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Peerless protection Heading into the state playoffs, the South Medford girls soccer team has already constructed a season to remember on the strength of a stingy defense By TIM PYLE Surest way to guarantee soccer success? Don't allow goals. For proof, take a look at the South Medford girls soccer team this fall. The Panthers, who finished the regular season 11-2-1 overall and swept to a perfect 7-0 Southern Oregon Conference campaign and league crown, are permitting opposing scores at a microscopic rate of late. Heading into Saturday's 1 p.m. first-round Class 4A state-playoff match against Hood River Valley at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park, South has given up but four goals since Sept. 22. After allowing eight goals in their seven non-conference matches, the Panthers clamped down on SOC competition, outscoring their seven foes, 32-4. Second-year head coach Buzz Thielemann says South's stinginess is derived from three qualities his defense has developed - "confidence, communication and composure." The Panthers play four in the back, and the starting group is senior sweeper Katie Casebeer, senior stopper Krista Lane, senior right fullback Brittany Quinowski and sophomore left fullback Courtney Quinowski (Brittany's younger sister). Junior Sarah Bryan is the goalkeeper, and juniors Andria Singler, Lindsay Huey and Liz Meyerding are the primary defensive substitutes. Thielemann experimented with players, positions and approaches at the back during the non-league slate, eventually finding the mix that has proven so potent against opposing attacks. "We've settled on a defensive design, and it took a few games to do that," says Thielemann, whose 2001 squad is South's first outright SOC champion since 1995. "It's a combination of people stepping up." Lost from the 2000 edition of the Panthers were first-team all-SOC sweeper Kathleen Narus, who now plays at the University of San Francisco, and second-team left fullback Noelle Reed. Even with those departures, South's defense is perhaps better than ever this season. And that's definite reason for the Panthers to believe they can become the first team in school history to advance beyond the first round of the state playoffs. "This team has a good chance of going far," says Brittany Quinowski, a co-captain along with Casebeer and senior central midfielder Colleen Salisbury. Casebeer and Brittany Quinowski, both third-year letter-winners, serve as the defensive anchors. Casebeer, in her first season as a full-time starter, has been thrust into the role of replacing Narus at sweeper. And she's been more than happy to oblige. "I like it so much more," Casebeer says of sweeper compared to roles in the midfield - where she earned honorable mention all-SOC in 2000 - and up front in falls past. "I'm more of a destroyer than a play-maker." Thielemann has nothing but praise for Casebeer's work. "Katie Casebeer has stepped into big shoes ... and has fulfilled all of my expectations," he says. "You've gotta have an athletic player back there, and she has that." Brittany Quinowski is a third-year starter who possesses a motor that never stops, according to Thielemann. "I love her quickness and her pressure on the ball," the coach says. "She puts huge pressure on the ball, she captures the ball and she delivers it forward." Also honorable mention all-conference last season, Brittany Quinowski pinpoints cohesion as the secret to South's defensive prowess. "Last year the defense was just (Narus), and this year it's all of us," she says. "We have a lot of unity back there." Part of that unity is sister Courtney, who Thielemann espouses as "just poetry" with her ability to take accurate free kicks with either foot. "She has the strongest leg on the team," Thielemann says. "She's extremely tenacious and strong." Playing alongside her sister for the first time, Courtney Quinowski has noticed the developing bond among the Panther defenders. "We've kind of grown as a team," she says. "We're cool with each other." Lane, in her second year on varsity and in her first as a steady starter, is the "physical force," according to Thielemann. At stopper, Lane says she most enjoys the position's versatility. "I can roam," she says. "I get to go all over the place." Bryan, in her second year as the starting goalkeeper, has improved tremendously, Thielemann says. Bryan says the trust built between her and the defense in front has been key to South's performance. "We're all together," Bryan says. "In the past, we didn't have any unity on the team, whatsoever." Whatever the means to their shutout-recording end, the Panthers plan on more of the same starting Saturday. "The defense on this team has a lot of pride, and they're very happy with their record and want to maintain it," Thielemann says. "We've met all of our goal and even exceeded some. "Now, we have one of the best chances in school history to advance beyond the first round of state." Especially if Hood River Valley, the Mt. Hood Conference's No. 4 seed, can't crack South's stifling defense. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail tpyle@mailtribune.com |
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