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Unlikely source helps St. Mary's earn revenge By TED BURNHAM Revenge is sweet. Especially when it happens in front of the home crowd. Especially when the win involves a trip to the state soccer tournament. The St. Mary's boys had its revenge Tuesday in a 2-1 District 6 playoff victory over Henley, earning the Crusaders (9-6 overall) a berth in the Class 3A/2A/1A state playoffs. St. Mary's travels Saturday to play Brookings-Harbor, the second-place team in District 3, in the first round of state. Last year in Klamath Falls, the Hornets (8-8) beat St. Mary's, 3-2, in a match of the same significance. Tuesday's contest was tied, 1-1, and the teams appeared headed for overtime when Jeff Mullis' overzealous defense for Henley scored an own goal to give St. Mary's the win just two minutes remaining. "It was a heck of a game," St. Mary's coach Joel Benson said. "It was real close, and it's nice to have the win. I am really happy we are heading on." Henley senior forward Stuart Ward, who scored the Hornets' only goal, said he was proud of his team despite the loss. "I thought we played as hard as we could have," a teary-eyed Ward said. "We never gave up - we kept it up, but they got lucky." Ward, who ended the contest with seven shots on goal, converted a cross from Joe Salvati to give Henley the first score 34 minutes into the match. The Crusaders tied the match just two minutes into the second half. Matt Burt did the scoring, pouncing on a ball deflected off Hornets goalkeeper Tyson Munoz after a St. Mary's indirect kick. Under showery skies, the teams battled back-and-forth the rest of the way. The Hornets' Ward, Salvati, forward Bjark Larsen and midfielder Gabe Hernandez pressured the St. Mary's goal, but sophomore Sean Snider, freshman Matt Bladek and Jordan Frankel made key defensive plays to keep the Hornets at bay. In fact, a Snider block in the first half and header in the second stopped certain Hornet goals. St. Mary's was back on the offensive for most of the last 20 minutes as Snider, Burt, Thatcher Jones and Bladek repeatedly advanced the ball within 20 yards of the Hornet goal. In all, St. Mary's fired 14 shots on goal to Henley's 12. Jones led the Crusaders with four, and Snider and Burt each had three. "The second half, we were passing better," Benson said. "Our defense held them up pretty good. We really held up." "The whole team hustled after we were down a goal," Jones added. "That's why we won." The match appeared headed for overtime when Jones crossed toward Pires in the 78th minute. Pires was less than 10 yards in front of the Hornet goal, but Mullis was there first. Unfortunately for the Hornets, the ball careened off the side of Mullis' foot and rolled back into the goal. "Everyone said we wouldn't win a game this season," Ward said. "We were picked to be last in the district. So we are really proud of what we did this season." Jones, meanwhile, is looking forward to the Crusaders' next test. "We are going to have to pass well and stick together," Jones said. "We just have to have confidence in each other." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.