the goal and burying it in the right side of the net. Four minutes later, Smith broke through the left side of the Mazama defense and unloaded a shot just inside the 18-yard box. "The offense was pretty spontaneous today," said Smith. St. Mary�s third goal came with just under 12 minutes to go in the half after Smith�s kick from the left corner. The ball eluded Barnard in front of the goal, but Kara Schnoes returned it to the front of the mouth, and Barnard headed it past Viking goalie Amanda Bosse. "It was pretty embarrassing that I didn�t get my foot on it the first time," Barnard said. "After Kara got a foot on it, I just followed it in." By intermission, the match was pretty much decided. St. Mary�s goalkeeper Annie Maurer left the net to play fullback, leaving Sasha Drosdick in the goal. Midway through the half, the Crusaders extended their advantage to 4-0 when Bosse came out to stop Smith on a breakaway. Bosse halted Smith but failed to hold the ball. In the ensuing scramble in front of the goal, Margo Chamberlain laced a shot into the net. Two minutes later, Mazama broke into the scoring column when defender Marcy Burk launched a 30-yard shot that cleared Drosdick�s arms before settling under the crossbar. "They�re a bigger school, and I expected them to be tougher," Barnard said. "I don� t know why they weren�t, but I�ll take it." The Crusaders have just two seniors � Emily Cook and Shawna Jackson � on the roster, and many youngsters had a chance to show their stuff against the Vikings. "Down the road, this is going to help us," said Tiger, "because a lot of our subs got to play today." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4483, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.