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57 °F 5 Day Forecast Monday, October 20, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend October 8, 2003 Roseburg stuns South boys in shootout The predictable Southern Oregon Conference race in boys soccer took an unpredictable turn on Tuesday. About the only perceived "sure thing" heading into the SOC slate was South Medford occupying the top spot come the end of regular-season play. The Panthers 10 conference titles in 14 years and 15-match winning streak in the SOC didn’t faze a gritty Roseburg squad, however. The Indians (6-4, 3-1 SOC), picked to finish sixth by the SOC coaches, made a strong move toward ending their three-year playoff drought with a 2-1, shootout victory over South at Fichtner- Mainwaring Field. Roseburg’s Taylor Stone drilled the fifth and final penalty kick just past South goalkeeper Mike Belzberg to seal the 4-3 advantage in the shootout and hand the Panthers their first conference loss in three seasons. Advertisement "We knew South was susceptible in the back and we wanted to exploit that," said fourth-year Roseburg coach Steve Kaser. "They dominated the first half so we changed it up in the second half and found the areas we were looking for." Roseburg goalkeeper Cuyler Zeigler, who wasn’t penciled in as the starter until an hour before the match, made two saves in the shootout session to help the Indians seal the win. Starting keeper Jameson Baird was kept out due to injury. "I’ll tell you what, Roseburg’s goalie did a marvelous job in goal," said Potter. "This kid made about eight good saves in the game and did a lot to help them win." South’s first penalty kick attempt off the foot of Josh Williams was batted away by Zeigler, giving the Indians the advantage. The Panthers’ Eric Rubey followed an Erik Fabrizius score to even things at 1-1 and Andrew Egan matched Roseburg’s Nathan Eckstein for a 2-all score. Taylor Martin and South’s Kevin Potter brought the tally to 3-3 before the Panthers caught a break when Belzberg thwarted Jon Sanders’ attempt to even things out. Roseburg put itself in a position to win immediately following Belzberg’s save, however, when Spencer Hunter couldn’t connect for the Panthers to set up Stone’s game-winner. "I think the kids finally believed they could beat anybody when we went to Klamath and won there for the first time since 1993," said Kaser, referring to the Indians’ 2-1 win over Klamath Union on Saturday. "When we saw that we could win there, that gave us the confidence to come here and play with South." The Panthers controlled much of the action in the opening half, but came away with a 0-0 tie at the half. Corey O’Neill broke up the scoreless tie for South in the 61st minute when the senior forward took a cross from Scott Marlow and netted a 1-0 advantage for the Panthers. South’s offensive edge would last only 12 minutes. Casey Sjogren scored the equalizer off a nicely crossed ball from Matt Inscore to send the game into overtime. The loss dropped the Panthers to 8-1-1 overall and into a four-way tie for first place in the SOC at 3-1. North Medford, Ashland and Roseburg are the other teams tied for first. "It’s going to be a wakeup call, whether we need one or not," said Potter. "I thought it was the best game we’ve played since Sheldon (a 0-0 tie). "But we kept (Roseburg) around and by gosh, the nature of soccer is if you don’t take care of business, it’ll come back to bite ya." Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times