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Beaver's late score lifts Ashland into semis Prep soccer playoffs CORVALLIS -- In times of need, leave it to Beaver. That's what the Ashland boys soccer team did Saturday in edging Corvallis 2-1 in the Class 4A quarterfinals as Scott Beaver scored his third goal of the playoffs in the 73rd minute to break a 1-all tie at Spartan Field. With defense dominating most of the action, the Grizzlies struck for the game-winner when Ashland senior Peter Grossman crossed a pass to midfielder Will Dolan in front of the goal. Surrounded by Spartan defenders, Dolan leaped to flick a header to Beaver, who knew exactly what to do with his opportunity. "I was sitting on the backdoor, the opposite side of the field the ball was on, and the goalie overcommitted to the near post and I shot it pretty high to the far post," Beaver said. Beaver's late score helped Ashland (13-0-4) advance to Tuesday's semifinal against Jesuit, a 3-0 winner over Canby on Saturday. Ashland and Jesuit each won their conference championships and have taken the same route to the semifinals with one home win followed by two road wins. With all that being equal, OSAA rules indicate Ashland should play host to Jesuit Tuesday thanks to the bracket's lottery system. The other semifinal will feature South Medford against Mountain View. "Overall we played a lot better than we did against Tualatin," Beaver said in comparing his team's last two playoff games, "but we still didn't play that well. We started off really slow but turned it up in the second half." Corvallis got on the board first in the 30th minute when a free kick from 25 yards out was knocked down by Ashland goalie Noah Shields but not controlled. Corvallis defender Greg Truax got to the loose ball and popped it into the net. Ashland evened the score three minutes later when Grizzly senior Trevor Streng's corner kick found its way to senior Zack Potocki, who soared over everyone to head it into the goal. Class 3A State Playoffs PHILOMATH 1, PHOENIX 0, shootout -- At Philomath, Phoenix got outshot 4-3 in the shootout of the quarterfinal match. In the shootout, each team missed its first attempt and made the next three. Philomath converted on the fifth kick to win the match. For Phoenix, Jennifer Bones, Jessica Montgomery and Annie Kulig made kicks in the shootout. "There were lots of scoring opportunities, more for us than them," Phoenix coach Dan Sporrer said. "We had our chances and our scary moments. It was end-to-end soccer." Senior goalie Tara Curtis had another strong game in net for the District 6 champion Pirates (12-2-2). "She came up big for us when we needed her," said Sporrer. "They definitely put pressure on her at times. She was very consistent." Phoenix received a strong effort from its forward trio of Bones, Helen Shorland and Lisa Perry. WILSONVILLE 2, NORTH VALLEY 1 -- At the Josephine County Fairgrounds, North Valley pushed undefeated Wilsonville to their limits but came up short, ending their season with a quarterfinal loss. Marriette Boyce, Wilsonville's regular-season scoring leader, broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the third minute. The score stood 1-0 until Jen Burke added what would be the decisive goal at the 60th minute from 3 yards out. Sara Martin brought the Knights back with a goal off a penalty kick just nine minutes later. Wilsonville outshot North Valley 26-12. North Valley ends their season with a mark of 10-4-2. MARIST 5, HENLEY 1 -- At Klamath Falls, Marist jumped to a 4-1 first-half lead and never looked back. Marist, the District 5 champion, had five different players score en route to a 22-4 advantage in shots-on-goal. Cathy Mayer scored the lone Henley goal at the 39th minute of the first half. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.