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Blanchet puts an end to Cascade Christian's season They were playing in the Class 3A/2A/1A state quarterfinals for the first time in team history without their star midfielder. They were playing the co-No. 1 team in the state in Blanchet. They fielded just one senior. Yes, the Cascade Christian Challengers had nothing to lose Saturday, at Hawthorne Park. Then the match began, and they did lose. Soundly. Blanchet scored all the goals they would need - two - in the first eight minutes and controlled the match from start to finish for a 4-1 victory, advancing to the semifinals and eliminating the Challengers. The Cavaliers (16-2-1) are set to host Marist on Tuesday for a spot in the finals. Cascade Christian, which ended the season 9-4-1, played without junior captain Kayla Zielke, who suffered a knee injury in the team's first-round win over Brookings. The loss proved critical, as the Crusaders struggled from the outset to find a rhythm that never came. "When we played Brookings, (Zielke) got taken out and she's our center midfielder, so we had to do a lot of adjusting today," Cascade coach Craig Warren said. "But I don't want to take anything away from (Blanchet). They're a young, really skilled team. We just got outplayed. "For what we had going today, I think we played OK." Blanchet, the No. 2 team from District 8, spent most of the day on the attack and finished with an 18-5 shots-on-goal advantage. The Crusaders, meanwhile, rarely threatened the Cavaliers' defense and had just one corner kick. They managed two shots on goal in the first half and three in the second half, but only Jessica Tresser's second half one-timer was a legitimate threat. Blanchet got on the board just six minutes in when sophomore midfielder Karrie Hagedom took a pass from sophomore defender Tianna Meduri on a free kick and chipped it in from 10 yards out. Meduri, who later picked up another assist on a corner kick, laid the ball perfectly over Cascade's defenders and Hagedom plugged it into the right side of the net. Two minutes later, another strong push by the Salem-area visitors led to another goal. This time, junior forward Susanne Bremdal scored on a pass from sophomore forward Kristen Mazzei to give Blanchet a 2-0 lead. Bremdal and Mazzei were two of four Cavaliers inside the box on the play, as Cascade goalkeeper Jennesa Collette was left to fend for herself. "Defensive breakdowns," Warren said. "We're starting two freshmen and a first-year player in the back. They had some nice runs that they were making and it confused our girls, and they just lost track of players." Blanchet wasn't done. In the 30th minute the Cavaliers made it 3-0 when sophomore midfielder Mara Rappleyea headed in Allison Buswell's perfectly placed corner kick. Buswell, a sophomore midfielder, kicked the ball 5 yards in front of the goal, where Rappleyea directed it into the left side of the net. "We brought out our 'A' game," Rappleyea said. Six minutes later Blanchet scored its fourth goal on nearly the same play. This time it was Hagedom heading in Meduri's corner kick for the 4-0 lead. It was the second hookup of the day for the potent Hagedom-Meduri combination. "We played real well," Blanchet coach Bob Weber said, noting that his team hadn't played Cascade and didn't know any that had. "We just didn't have any idea what to expect. "We wanted to jump out early, and we did a great job of doing that. We tried to worry a lot more coming in about how we played and not worry so much about who we were playing, just try to make sure that we come out ready to play and play aggressive." And that's what they did. Cascade managed only a handful of strong pushes in the opening half. Other than that, it was all Blanchet. The Crusaders survived several scares in the second half but held Blanchet at bay on the strength of Collette's nine saves. Then came Cascade's lone goal, a 15-yard boot by Tresser in the 33rd minute that drew a loud ovation from the home crowd. The goal seemed to lift Cascade's spirits, and afterwards the Crusaders focused on the positives. "The first half, we started out a little slow, but the second half, we really came together and we really played good," freshman Chelsea Winner said. "I think we could have done just a little bit better, but I think we played well for how everyone was. It's just the end of the season and everybody's just a little bit burned out on everything." The Crusaders could be much better next year because only one player - Annabelle Brown - will graduate off the 19-girl roster. "I think we'll be really good next year," Tresser said. "We have a lot of freshmen coming in, and they're supposed to be really good players. And the players we have now are growing and getting stronger and better, and I'm looking forward to next year's season. I'm pretty confident that we have a chance at state and the playoffs next year." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.