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SUNNY Temp: 55 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 23, 2002 North Medford�s Lisa Munyon is a two-time first-team all-conference performer for the Black Tornado. The senior is expected to be one of the top players again this season. More of the same expected in SOC race As usual, coaches have anointed South and North Medford the favorites as conference play kicks off Tuesday By TIM PYLE and TIM TROWER Mail Tribune Whoever came up with the phrase "the more things change, the more they stay the same" wasn’t describing Southern Oregon Conference girls soccer. But they sure could have been. South and North Medford have been the class of the conference for the last decade, and league coaches are expecting more of the same as SOC action opens Tuesday. South beat North, 2-1, on the final day of the regular season to decide last year’s champion, and the Medford rivals shared the title the three seasons before that. In fact, the last team other than those two to earn even a share of the crown was Mazama, now in the Class 3A Skyline Conference, in 1991. Klamath Union won the SOC outright in 1990. "The Medfords, that’s our benchmark," says Grants Pass head coach Hector Cruz, whose program is gunning for a fourth straight top four finish in the league. "They’re the dominants." Cruz and his counterparts have made South Medford a slight favorite over North to take first again this season, not that that’s binding. Last year, North received the slim coaches nod over South, but the order ended up reversed. The only certainty seems to be that the Medford schools are set to continue their reign over the SOC. Team-by-team previews, in order of predicted finish, follow. SOUTH MEDFORD — Gone is 2001 SOC player of the year Colleen Salisbury, now with the top-flight University of Portland women’s program. Fellow first-team all-conference stalwarts Erin Reno, Katie Casebeer and Brittany Quinowski have also graduated. But the Panthers, a perfect 7-0 in SOC action last fall, have plenty of talent to make another run at the league crown. Junior sweeper Courtney Quinowski and senior goalkeeper Sarah Bryan lead a defense that figures to be near as stingy as last year’s ungiving group. Seniors Liz Meyerding, Vanessa Lloyd and Sarah Ennis are also starters in the back. "The strength is the defense," says third-year head coach Buzz Thielemann, whose squad is 4-1 overall so far. Senior Heidi Meador has stepped into Salisbury’s role in the central midfield, and senior Emily Smith, a transfer from St. Mary’s, is her defensive-minded partner. Speedy sophomores Kaylyn Knutson, on the left, and Emma McConnell, on the right, roam the midfield wings. Up front, sophomore Kelsey Corbin and junior Amber Stevens are depended upon to create goals, along with explosive freshman Katrina Stevens coming off the bench. South’s task is blending together its considerable talent to form a unit as smooth as last year’s team. "When you lose players like we have, you don’t fill those holes overnight," Thielemann says. "We spent our first games just sorting out positions and finding those comfort areas, and we’re still doing that." NORTH MEDFORD — Senior central midfielder Lisa Munyon, a two-time first-team all-SOC performer, is the Black Tornado’s star and the preseason favorite for conference MVP honors. A defensive midfielder in the past, Munyon has moved up to take over McKenzie Weiler’s vacated attacking role. So far, so good for North, which is 3-1-3. "Lisa is probably one of the best all-around players that’s ever been through the program," says Dick Darcy, the seventh-year Tornado head coach. "She’s the center, the hub of distributing the ball, and she’s going forward and scoring." Munyon has five other returning starters surrounding her, including three who garnered honorable mention all-SOC acclaim last year — junior twins Kelly and Nicole Vilarino at forward and junior Kadi Driver at left midfield. Junior right midfielder Stephanie Mendenhall, senior defensive midfielder Emily Dunn and junior sweeper Whitney Major are also prime contributors for Darcy’s deep squad. Sophomore goalkeepers Katy Kunkle and Caitlin Seeley split time. "I think we’re gonna get there, but we’re not as ready as we have been in the past (for the SOC season)," Darcy says. "We’ve been moving girls around, trying to find out where they best fit in. We’re still kind of tinkering and tweaking. "We’ve always done well in the past, and I don’t expect anything less this year." GRANTS PASS — In his sixth year, Cruz isn’t willing to settle for second — actually, third — fiddle behind the Medford teams any longer. "This is the year," Cruz says. "We