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Salisbury relishes new role photo by Drew Fleming Moving to the midfield has given Colleen Salisbury a new outlook and South an undefeated SOC record By TIM PYLE The way Colleen Salisbury sees it, more of the ball means more fun. A first-team all-Southern Oregon Conference forward last season, Salisbury has become the South Medford girls soccer team's attacking central midfielder this season - and she's loving it. Especially because the Panthers keep rolling over conference opponents, adding Grants Pass to the ledger in a 3-0 victory Tuesday evening at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park. "I like it a lot because I have more touches on the ball," said Salisbury, who converted a penalty kick in the 23rd minute to give South (9-2-1 overall, 5-0 SOC) the lead for good. "I have more of a view of the game. I feel like I'm in control more, distributing and still scoring goals, too." Salisbury's distributive skills were on display in the final minute of the first half, when she set up senior forward Erin Reno for a 2-0 Panthers advantage. The assist was Salisbury's 11th of the season to accompany her eight goals, and the score was Reno's 17th. "Both of them are good players," sixth-year Cavers coach Hector Cruz said of South's high-scoring duo. "And they have a great team built around them." Grants Pass (8-2-1, 3-2 SOC), which has yet to beat either of the Medford schools under Cruz, found itself battling from behind and never could muster much of a threat. Junior midfielder/forward Lindsay Huey's finish of a loose ball in the Cavers' penalty box in the 67th minute completed the scoring. The Panthers outshot Grants Pass, 31-6, and earned six corner kicks to the Cavers' one. South has outscored its SOC competition 26-3 and appears on course for a conference title-deciding showdown with North Medford (also 5-0 SOC) on Oct. 24. The Panthers travel to Roseburg on Saturday before the regular season-ending clash with North. South coach Buzz Thielemann is pleased with where his team stands and emphasized his delight with the play of the Panthers' defense Tuesday. "The thing that I'm most proud about is the strength of our defense right now," said the second-year coach. "The Quinowski sisters, Brittany and Courtney (senior and junior fullbacks, respectively), are flat awesome. Then we have our sweeper, Katie Casebeer (a senior co-captain). And then we put Andria Singler (junior fullback) in there and didn't lose a step." Thielemann also singled out junior goalkeeper Sarah Bryan's consistency. Cruz, whose squad is aiming for a second straight postseason berth and fell 3-0 to North Medford on Oct. 6, said the Cavers are still intimidated whenever they step on the field against the Medford schools. "It's not Medford, it's Dread-ford," said Cruz, who did get a creditable performance in goal from sophomore Megan Moline. "Sometimes, these games are won without even being played. ... I need to somehow build confidence in the girls because they have the ability, they have the skills to play with the Medford teams." Having faced both South and North, Cruz said the rivalry match, to be played at South's home field, Fichtner-Mainwaring Park, promises to be another great one. "If I'm gonna have to pick, I would have to say I would go with experience and South Medford," Cruz said. "It's going to boil down to experience, and South has the seniors." One of nine Panther seniors, Salisbury is eagerly awaiting a final shot at the Black Tornado. "I am really pleased with how we're doing," Salisbury said. "Team chemistry is one of the major differences from last year. We just have an attitude where every time we get on the field, we play to win. And it's not like a 1-0 win. We wanna really crush every team we're playing. "We're all just looking forward to the North game. I think that's what it's going to come down to." 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.