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North nudges South in OT Photo by Jim Craven McKenzie Weiler (6), Lu Crenshaw (12) and Michelle Ogden (16) try to score a North goal. Takes lead in girls race By Randy Hammericksen North Medford forward Bethanie Bryant took aim on what would be the shot of her soccer career with one thought in mind. "God, I hope I make this," said Bryant. The North Medford junior's plea came true Saturday afternoon when she spun a high-hooking shot into the goal from 30 yards out on a free kick with one second remaining in overtime to give the Black Tornado girls soccer team an emotional 2-1 win over South Medford at District Field on the North Medford campus. The win thrusts the Black Tornado to 6-0 and atop the Southern Oregon Conference, while South tumbled into second place at 5-1. North Medford can clinch the SOC title outright and the league's No. 1 berth in the state playoffs with a win over Ashland on Tuesday in its regular-season finale. "That (Bryant's goal) was a gift from God," North Medford coach Dick Darcy said. "She's very skilled at taking shots like that, and she was the perfect player to take it in that situation. "She was able to relax and focus, rather than letting her adrenalin take her out of the shot," said Darcy. "She put nice touch on the shot, but even at that, we were pretty fortunate." South Medford first-year head coach Leslie Lang, who calmly reacted to the adversity of the moment, said she thought the 15-minute overtime had expired before Heather Johnson of North was bumped hard in the middle of the field, resulting in a penalty and forcing the direct kick. "They (the officials) should have just let it go into a shootout," said Lang. "Our watch had run out of time." But referee Axel Andersen confirmed that one second remained on the official clock when Bryant's shot skipped off the fingertips of South Medford goalkeeper Kristal Capsey and deflected into the net. "Kristal didn't jump up very high," said Lang. "I think she thought the shot was going over the goal. She feels pretty bad." Most of the action in the 15-minute overtime was contested at North Medford's end of the field. The Panthers got several opportunities to score, but could not crack North's defense to get a clear shot. "We should have won it," said Lang. "We had the ball at their our end in the overtime. "Oh well, we'll ba back for the playoffs," said Lang. "Hopefully, we'll make up for this and get some breaks to make up for a bad break here." Darcy was humble in victory. "I think our girls were edged out by South in the heart department," he said. "We were the favorite, and we went out and tried to play too much by decorum instead of getting down and dirty. We didn't really go for it, but we got away with it. "I don't know how much of a salve this is, but I think Leslie (Lang) proved today she deserves to be coach of the year in this league. She's done a great job taking over that program." South Medford took a 1-0 lead in the first half when sophomore Noelle Reed scored from 18 yards out with less than five minutes to play before the break. North Medford countered 10 minutes into the second half when forward Tennille Bennett scored on a left-footed kick from 15 yards out. North had several close-range shots on goal, including two by forward Lu Crenshaw, that Capsey was able to rejec t. Crenshaw, who got kicked in the shin, limped noticeably during the second half and into the overtime. "It hurt really bad, but I don't feel it now," she said. "It's the best feeling in the world to beat South. "When Bethanie's shot went in, I cried. "It was a real physical, hard-fought game. There were a lot of cheap shots." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� interRogue & The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,