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South girls trip up Crater By Don Hunt CENTRAL POINT � With a new coach comes a new tt approach. And often, there come early-season struggles. But now that the South Medford High girls soccer team has had six weeks to get accustomed to new coach Buzz Thielemann, the Panthers are beginning to click. Junior forward Colleen Salisbury led an offensive onslaught at Central Point Elementary School Saturday, scoring four goals as the Panthers cruised to an 8-1 victory over Crater. The win was the fifth in a row for the Panthers, now 6-4 overall and 3-0 in the SOC. "We put heat on their defense the entire game," Thielemann said. "Our offensive designs are finally working." Thielemann, who spent the previous 17 years as a successful club coach, installed a new offense that has the Panthers overlapping and switching positions. The midfielders and forwards often switch roles on the fly, firing one-touch passes as they weave their way upfield. The modified attack has taken time to develop, but the Panthers were in sync Saturday as they got off 24 shots to Crater�s eight. "The beauty of it is that everyone gets involved offensively and defensively," Thielemann said. "We�ve had 10 players score this season. That�s a testament to the way we spread the ball around." The Panthers wasted little time in showcasing their offensive skills. Junior forward Lindsey Hawk scored 3� minutes into the contest off a rebound, and three minutes after that, Salisbury vollied in a shot that made it 2-0. Salisbury registered her second goal on a 15-yard blast from the left flank at the 20-minute mark, and Erin Reno continued the assault with a 10-yard thump from the right side at 23:31. Crater countered on a goal from Megan Confer at the 25:40 mark, but Salisbury took a pass from Panther defender Kathleen Narus and sent the ball into the net for a hat trick and a 5-1 halftime lead. South Medford has had a tendency to let up on opponents after taking leads this season, but the Panthers were relentless in their offensive tenacity Saturday. "We wanted to go right at them from the very beginning and not let up the whole match," Salisbury said. "We wanted to set a different standard today." Hawk and Salisbury added two quick goals to start the second half and Melissa Leonard finished the scoring in the 74th minute. Salisbury has now totaled 11 goals in 10 games, and Saturday marked the first four-goal game of her high school career. She had a hat trick earlier this season against Klamath Union. Salisbury�s numbers are way up from a year ago, and she attributes her improvement to a rigorous off-season conditioning program that saw her run, lift weights and visit a speed trainer, not to mention attend a summer camp at the University of Portland. "I�ve gotten a lot quicker," Salisbury said. "I want to play soccer in college." Crater, meanwhile, is making strides under second-year coach Terry Fretz. But the Comets are the youngest team in the SOC, and they found themselves short-handed Saturday. Starting sweeper Tessa Austermuehle missed the match with a pulled hamstring, and by the end of the contest, freshman star Sarah LaFontaine was on the sidelines battling the flu bug. Her sister, Jessica, was alongside her with a sprained ankle. "Those South Medford girls have been playing together for the last seven or eight years, and we�re still building our program," said Fretz, whose team fell to 1-2 in the SOC and 7-3 overall. "We�re getting better. They beat us 10-1 last year, and today it was 8-1 without one of our best defenders (Austermuehle)." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.