South picks up first victory in girls soccer

Text Size: A | A | A

Print this Article Email this Article

ASHLAND — Rebecca Nisbet and Anna Sours provided the South Medford girls soccer team a much needed offensive spark.

Nisbet gave the Panthers an early lead and Sours scored late as South Medford defeated St. Mary's Academy of Portland 2-0 Friday at Southern Oregon University.

Nisbet, a junior forward, boomed in a diagonal shot just outside the 18-yard box into the upper V to give the Panthers (1-1-1) the initial lead 10 minutes into the game.

"It was hit so perfect, it was almost impossible to get," South Medford coach Terry Fretz said. "She has a tremendous foot if given a little time and space. She places the ball so well."

Nisbet almost scored again later in the half, but a similar shot hit the bar.

The Panthers had St. Mary's on its heels for much of the opening period.

"We spread the ball well," said Fretz. "We switched from one side to another quickly and that opened up some gaps in their defense."

St. Mary's came out strong in the second half and would have tied the game were it not for an athletic play by South goalie Anna Tozier.

"They hit a good shot," said Fretz. "(Tozier) took one step back and jumped and tipped it enough that the ball hit the bar and bounced out."

Senior midfielder Sours gave South an insurance goal at the 77th minute. Najele Medina dumped off a pass to Sours, who connected from just outside the box.

"(Medina) has played defense, but lately we put her up front because she is so big and strong," said Fretz. "She does a tremendous job hanging onto the ball."

Senior goalies Amanda Carraway and Tozier combined for 10 saves to get the shutout.

"Today our communication was so much better than it has been," said Fretz. "We got a lot more shots off than we had in the past. It was a step forward."

SUMMIT 1, ASHLAND 0 — At Ashland, neither side had many on-goal shot opportunities at North Mountain Park, but Summit's goal in the 35th minute was the difference in the nonconference match.

The Storm's Riann Aylward penetrated the Grizzlies' stingy defense and booted in the winning goal on a breakaway.

Sophomores Annika Hearn and Riley Smith were defensive anchors in the middle of the field for Ashland (1-2). Junior midfielder Kai Yearsley also helped limit Summit's potent offense.

MOUNTAIN VIEW 9, CRATER 0 — At Central Point, once Mountain View figured out what Crater (0-3-1) was doing defensively, it was the Cougars' nonconference match for the taking.

The speedy Cougars capitalized on multiple breakaway opportunities and had about 20 shots on goal.

Boys Soccer

WEST ALBANY 3, CRATER 1 — At Albany, West Albany dropped Crater to 1-2 overall in the nonconference match.

The Bulldogs (1-0-1) got on the board 30 minutes into the game and added another goal in the 58th minute on a penalty kick before Travis Robbins' header cut Crater's deficit to 2-1 in the 60th minute. But with the Comets gambling late, West Albany added another goal in the final minutes to seal the win.

Volleyball

PROSPECT 3, NORTH LAKE 0 — At Prospect, Kayla Pulley led a strong serving attack and Prospect ran its over record to 5-0 with the Mountain Valley League win.

Pulley was 14 of 14 at the service stripe with two kills as the Cougars improved to 3-0 in league in the 25-9, 25-22, 25-20 triumph.

They served at 91 percent.

Middle Jen King had 10 kills, two aces and a block, and setter Lindsey Verret amassed 12 assists for Prospect.

Also for the Cougars, Becky Musard notched three kills and two blocks, and Catherine Anderson was 8 of 9 serving with two aces and had six assists.

Water Polo

ASHLAND SWEEPS MEDFORD — Ashland's boys and girls teams swept their Medford counterparts at the Southern Oregon University pool.

The boys won 19-4, and the girls 21-3.

In the boys game, Ashland's Robin Haase had five goals, while Wynn Michaels and Jake Gavin each added three.

In the girls game, Allison Gida led Ashland with five goals, while Torrey Lipski added three.

Reader Reaction We welcome your feedback on this story, or any follow-up story ideas you might have. Please send a letter to the editor to letters@mailtribune.com, or submit story ideas online here. When submitting a letter to the editor, please review our submissions policy.

Print this Article Email this Article