Document text
Phoenix bolts into semis By KRIS HENRY TALENT -- Eleven young men moving forward together are difficult to stop. Pleasant Hill's boys soccer team learned that lesson the hard way Saturday as Phoenix used a team effort to gain a 1-0 win and a berth in the semifinals of the Class 3A/2A/1A state playoffs. Working in unison, the Pirates frustrated the Billies and thoroughly dominated Saturday's quarterfinal action at Hagler-James Park. "The thing about this team is we have some stars, but for the most part, we're a team," said Phoenix coach Dennis Flenner. "We work so well together. It's hard to beat us because of our team play. We look for some key guys, but we win because we play as a team." Phoenix (12-1-3) will now take its suffocating defense and hard-driving offense into the Final Four, with Tuesday's match at La Salle the only road block between a date with the finals. La Salle advanced to the semifinals with a 1-0 victory at Philomath on Saturday. Also advancing to the semifinals were Catlin Gabel, a 2-0 winner over St. Mary's, and Marist, a 1-0 winner at Ontario. Saturday's final score wasn't indicative of how Phoenix dictated the action. Senior forward Masaya Yano flicked a Rhema Nelson corner kick past Billies goalkeeper Nick Smith for the game's lone score in the 12th minute. Seniors Sean Cowley and Jesse Shorland each had several scoring opportunities thwarted by wide efforts or Smith saves. Pinching up from their midfield positions, sophomore John Hendricks and senior Jaime Bugarin each also had their scoring threats turned away. All the missed scoring opportunities placed a little more pressure on goalkeeper Tony Machado, but the Phoenix junior answered the challenge each time. "I was hoping we could finish a little better, but we did what we needed to do," said Machado. "Hopefully, that will carry us through the next two games." If the offensive pressure can't carry Phoenix, its stonewall defense provides an equally capable contingency plan. Besides Machado's timely punch-outs or sure-handed grabs, senior defenders Al Albright and Carlos Corona combined with junior Lane Munroe and freshman Chris Swann to handcuff the bigger, more physical Billies. Albright saved the day for Phoenix on several occasions as the last obstacle between Pleasant Hill and Machado. Besides keeping the Billies from gaining open one-on-one attacks at his goalie, Albright denied a sure goal in the 10th minute. Pleasant Hill senior forward Shaughn White gathered in a perfect long pass behind the Phoenix defense and fired a low shot that Machado was only able to deflect. With the ball rolling toward a sure goal, a hustling Albright caught up with the ball inches before the goal line and sliced a saving effort out of bounds. "Al did a fantastic job today," said Flenner. "If there's somebody that's really been an MVP to this playoff, I'd have to say it was Al. He's kept his head in the toughest of times, and you can see the other defenders -- when they get into trouble -- just turn around and look at him to make the play. "On a big field like this, you can really get in a lot of trouble, but Al kept us from getting hurt." Efforts like Albright's have become almost commonplace for the District 6 champions, helping ease the pressure on Machado. "I was really confident in my defense from the beginning," said the goalkeeper. "All I had to do was keep a cool head and concentrate the whole game." With the scouting report suggesting Pleasant Hill likes to go on the offensive early with an all-out attack, Phoenix reversed the role with Yano's goal. "They like to put you in a hole and then lay off, but we were able to do that to them and put the heat right back on them," Flenner said of the early goal. "Our defense closed them down from there. They're very skilled in the front and we just took it to them. We took away their whole offensive attack." Now it's two down and two to go for the state championship. "We're very, very excited to be in the semifinals," said Flenner. "I'm not surprised we're where we are right now with the kids we have, but we're also not satisfied." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.