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Cavers stumble into berth in playoffs GRANTS PASS - The Grants Pass girls soccer team can live with getting into the state playoffs. It's just not the way Cavers coach Hector Cruz had envisioned ending the regular season. Breanna Hackett and Erin Uerlings each scored a first-half goal to lead Klamath Union to a 2-0 win and the No. 3 state-playoff seed out of the Southern Oregon Conference. Grants Pass, despite outshooting the Pelicans 16-3, finishes tied for fourth at 3-4 but still secures a playoff berth due to defeating Roseburg head-to-head. Grants Pass will host a sub-tournament game against the No. 4 team from the Midwestern Conference next Tuesday at 4 p.m. Klamath Union (4-3 SOC) visits Jesuit on Nov. 3 in a first-round state playoff match. "It's not exactly the way I wanted to get in," said Cruz. "But I'll count my blessings, and we'll live to play another day." Hackett opened the scoring in the 13th minute, then Uerlings provided the final score seven minutes later. The Cavers had several scoring opportunities but couldn't cash in. "We were off the mark," said Cruz. "We dominated possession time; I mean we had it easily at 70 minutes versus their 10. "But that's the way the ball bounces sometimes." Kelly Briggs continued to shine defensively for Grants Pass at her outside back position. "She really did anchor that defense," said Cruz. "She's the person who has been pretty stable and solid all season." Grants Pass is now 8-4-1 overall. ASHLAND 3, EAGLE POINT 1 - At Ashland, Rachel Salem and Angela Hiene scored second-half goals to help Ashland close out the season with a win. The Grizzlies finished at 2-5 in the SOC. Donya Rose-Merkle answered an Eagle Point goal in the first half with one of her own to knot things up at 1-1. The Eagles finished at 1-6 in conference play. ROSEBURG 4, CRATER 2, OT - At Roseburg, Morgan Downey scored a hat trick, but it wasn't enough to get the Indians into the playoffs. With its win, Roseburg (7-6-1, 3-4 SOC) needed a Klamath Union loss to make state. KU defeated Grants Pass, 2-0. After a scoreless first half, Downey tallied at the 45th minute, only to have Kassidy Reina of Crater even the score at the 62nd minute. She was assisted by Sarah Lafontaine. In overtime, Downey sandwiched two goals around a Carli Godard score to make it 4-1 in the 94th minute. Lafontaine scored the final goal for the Comets (7-7, 2-5 SOC), giving her 23 for the season to go with nine assists. SOC Boys CRATER 1, ROSEBURG 0 - At Central Point, Todd Sesock headed in a corner kick from Erich Hangartner to give the Comets the win in their final match of the season. The goal came at the 29th minute. Crater applied pressure in the first half, with four corner kicks to none for Roseburg. The Indians returned the favor in the second half but couldn't find the net. Leo Espinosa made an outstanding first-half save for the Comets, then moved to midfield in the second half and played well. Crater (6-7, 2-5 SOC) also got strong play from Sesock, midfielder Brandon Jones and defenders Matt Rensi and Eric Baker. ASHLAND 8, EAGLE POINT 1 - At Eagle Point, Scott Beaver scored three goals as Ashland ended the SOC season with a win and sewed up the No. 3 seed for the state playoffs. The Grizzlies (10-2, 5-2 SOC) travel to take on the Valley League's No. 2 team on Nov. 3. Beaver scored all three goals in the second half ,including the Grizzlies' fifth goal just 12 seconds after the intermission. Fletcher Beaudoin, Josh Romberg, Matt Sharp and Jesse Hodges each scored first-half goals for Ashland, while Brook Golling added a second-half goal. Drew Curriston scored the lone goal for Eagle Point (3-9-2, 0-7 SOC) on a corner kick in the final 10 seconds of the contest. KLAMATH UNION 3, GRANTS PASS 0 - At Klamath Falls, Klamath Union scored all three goals in the second half and wrapped up the SOC title in the process. The Pelicans (7-0 SOC) won the conference for the first time since 1992 and will host a first-round state-playoff game on Nov. 3 against the winner of a match between the No. 4 team from the Valley League and the No. 4 team from the Portland Interscholastic League. Nick Caleb, Ricardo Gurrero and Krister Balme each had a goal for the Pelicans. District 6 Boys MAZAMA 2, ILLINOIS VALLEY 0 - At Cave Junction, Danny West scored a goal in the 23rd minute and Julian von Schumann added a goal in the 55th minute as Mazama cruised past Illinois Valley in the District 6 match. Mike Sanchez and Richie Earle provided one assist each for the Vikings, who enjoyed a 36-2 edge in shots on goal as they improved to 4-9 in league play. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.