Document text
PREP SOCCER: North breaks through vs. Roseburg By Danny Penza Updated: Sep 13, 2022 09:58 PM A A 5 View all photos Through the North Medford boys soccer team’s first four games of the 2022 season, Black Tornado head coach Michael Belzberg can point to one or two moments that have caused his team to come away empty handed. Things took a turn for the better Tuesday afternoon. North Medford got second-half goals from junior forward Alec Winters and junior midfielder Jesus Duarte to break a scoreless deadlock and give the Black Tornado a 2-0 win over Roseburg in Southwest Conference action at Hoffbuhr Field. “We just kept going forward, kept creating chances and didn’t let the misses frustrate us,” said Belzberg. “Over time, it’s going to fall. As you’re creating chances and chances, the tendency is to get frustrated and lose your patience and then you can concede a goal or lose your composure. I think they did a good job just to continue to try, continue to believe that the goal would come.” All of North’s first four games this season have been decided by one goal, with the Black Tornado (2-3, 1-2 SWC) entering Tuesday’s home matchup on a three-game losing skid. However, much like what happened against South Eugene this past Saturday, mistakes were becoming more pronounced because goals were hard to come by. Against Roseburg (0-2-1, 0-2), North was able to withstand early pressure and grow into the first half. The Black Tornado had three quality chances to take a lead in the final 12 minutes of the opening half, but were unable to put anything on frame. “We’ve got to be more efficient on our chances,” said Belzberg. “I would say for every 10 chances you get, you have to score one. We’re more like 20, so if we can get the percentage a little higher, we’ll be more successful. That’s really a big piece to it.” That changed in the second half, though. North took a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the second half when a Matt Donovan cross from the left wing hit off the crossbar and dropped into the 6-yard box, resulting in Winters, the Roseburg keeper and another defender coming together all at once. Winters, with his right leg extended as his back was turned to goal, was able to get something on the ball to direct it back toward the open goal, allowing it to trickle across the goal line. “It’s one of the ugliest goals we’ve ever scored,” said Belzberg with a laugh. “But sometimes it doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to go into the back of the net. It doesn’t matter how you score, it just matters that you score, right? That’s the point of the game.” The Black Tornado doubled their lead with 20 minutes to go. Erick Nunez jumped on a through ball from Winters in midfield that slipped its way through two Roseburg defenders and was in on goal before seeing his shot saved. Fortunately for North, Duarte was making a run toward the back post and found himself right in the path of the ball, finding a wide-open net to shoot into and give the Tornado a 2-0 lead. Roseburg had chances to cut into North’s lead, but Tornado goalkeeper Fernando Ortiz kept the Indians at bay, including a nice diving save in the closing minutes. Ortiz finished with five saves against the Indians and recorded his second shutout of the season. Tornado sophomore midfielder Trent Florey was a standout performer off the bench, giving the Tornado some needed energy, Belzberg said. “I don’t think we played all that great today,” Belzberg said. “I felt like we struggled to cleanly move the ball around and I think we were fortunate that they didn’t punish us more. I think we didn’t play as well we could have, but we played good enough to get it done.” “We’re still developing,” he added. “We’ve got a lot of juniors, so it’s going to take some time for them to mature. Hopefully we start to do it sooner rather than later so that we can get into the playoffs and get more games in and more experience. But I think they’re growing.” GRANTS PASS 3, SOUTH MEDFORD 1: At Grants Pass, Steven Calvillo gave South Medford some late life, but the Panthers were unable to complete the comeback in SWC action at Mel Ingram Field. Calvillo, a freshman midfielder, took a pass from forward Alexis Reyes and dribbled past a pair of potential tackles before hitting a right-footed shot that snuck under Grants Pass goalkeeper Cameron Hicks with 16 minutes to go. Grants