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Two kinds of gloom Photo by Bob Pennell South Medford High School soccer fans' expressions match the weather Tuesday as they braved a rainstorm to watch the Panthers fall to Mountain View High School 8-1 in the state semifinal game at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park in Medford. Ashland also lost its semifinal match against Jesuit, 2-0. South succumbs in state semis By GREG STILES Ben Buchta of South Medford, right, and Mountain View's Joe Moore compete for the ball during their semifinal soccer match. Taylor McCool told his coach the outcome would be different than the last time Mountain View visited Medford. The junior midfielder made good on his promise Tuesday afternoon, scoring three goals as the unbeaten Cougars overwhelmed South Medford, 8-1, in the Class 4A state boys soccer semifinals at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park. The triumph boosted third-ranked Mountain View (18-0) into Saturday's 2 p.m. championship match against Metro League champion Jesuit (15-1-2) at Wilsonville. The Crusaders ousted Southern Oregon Conference champion Ashland, 2-0. "It was just about the same weather as today when they beat us the last time we were in the semifinals," said McCool, who was there when South defeated Mountain View 3-0 en route to winning the 1997 title. "I told my coach it wasn't going to happen again." Even when South scored first -- less than two minutes into the contest -- McCool wasn't about to panic. "When we played the first time it was pretty even and we knew they'd be fired up, especially after beating (defending state champion) South Eugene on Saturday," McCool said. "When that goal went in, it was kind of shocking. But everyone said to each other that we'd just have to pick it up. We came back and boom, boom." Actually it was more like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom ... South's Adam Flannery (11) works past, from left, Nate Todd, Cole McCool and Drew Norris. "Their skill level was exceptional," said South Medford coach Dave Potter. "They had an exceptional performance in all facets of the game: offense, defense, small-group and total-team tactics. To win balls and place the ball around the goal area like they did, nobody has done that all year against us. I've never seen anybody that accurate. It was their day." But for a few moments, it appeared that might not be the case. A throw-in by South's Bryce Majors' from near the right corner was headed by Ethan Wallenberg in front of the goal and finished off by Damian Rasmussen's header. "In our first two playoff games (against Lincoln and North Salem) we wanted to go out and get a goal early and we were kind of thinking that way today," said Panther midfielder Pat Lower. "We were happy we got that goal, and I thought we would be able to build on it." It didn't take long for McCool to turn the tide. He scored a school-record 28 goals before moving to midfield this season. Slashing through the Panthers on the right side of the box, McCool found himself alone with South's goalkeeper Andy Riggs, who slipped into the slop as the Mountain View junior deposited the ball into an empty goal. "I thought, `Wow, the guys are going to do OK"' Potter said. "I was writing down how we got our goal when they scored. It was that fast." The defensive posture the Panthers hoped to take after the early score failed to materialize, primarily because Mountain View strung together a succession of corner kicks and converted several into goals. "I thought they'd bring everybody back and pack them into the box," Tenney said. "But they spread their defense out. "It gave us confidence to come back and score that fast." Zach Gist set up the go-ahead goal on a 40-yard direct kick from in front of the South bench that Grayson Tenney headed over to David Holmes, who headed the ball into the net at the 13-minute mark. Tenney then converted a corner into a another goal to make it 3-1. And when Joe Moore drilled a 25-yard laser shot from the right side with 14 minutes left in the first half to make it 4-1, the rout was on. "I'm extremely proud of the boys for playing good team soccer," Potter said. "We scored in the opening three minutes of game. We were there to play. But we nailed ourselves by not clearing the ball out in and around the penalty box area early in the game. We turned it over to them by not clearing out." The Panthers, who finished the season 12-5-1, absorbed a major hit in the second half when junior sweeper Craig Tomlins went flying over a Cougar and dislocated his right shoulder when he hit the ground. "It just wasn't our day," Potter said. Mountain View has now outscored its opponents 80-6 this season, giving up two of those goals to South. Cougar coach John Stockton, first cousin to the NBA star of the same name, said his team is peaking at the right time. "We're playing with patience and composure," he said. "We've been working hard on crossing passes and it's started paying off big. We're finishing off offensively." After finishing off South, Mountain View -- the first Intermountain Conference team to play in the finals -- hopes to finish with a flourish against Jesuit. "A lot of people don't think we play very good soccer on the other side of the mountains," Tenney said. "I think we've proved we're one of the better teams." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.