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Late goal sinks South boys photo by Jim Craven Josh Neville, left, battles Josh Sierra, right. Sierra later scored the winner. Westview scores with just seconds left in 2-1 triumph By DON HUNT Just seconds remained in the first-round state playoff match Saturday at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park as Kevin Weisenfluh won the ball on the left wing and streaked unabated toward the South Medford goal. Weisenfluh, considered to be one of the top high school soccer players in the Northwest, had just what he wanted: a one-on-one situation against South Medford goalie Mark Goerke in a 1-1 game. Goerke made a spectacular save, thrusting his body outward and into a nearly horizontal position and blocking the ball just before it could rocket into the Panther goal. However, Westview stopper Josh Sierra, who was Johnny-on-the-spot, took almost immediate possession in the box and blasted home the game-winner. Never mind that it ricocheted off a Panther defender. "I saw an opening, got my shot off and in it went," Sierra said as he was being mobbed by jubilant teammates along the Westview sideline minutes after the match ended. "It went off a South player and so it was kind of a lucky shot. But any time you take a shot from that close, it's got a chance to go in." Sierra's game-winner culminated a fiercely-fought, physical match that saw each team seize the momentum for 10- to 25-minute stretches. Led by junior striker Damian Rasmussen, sophomore midfielder Josh Neville and freshman sensation Pat Lower, who came off the bench in each half to supply a spark, the defending state champion Panthers got on the board first. Bruce Majors notched the goal on a free kick, drilling the ball into the left corner of the net 18 minutes into the first half. The goal seemed to lift South Medford, which had started tentatively against its powerful opponent from Beaverton. Westview entered the playoffs as the No. 3 representative from the Metro League, but the Wildcats' only losses this season have been to No. 1-ranked South Eugene and No. 2-ranked Jesuit, the Metro League champ. But South Medford failed to add a second goal and then 30 minutes into the first half the unthinkable happened: the Panthers surrendered an own goal. As Chris Gillingham attempted to clear the ball with his foot in front of the Westview goal, the ball curled backwards over his head and into the net. "That's the first own goal we've given up all season," South Medford coach Dave Potter said. "We've come awfully close a couple of times and dodged the bullet, but today we didn't. "I just ache for our kids and especially (Gillingham)." "It was a wet ball on a wet field against a quality, tenacious opponent, and we didn't get many breaks as far as the scoring was concerned," Potter added. The own goal tied the match at 1-1 and restored Westview's confidence, Wildcats coach Jim Lekas said. "When South Medford scored first, I really felt the air go out of our sails," said Lekas, whose team improved its record to 11-2-2 and earned a second-round match against Lakeridge. "But we talked before the match about battling to the end regardless of what happened in the middle. And we definitely regrouped." South Medford had two great scoring opportunities early in the second half, but an 18-yard bullet off the foot of Rasmussen missed the left post by less than a foot, and a 25-yard attempt by Neville sailed over the top of the crossbar. So the match came down to the final, few frantic seconds. And the Wildcats were ready for the moment. Sierra is normally a player who distributes the ball. He is the equivalent of a point guard in basketball, but on this day he made the winning shot at crunch time. "He's a very physical player," said Lekas of Sierra. "He plays our stopper position, and it's his job to get the ball to the wings. But if given the opportunity, he can get the ball in the net. And that's what he did today." The scene on the Westview sideline after the match was entirely different than two years earlier, when South Medford handed the Wildcats a 4-0 playoff defeat. "We got introduced to the Bryn Ritchie show," Lekas said in reference to the former South Medford star who is now wearing a University of Washington uniform. "I tried to excise that from my mind, but you take another trip down here and the memories resurface." Potter, meanwhile, was frustrated in defeat but also proud of a team that tied Grants Pass for the Southern Oregon Conference championship after starting the season 1-5. Only one player -- Jon Micah Somrall -- returned with any experience from the 1997 state championship squad. "To come from where we were six weeks ago to where we are now is really quite remarkable," said Potter, whose Panthers finished with an 8-7 record. South started just two seniors Saturday: Somrall and Goerke. "I wish I could be back here next year with the rest of these guys because they're going to have a really good team," said Goerke, who finished with a half-dozen saves Saturday. "It's sad to have the season end now. We were just getting warmed up." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,