Document text
Upstart Ashland unloads on SOC-favorite South, 4-1 Ashland High's boys soccer team arrived at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park -- home of the South Medford Panthers -- with something to prove Saturday. The Grizzlies, who were picked to finish fourth in the Southern Oregon Conference despite tying for the championship a year ago, wanted to knock off the team that has won or tied for the SOC title seven of the past eight years. SOC coaches picked South Medford to win another title in 1999. But the Panthers' road to a title became full of potholes Saturday. Ashland scored one minute into the match and set a physical tone for the action in defeating the Panthers, 4-1. "There's nothing sweeter than beating South," said Ashland defender Zack Potocki. "They're supposed to be the best team. It couldn't be better than beating the best team. "It was pretty emotional out there. Both teams played hard. There was quite a bit of talking going on." The Grizzlies improved their season record to 5-0-3 and remained atop the SOC at 2-0. South Medford fell to 1-1 in the SOC and 5-3-1 overall. Ashland got a goal from James Kinard in the opening minute. Kinard took a pass from Scott Beaver, lost control of the ball temporarily and then drilled it into the goal from three yards out. The assist on the goal came from Eric Sharp. After Ethan Wallenberg of the Panthers headed in a throw-in to tie the match at 1-1 in the third minute, Ashland's Will Dolan scored on a shot following a pass from Brett Peterson. The ball deflected off a South Medford player to Peterson, who made the pass to Dolan for a 2-1 Ashland lead. Sharp made it 3-1 with another goal off a deflection. The ball struck South goalkeeper Andy Riggs. The final Ashland goal came in the 14th minute of the second half when Gus Hart took a pass from Kinard and scored from 15 yards away. Sharp said Saturday's win was especially gratifying considering South's edge over Ashland the "But now, we have a new coach (Eisa Tiaa Toutou) and some new players with a lot of skill and speed," he said. "It was a matter of us stepping up today against South and getting the job done. We did it. "Both teams have a lot of speed, but we won most of the 50-50 balls, and we wanted it more than they did today, I think." South Medford coach Dave Potter had a different slant on the game. "It was two great teams playing pretty evenly," he said. "Ashland put a game on the field that was near-perfect. "We got some tough breaks, and we couldn't finish on offense. But my kids never gave up. We had three good scoring opportunities in the last 10 minutes and none of them went in. Next time, all three might go in." South had one shot hit off the crossbar in the last 10 minutes and another hit Ashland's goalkeeper in the foot and trickled away. Tiaa Toutou said Ashland's win was a result of consistent ball control and strong defense. Tiaa Toutou credited Potocki, Trevor Streng, Dolan and James Kinard with keeping South at bay. The foursome used their advantage in quickness to thwart the Panther attack throughout the contest. South Medford outshot Ashland 21-16, and the Panthers had a 6-0 edge in corner kicks. But Ashland's defense was there to cover up. "All their hard work paid off," Tiaa Toutou said of his Ashland players. "Winning over South Medford will have a great impact on this team." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.