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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 9, 2005 Ashland expected to defend boys crown State semifinalist from last season has strong corps of returning players By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune Eisa Tiaa Tutu doesn’t mind a challenge, and that’s exactly what he and his Ashland High boy soccer players face. They were tabbed the team to beat in the Southern Oregon Conference in preseason balloting by the coaches. "Oh, boy," says the Grizzlies’ coach, "that’s always fun. We’ll take that challenge and go with it." Ashland won the conference crown last year with a 10-2 record and advanced to the state semifinals before falling to Jesuit, 2-1. The Grizzlies finished the season with a 15-4 mark. Advertisement But with a solid nucleus back from that team, including all-conference players Cory Fisher and Nico Walker, Ashland is the favorite to repeat. It got five first-place votes and 34 points. South Medford, with two first-place votes and 31 points, is picked second. Roseburg (25 points) and North Medford (23 points) are also considered playoff contenders. Eagle Point does not have a boys team. Ashland opens the season with a 1 p.m. home game Saturday against Roseburg. In other SOC games, also at 1 p.m., Klamath Union is at North Medford, and Crater is at Grants Pass. South Medford has nonconference games today and Saturday in Bend. The Grizzlies lost last season’s player of the year in Fabian Garcia-Flores, but Tiaa Tutu — the reigning coach of the year — believes he has enough back to the fill void and make another title run. At the heart of the returners is Fisher, an all-conference first-team selection as a midfielder last year. The senior "leads our group in the midfield, like an attacking midfielder," says Tiaa Tutu. Senior sweeper Walker made the second all-star unit, and he’ll work in front of another returning starter in goalkeeper Greg Cross, also a senior. Back to push the ball on offense are returning starting strikers Rodrigo Ramos, a junior, and Alex Murray, a sophomore. Another striker, Joseph Fallon, is back for his senior year after being hobbled by a toe injury last season. "Always, we’ll try to attack," says Tiaa Tutu. "That I guess is my philosophy. I never like to stay on defense. We’ll try to score a lot of balls, and if we follow that plan, I think we’ll be OK." A couple of players up from a junior varsity team that lost only two games last year will also help. Juniors Brendan Golding is a striker and Corey Chandler is a midfielder. There are some new faces at South and North Medford as well, in coaches Dave Kaufman and Matt Soper, respectively. Kaufman was faced with a unique situation. His senior and freshman classes are well-represented, but there’s a gap between. As such, he pulled seven frosh up to the varsity. "I went a little against the grain as to how things were done in the past," says Kaufman, who replaces Dave Potter. "I felt like we needed to get those guys a taste of it for the future." Kaufman has a handful of returning varsity players, including senior sweeper Dane Happeny, who received honorable mention in all-conference voting last season. Others are senior midfielders Chris Mendoza, Kyle Ross and Chris Swartsley; defenders Jesse Bright, a senior, and Walt Wimmer, a junior; and forwards Brett Hamilton, a senior who is one of the fastest players in the league, and Alex Arizaga, a junior. Sophomore goalkeeper Junior Luviano will also be counted upon. "We’ll have a pretty balanced attack in that we’ll be pretty strong on defense and we’ll be looking to score a lot of goals," says Kaufman, who also has in the fold an exchange student from Ecuador, Moises Tamariz, from whom he expects big things. Soper takes over at North after Rich Garcia led the Tornado into the state playoffs, where it lost 2-1 in the first round to Southridge. North, runner-up in the SOC, ended up 9-5. Seniors Scott Reid, a defender, and Dusty Andries, a midfielder, are the only two returning starters. "We’re a pretty young team," says Soper, who has 10 sophomores and five juniors. "But we’re looking for good things, since the JV team (13-0-1) went undefeated last year." Like South, North has an exchange student who will help its cause in Lars Flesland of Norway. "He has a wealth of experience," says Soper. "He’s very good. I think he’d be right there in the top five or six players in the league." Sophomore Leo Keiser is another who has flashed "some game" in the early going, says Soper. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail Ashland expected to defend boys crown ">[email protected] . 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