can’t wait to try make the move to compete with the Medfords." The Cavers have the firepower, with seven starters and 13 letterwinners returning. Junior Jakki Pilcher, a first-team pick at midfield a year ago, has pushed up to forward, and junior Katie Lamont, second team at fullback in 2001, has assumed central midfield duties. "(Pilcher) creates opportunities, and she has the ability to expose a lot of defenses," Cruz says. "(Lamont) is our decision-maker." Junior defensive midfielder Patina Taylor and junior sweeper Tonya Jacobs aim to help shut down opposing attacks. KLAMATH UNION — Gerrin DeGroot earned coach-of-the-year honors for guiding the Pelicans to third in the SOC last fall. Much of that team is back, but the 10th-year head coach doesn’t necessarily think KU is any better. "I think last year we overachieved," DeGroot says. "So just matching that would be a good goal for us this year." Senior forward Brianne Hackett, senior central midfielder Allyson Foster and junior sweeper Jenna Fay all earned second-team all-conference accolades in 2001. So did junior goalkeeper Tawnie Taylor, but she’s currently sidelined by injury. "We’re diversified," DeGroot says. "We’re pretty well-balanced." CRATER — The benefits of focusing on youth soccer in recent years are evident in a Crater team with high expectations. "Our whole level has come up this year," says head coach Terry Fretz, whose team went 4-0-2 in the preseason. "We’re possessing the ball a lot more and the skill level is so much better. We’re not just playing kickball." Returning all-conference junior forwards Sarah Lafontaine (first team) and Kasidy Reina (second team) key the attack, while second-team senior midfielder Tessa Austermuehle adds firepower. "Those three girls can put the ball away pretty quickly," says Fretz. Also back is Stacy Shaw, a senior defender who made the second team last year. Three freshmen — twins Janelle and Cortney Stoner and Emily Brookins — lend depth, and another Stoner, Jessica, is a key stopper. Austermuehle missed much of the preseason following a hiking accident but is expected back for league play. ROSEBURG — A couple of veterans, a transfer and a trio of talented sophomores fuel the Indians. Senior midfielder Marri Coen and senior forward Erika Hall are both four-year letterwinners. Coen stepped up her conditioning in preparation for this year, running more than 100 miles in the summer. Hall was the team’s second-leading scorer last year. They’ll team with the sophomores — midfielder Carli Godard and defenders Val Groshong and Sarah Lindbloom — and transfer Megan Ruhn, a senior defender from Glide, to form a formidable unit. Amanda Stribling, a first-team all-league defender last year as a junior, is not with the team, which is one of the reasons head coach Bryce Martin adopted a flatback-four scheme. It’s a zone defense, rather than man-to-man. "It’s worked great so far," says Martin, noting that Godard, Groshong and Lindbloom all played it in Eugene-area club ball last winter. "There’s a lot more communication going on." ASHLAND — Coming off a 2-5 SOC season last year, Ashland has a new coach in Eric Wolff and a lot of new players — five freshmen are earmarked for the varsity. Junior midfielder/forward Danya Rose-Merkle is the team captain and one of only three returners. The others are sophomore midfielder Sylvia VanAusdal and sophomore sweeper Laura Newton, who played outside defender last year. Other key players for the Grizzlies are midfielder/forward Aurora Dolan and goalkeeper Chloe Hansen. Among the freshmen to watch are Jamie Roupp, who had a hat trick against Phoenix as the Grizzlies went 2-1-2 in the preseason, and defenders Tess Golling and Rissa Barton. EAGLE POINT — Eagle Point’s most obvious foe is adversity. The only Eagle to receive mention in all-conference voting last year, honorable-mention Ali Rotar, a senior midfielder, suffered a knee injury in the first 10 minutes of the opening match and was lost for the season. That came on the heels of three returning starters transferring to other school districts after the Eagle Point Middle School fire turned school schedules upside down. Head coach Tim Sweeney, a middle school teacher, works from noon to 6, then joins practice in progress. Practices can’t go late because high school students — sharing the school with displaced middle-schoolers — start classes at 6:30 a.m. Returning letterwinners for the Eagles are junior forward Alisa Goslin, the leading scorer in the preseason, senior stopper Kadee McLaughlin and senior midfielder Karina Gutierrez. Of 15 varsity players, eight are freshmen and three are sophomores. 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