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Pelicans squeak past North By Don Hunt One spectacular kick. One spectacular goal. And one satisfying victory for the Klamath Union High boys soccer team Saturday at District Field. Luis Garcia provided the game�s golden moment for the visiting Pelicans as he drilled a high, arcing 25-yard free kick into the net 22 minutes into the second half that gave Klamath Union a 1-0 victory and kept alive their hopes of a Southern Oregon Conference championship. The Pelicans can earn a tie for the SOC title and clinch the conference�s No. 1 state playoff berth with a win over South Medford at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park on Tuesday. "I probably don�t make that kick two out of 10 times, but that one went in and that�s all the matters," a smiling Garcia said. "I aimed for the far post and it curved in." Garcia�s dramatic goal that sailed past the outstretched arms of North Medford keeper Jon Cotta was the reward for a furious final 20 minutes turned in by the Pelicans. Until that point, Klamath Union was outplayed by the Black Tornado but leaned on its airtight defense to post the shutout. The victory left Klamath Union 10-2 overall and 5-1 in the SOC, one game in back of South Medford, while North Medford dropped to 7-3-3 and 4-2 in conference play. "We let them dictate play in the first half, but in the second half we started to play our game � one- and two-touch passing to move the ball upfield," said Klamath Union goalie Phil Van Buren, who registered three great saves in the first half and five in all. "It�s never easy to win here, but we hung together and got the job done." North Medford finished with a 16-11 edge in shots on goal and was on the brink of scoring three times in the first half. But once the Pelicans got the lead, they went into a prevent defense and the frustrated Tornado could do little to overcome it. "They were packing the box at the end and we kept trying to thread the needle up the middle," North Medford center midfielder Dominic Crenshaw said. "We just couldn�t get the ball through there. We should have been attacking the flanks instead. "But they had a great keeper � I�ll give them that." Each team had chances to score in the first half. For Klamath Union, Garcia missed a header that sailed over the crossbar midway through the opening 40 minutes, and a short time later Krister Balme drilled a shot that North Medford defender Justin Bilodeau knocked away at the last instant. Aaron Abbott, Dan Zimmer and Josh Grace all smashed hard shots at Van Buren in the first half, but the Pelican keeper rebuffed them all. "He�s the best keeper in the conference," North Medford coach Rich Garcia said of Van Buren. "He dominated the box for them. "Our defense played great, too, but one bad moment cost us." Klamath Union triumphed despite playing most of the match without Alex Casey, its top defender. Casey left the game 10 minutes into the first half with a knee injury and didn�t return. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.