Pass (3-0, 3-0 SWC) was able to strike first midway through the first half on a nice give-and-go between Cy Isabell and Antonio Barrero de la Puerta. After getting the ball back from his teammate, Isabell saw his shot hit off the crossbar but Barrero de la Puerta was right there to direct it in for a goal. The Cavers doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half on Pedro Gonzalez’s close-range header off a GP corner kick. Barrero de la Puerta got his second goal of the night with eight minutes left to secure the win over the Panthers (2-2-1, 1-1-1). ASHLAND 1, PHOENIX 0: At Phoenix, Ashland junior Lupin Paz scored in the 23rd minute and junior goalkeeper Mateo Moore turned back considerable pressure by 4A host Phoenix to keep a clean sheet at P-T Rising Field. The 5A Grizzlies (2-1) broke the ice when Paz was able to create a takeaway in the Pirates’ zone and then hit a low shot to the right of goalkeeper Julius Bolstad into the net. Phoenix (0-4) developed some good scoring chances through the play of Daniel Palomino but could not convert, while Dominic Crenshaw and Cielo Marlia-Larsen proved to be considerable thorns in the Grizzlies’ side. Ashland freshman Escher Paz also had a good showing on defense, where Moore finished with six saves. HENLEY 2, CRATER 0: At Central Point, Crater’s defense wasn’t able to slow down Henley’s high-scoring attack in a nonleague matchup at Dutch Meyer Field. The Hornets (5-0) scored in the ninth minute and at the 59-minute mark. Goalkeeper Diego Estrada came up with seven saves for the Comets (1-1-1). Girls SOUTH MEDFORD 2, GRANTS PASS 0: South Medford freshmen Mia Kalina and Raegan Burke scored within seven minutes of each in the first half to lead the Panthers to their first SWC win. Kalina gave South (3-0-1, 1-0-1 SWC) a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute on a hard shot from the wing that initially looked like a cross but beat the Grants Pass keeper at the back corner of the goal. The Panthers doubled their lead in the 30th minute, as Burke finished a Tyler Hampson corner kick on the half-volley into the side netting. South keeper Eve Lynx made seven saves in recording her fourth consecutive shutout. South’s Brooke Fairbanks created a handful of chances in attack, while Lexie Maukonen had a strong game in the midfield against Grants Pass (1-2-1, 0-2-1). NORTH MEDFORD 2, ROSEBURG 2: At Roseburg, sophomore Olivia Boger scored with three minutes remaining in the second half to pull North Medford even in a back-and-forth SWC contest against Roseburg. Boger made a run down the left wing before cutting in and taking a shot from just outside the 18-yard box. North (2=1-2, 1-0-2 SWC) pulled even for the first time in the 25th minute on a goal from Alia Villa after Roseburg (0-1-3, 0-0-2) went ahead 1-0 thanks to Madeline Snyder’s seventh-minute goal. Roseburg took a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes to go in the first half via Kali Richards. Brycelin Endrikat and Ava Markiewicz played strong games in the center of the North defense. PHOENIX 4, COTTAGE GROVE 0: At Phoenix, Morgan James scored off a header on a corner kick by Anahi Villa just three minutes into the contest and host Phoenix dominated play to earn the nonleague win at P-T Rising Field. Carsyn Gallegos scored on a penalty kick to help the Pirates (2-2) carry a 2-0 lead into intermission. Seniors Sofi Rodriguez and Katie Christensen tacked on second-half goals against Cottage Grove (1-2). Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneNorth Medford's Alec Winters celebrates after scoring during the 2nd half against Roseburg at North Medford High School Tuesday. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneNorth Medford's Alec Winters celebrates with teamates after scoring during the 2nd half against Roseburg at North Medford High School Tuesday. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneNorth Medford's Ian Richardson collldes with Roseburg's Alexander Bowen during the 1st half at North Medford High School Tuesday. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneNorth Medford's Matt Donovan pushes the ball past Roseburg's Heath King during the 2nd half at North Medford High School Tuesday. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneNorth Medford's Alec Winters gets the ball past Roseburg's Peyton Fisher during the 1st half at North Medford High School Tuesday.