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South tops Ashland By TIM PYLE At least that's the way the Panthers see it after junior central midfielder Ryan Wallenberg fashioned his latest magic act Saturday afternoon at Ashland Middle School by sneaking in the game-winner in the final minutes to beat Ashland, 1-0. "And he not only gets it off, he puts it in." The play developed in the 74th minute off a free kick near midfield. Senior fullback Adam Walport chipped the ball to the top of the Grizzlies' penalty box, where a crowd of players from both teams awaited. Sophomore forward Cory O'Neill, one of the shortest players on the field, got his head to the ball first, flicking it into the box. Wallenberg and Ashland junior goalkeeper Joshua Dunn approached the loose ball from different directions, with Wallenberg chipping it over and apparently off a sliding Dunn, the ball floating into the goal with a strange top spin. "It just landed at my feet and the keepers' hands, and right before he got his hands on it, I kicked it in," said Wallenberg, who is following in older brother Ethan's steps as a Panthers soccer stalwart. "He had his hands practically on it. I just chipped it over him." His team absorbing its first loss of the season, Grizzlies fourth-year coach Eisa Tiaa Tou Tou saw the goal in a more controversial light. "The goalkeeper had the ball and had it knocked out of his hands," said Tiaa Tou Tou, who played for the national team in his home country of Sudan. "He had the possession. We're not playing pro soccer, we're playing high school soccer. Protect the kids first." The well-played match lived up to expectations befitting a battle between squads that return the bulk of their players from 2000 state-playoff runs. Both teams enjoyed extended stretches of possession, knocking the ball around fluidly in the defensive and middle one-thirds of the field. But when either squad tried to push forward, the opposing defense usually stepped in to make the attack short-lived. Legitimate scoring opportunities were few. "This is always one of the best high school soccer matches you're gonna watch, year in and year out," said Potter, who now owns a two-match winning streak against Ashland and has guided South to 12 straight wins in SOC play, a streak that dates back to Oct. 12, 1999. "It's quality soccer, and it's intense soccer." The best chance of the first half came late, when Panthers senior forward Pat Lower found room along the left side and passed to the far post. Junior right midfielder Kelly King won a race to the ball and one-timed a low shot back toward the other post, but Dunn dove to his right to make the save. Early in the second half, South (7-1-1 overall, 2-0 SOC) nearly struck after a brilliant build-up from senior fullback Cody George to Lower to senior forward Justin Baldoni, whose one-time shot inside the box stayed to the right of Dunn's net. Midway through the half, the Grizzlies (6-1, 1-1 SOC) constructed space for dangerous junior central midfielder Matt Sharp at the top of the penalty box, and Sharp's blast rose just over Panthers senior goalkeeper Blake St. Onge and the crossbar. A few minutes later, Ashland senior forward Scott Beaver, a returning first-team all-SOC selection, created an opportunity along the left side, dribbling alone toward South's goal before sending a shot awry and against the side of the near-post net. That was the extent of the prime opportunities until Wallenberg offered his version of abracadabra - which Potter was still trying to comprehend 15 minutes after the match's final whistle. "I couldn't see it," he said. "I saw the ball went up, went down and then I saw it go back up and into the net, and I thought, 'Wallenberg to the rescue again.' "You want him on the field as much as you can because he can turn a moment into a golden opportunity." George, Walport, sophomore sweeper Spencer Hunter and junior defensive midfielder Daniel Potter, the coach's son, were instrumental in shutting down the Grizzlies' attack. "The defense is what carried us through last year," said George, often also an offensive threat sneaking forward along the right side. "They worked the ball around really well in the midfield, but it seemed like once they got down, our midfield got back, our defense got back." Ashland, which outshot the Panthers, 9-6, and committed 18 fouls to South's 10, knows the SOC race is far from complete. "The difference was that we couldn't finish," said Tiaa Tou Tou, commending Sharp, Dunn and junior sweeper Brook Golling for their play. "We smack the ball around, but we need to create the opportunities to score." Both teams are off until next Saturday, when the Grizzlies travel to Crater and South goes to SOC-favorite Klamath Union for a rematch of the Pelicans' 1-0 non-conference victory on Sept. 20. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.