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46 °F 5 Day Forecast Sunday, November 30, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend November 5, 2003 Crusaders charge into 2A/1A semifinals By ROB McCALLUM for the Mail Tribune East met West Tuesday afternoon in a wet and muddy boys soccer playoff game at St. Mary’s High School. The host Crusaders outlasted a road-weary Grant Union team, 3-0, in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A/1A state playoffs. St. Mary’s next plays Western Mennonite, a 4-1 winner over Oregon Episcopal School, on Saturday. The game is at Western Mennonite, a Salem school that won the West Valley League championship. The game time has not been determined. Advertisement This marked the second year in a row that St. Mary’s (16-0-1) met the Prospectors, hailing all the way from John Day, in the first round. The major difference between the two games being cold and rainy weather. "This is a huge win for us with the conditions being the way they were," said St. Mary’s coach Matt Faurot. "It was such an advantage playing at home because the field has been pretty muddy all week. We’ve had a chance to practice playing ‘skip ball’ in these conditions." The two teams slipped, slid and bumped into each other for the first half, resulting in a 0-0 deadlock. Early in the second half, St. Mary’s junior fullback Duncan MacDiarmid was fouled inside the Grant Union box. Senior halfback Michael Staver converted the ensuing penalty kick in the 49th minute to put the Crusaders on the board. Just three minutes later, MacDiarmid split the Prospector defense and bounced a shot off a Grant Union player. Senior forward Sean Snider handled the rebound and converted the goal for a 2-nil lead. "Sean was one of the muddiest players on the field because he was in on so many plays," Faurot said. "He was disrupting any attempt by them to pass the ball out of the backfield." After setting up the Crusaders’ first two goals, MacDiarmid scored one of his own, a 15-yard rocket off a cross from junior fullback Josh Jones. "We had a lot of fun even though it was wet," MacDiarmid said. "The ball was pretty slippery, but in the second half we got used to it and were able to get better control." St. Mary’s goalkeeper Dylan Bourke earned the shutout in the net, turning away four Prospector shots. The win sent Grant Union on a 325-mile bus trip home. "It’s a whole different game on the road," said Prospector coach Ken Purnell. "Not to take anything away from St. Mary’s, but we haven’t played in weather like this. They’re a great team and they deserved to win." Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times