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Powerful Irish plow past South in second half It was the story of two halves for the South Medford girls soccer team on Thursday. The Panthers� early season test came in the form of Sheldon, the favorite to win the Midwestern League and one of the top two teams in the state at the Class 4A level. South held strong early, grabbing a 1-0 lead but fell apart in the second half under the relentless pressure put on by the Irish during a 5-1 non-conference loss at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park. Lyndsey Hawk swiped the ball from Sheldon then flipped it over to Colleen Salisbury for a goal to stake the Panthers to a lead at the six-minute mark. "We led it most of the time," said South Medford coach Buzz Thielemann on his team�s first-half play. "You could tell that they weren�t used to being scored on." The lead lasted until Nicki Crabtree evened things up for Sheldon at the 32-minute mark and sent the game into halftime tied at one. Saraid Saville used her quickness to get around the defensive wall set up by South and punched in the go-ahead goal at the nine-minute mark of the second half, putting Sheldon ahead for good. "They are a strong club," said Thielemann. "I had some coaches warn me about how good they were and they really turned out to be very good." Despite the Panthers falling to 2-4 on the season entering Southern Oregon Conference play, Thielman believes the tough preseason schedule will pay off. "These are the teams you are going to see in the (playoffs)," said Thielman, referring to Sheldon. "If you beat an unskilled team 8-0 you don�t really learn much. This team hates to lose, we have picked up a lot in these tough preseason games." South Medford opens conference play on the road with Grants Pass at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. GRANTS PASS 3, KLAMATH UNION 2 � At Klamath Falls, Natasha Crook scored two goals to lead Grants Pass to a non-conference win. Crook tied things up in the first half and scored just five minutes later to give the Cavers (2-1-2) a 2-1 halftime lead. Stacey Seetham added a goal for Grants Pass at the 70th minute mark and Klamath Union scored with seven minutes left for the final score. CRATER 7, NORTH BEND 0 � At North Bend, Ashlee Richmond scored a hat trick with three goals to lead Crater to a non-conference win. Richmond started the onslaught with a goal at the five-minute mark and the Comets cruised to a 5-0 halftime lead on the way to their fifth win in six games. Freshman midfielder Sarah Lafontaine added two goals and two assists while Cassidy Reina and Megan Confer accounted for Crater�s other two scores. The Comets� defense held North Bend in check, allowing only two shots on goal with outstanding individual efforts by Sarah Martinich and Tessa Austemuehler. ASHLAND 1, CHURCHILL 1 � At Eugene, Ashland enjoyed a 22-9 edge in shots on goal but could manage only a tie in the non-league match. Churchill got on the board first, scoring at the 11-minute mark on a breakaway goal by Jessica Schoepke. Ashland (2-0-1) didn�t tie the match until the 64th minute when sophomore midfielder Amanda Malcolm-Brown dribbled around a pair of Lancer defenders and connected from 7 yards out. EAGLE POINT 3, MAZAMA 2 � Alissa Goslin scored two goals in a nine-minute span that allowed Eagle Point to overcome two early deficits and claim a non-conference win. Goslin, a freshman forward, took an assist from Jenna Bilden with 20 minutes left in the first half to knot the score, 2-2. Nine minutes later, she drilled her fourth goal of the season. But Goslin sprained an ankle early in the second half and sat out the remainder of the game. Mazama (0-3) scored first when Holly Lepley knocked home a rebound shot. Eagle Point (3-2) tied it three minutes later when Bilden scored with an assist from Keilah Kruis. But the Vikings responded quickly with a goal by Marcy Burk to make it 2-1. Boys SHELDON 1, SOUTH MEDFORD 0 � At Eugene, Chad Mart scored the only goal in a tough non-conference match. The goal came from a corner kick by Matt Erickson in the 72nd minute of the second half. The Panthers could only manage six shots on goal. NORTH BEND 2, CRATER 1 � At Central Point, Justin Turowsky converted on a corner kick as the ball slid in front of the goal to give visiting North Bend a 2-0 advantage with eight minutes to play. Crater countered too late, settling for a goal by Todd Sesock after shots by Eric Baker and Scott Malone ricocheted away. Crater outshot the Bulldogs, 16-12, and had solid defensive play from Jason Licato, Nate Tewes, Leo Espinosa and Matt Rensi. Goalie Paco Kurzyniec made two flying saves to halt direct kicks that kept the game close. MAZAMA 3, EAGLE POINT 1 � At Eagle Point, Mike Spinoza scored two goals and Peter Duetz added another for Mazama as the Vikings held on for a non-conference win. Mazama held a 3-0 halftime lead but Nathan Scudder put Eagle Point on the board and later narrowly missed on a breakaway opportunity. The Eagles (0-4-1) outshot the Vikings in the second half but couldn�t convert down the stretch. HENLEY 2, PHOENIX 1 � At Klamath Falls, Joe Jertberg and Josh McPherson provided the only offense that Henley would need in a non-conference contest against Phoenix. Jertberg scored the first goal on Phoenix this year on a corner kick at the 10-minute mark of the first half. McPherson added the second goal in the 36th minute of the first half. Phoenix�s only goal came with 10 minutes left in the game on a penalty kick from goalie Tony Machado. ASHLAND 1, CHURCHILL 0 � At Ashland Middle School, Jesse Hodges provided the game�s lone goal in the 64th minute as the Grizzlies improved to 2-1-1 in non-conference play. Churchill was called for a penalty in the box early in the second half, but Scott Beaver�s shot was blocked. Josh Dunn swatted away several Churchill shots to preserve the victory. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA