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South boys down Oregon City By MIKE WEBER OREGON CITY -- The South Medford High School boys soccer team traveled four hours north Friday prior to their Class 4A state playoff game at Oregon City. This Willamette Valley town, known as the end of the Oregon Trail, marked the beginning of a successful postseason debut for the Panthers, who defeated the Pioneers 1-0 on Saturday in an OSAA U.S. Bank first-round contest at Oregon City High School. South Medford (12-2-1) was led by senior midfielder Jon McCollum, who scored with 34 seconds remaining in the first half, and senior goalkeeper Blake St. Onge, who had a spectacular performance with nine saves. A rock-solid defensive effort, anchored by senior defender Cody George, junior midfielder Ryan Wallenberg and sophomore defender Spencer Hunter helped the Panthers gain a shutout win over the Pioneers (12-1-2), co-champions with West Linn of the Three Rivers League. The Panthers advance to the second round, where they'll play host to Jesuit, the No. 1 ranked team in the Oregon coaches poll, Tuesday at 2 p.m. "If South Medford comes out and plays as tough as they did against us, then I think they'll have a good chance to beat Jesuit," Oregon City coach Jeff Dexter said. "I've seen Jesuit play twice and it won't be easy for them while playing on the road against a good team like the Panthers." While arriving the day before, the Panthers showed up at the school late, apparently because someone gave their bus driver wrong directions. South Medford was unable to participate in their usual pregame warmup and the contest was delayed 10 minutes past the original 2 p.m. start. It didn't seem to affect coach Dave Potter's squad as they effectively shut down the Pioneers' offense. It was an evenly-played contest with both teams getting good scoring chances, but it was the Panthers who converted one perfect opportunity for a score. In the final minute of the first half, sophomore forward Corey O'Neil took control of a loose ball in the right corner and sent a cross to George, who fired a sharply hit 28-yard blast at Pioneer keeper Justin Owens. Owens made a diving save, but the ball deflected towards McCollum, who had just sprinted into the box. He easily tapped a left-footed shot into the net as Owens was unable to make a play. "We're delighted to get a win, especially since this was our first game ever at Oregon City," said Potter, who has led the Panthers to the state playoffs five straight years. Said McCollum: "This was a big win and now we get to play the top-ranked team in the state at our home field, so that's pretty exciting and we're really looking forward to it." McCollum said the Panthers work on shots in practice like the one he hit for the game-winner. "I was just in the right place at the right time," he said. "It was a good shot by George and I was able to get control of the ball after it ricocheted off the keeper. Our defense is the heart and soul of the team and whenever we get a one-goal lead, then we usually feel pretty confident that we can prevent the other team from scoring." Although the second half was scoreless, the Pioneers almost tied the score in the 57th minute. Oregon City's Josh Westermann booted a hard shot from the left side at St. Onge, who deflected the ball off his fingertips onto the near goalpost. A Pioneer corner kick followed, but it was cleared out by the Panthers. Junior midfielder Daniel Hathaway had two good second- half scoring opportunities as the Panthers tried to get an insurance goal. Hathaway booted one shot wide right and he had another ball deflected away by a Pioneer defender with an open net 7 yards in front of him, as the keeper was out of position. "We were quite concerned about the muddy field, especially since it was a mess after having a football game here Friday," said Potter. "It was equal playing conditions for both teams, though, and I was pretty sure that it would probably be a one-goal match. "We're going to have to play with all our hearts and every ounce of energy we have against Jesuit. We'll definitely have an advantage, though, while playing at home, so we'll give it our best shot and hopefully get a win." |
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