Panthers pepper Rosberg with too many shots but SWC opener ends in scoreless draw
South Medford knocked on the door on Wednesday night, but Rosberg goalkeeper Amy Carpenter didn’t let the Panthers in as the Southwest Conference Girls’ soccer opener for both teams ended in a scoreless draw.
The Panthers filled Carpenter with 15 shots and several oncoming rushes, but did not find the net, while South Medford senior goalkeeper Eve Lynx shut out at her own end with four saves.
“We were looking for the result of that win,” said first-year South Medford head coach Alicia Stormberg, “but those girls left it on the field. I couldn’t have wanted more from them, they told me all that. Gave what he had. I am very proud of him.”
Of the many opportunities offered by the Panthers (1-0-1, 0-0-1 SWC), none looked better than a rocket of shots by junior forward Brooke Fairbanks on a fine setup from Lexi Moukonen and Tyler Hampson.
After transferring the ball from the right wing to Maukonen and then quickly to Hampson, Fairbanks found himself clear to the right and when the ball came back to him, he made a 15-yard blast that hit the upper right crossbar for goal and carrom. Back Upfield.
“I thought it was going into that upper corner,” Stormberg said of the shot by Fairbanks. “Brooke had an amazing game tonight, she always works hard for it.”
It was one of several close calls tolerated by Carpenter, who was up for the challenge in several other occasions with diving saves on shots by Hampson and Fairbanks.
Carpenter was able to close some loose balls in the box and there were close attempts by Lexi Clarke and Raegan Burke.
“We did a great job attacking,” said Stormberg. “In the second half we changed the formation and calmed down a bit and there were some beautiful balls and good combinations, but (Carpenter) had a very good game.”
The Lynx, who missed the Panthers opener due to illness, was not as tested as his counterpart, but still came up with some good closing attempts to deny the Indians (0-0-2, 0- 0-1).
Helping to defuse Rosberg’s attack was a defensive backline, bolstered by seniors Sarah Gott and Clark and juniors Selena Marmon and Natalie Scheumann, who had a good deflection of a chance in the box by Rosberg.
“Our defense is the killer for us,” Stormberg said.
Everything opened up a bit more for South Medford when the Panthers moved from a three-back to a four-back approach. The move helped break up the crowd they fought with supporting players at the back end and allowed a little more freedom to make the south from behind and players like Maukonen and Hampson to make up in midfield.
volleyball
Eagle Point 3, Klamath Union 0: At Klamath Falls, Eagle Point pulled itself out of a hole in the first set and used that momentum to knock out host Klamath Union in straight sets 27-25, 25-17, 25-15.
The Eagles (4-2) were balanced on the offensive and defensive ends, with five players posting at least six kills and four postings with at least eight digs.
Addison Holcomb led the charge with 16 kills and 13 digs, while Emma Keynes added eight kills and 14 digs and Abby Trautman added seven kills and 13 digs.
Bailey Mullen finished with eight kills and Megan Carr defended with six, while Jaylyn Holte defended with eight digs.
McKinley Schöffler made 28 assists and was 22-for-24 with four aces from the service line.
Andy Atkinson/Mel Tribune Rosberg goalkeeper Amy Carpenter catches the ball from South Medford’s Brooke Fairbanks during the second half at South Medford High School on Wednesday evening.
Andy Atkinson/Mail TribuneSouth Medford’s Brooke Fairbanks takes a shot on goal during the first half at South Medford High School on Wednesday evening.
Andy Atkinson/Mail TribuneSouth Medford’s Jayda Dabbs takes a ball from Rosberg’s Allen Miller during the second half at South Medford High School on Wednesday evening.
Andy Atkinson/Mail TribuneSouth Medford’s Lexi Moukonen tries for a ball from a corner kick during the second half at South Medford High School on Wednesday evening.
Andy Atkinson/Mail TribuneSouth Medford’s Lexi Maukonen sweeps the ball away from Rosberg’s Madeline Snyder during the first half at South Medford High School on Wednesday evening.
Andy Atkinson/Mail TribuneSouth Medford’s Raegan Burke battles for the ball against Rosberg’s Corinne Childers during the second half at South Medford High School on Wednesday evening.
Andy Atkinson/Mail TribuneSouth Medford’s Raegan Burke battles for the ball against Rosberg’s Hannah Heuberger during the second half at South Medford High School on Wednesday evening.