Creswell, Sports Zone

Lady Dawgs advance to state soccer playoffs

The Creswell Lady Bulldogs have advanced to the girls’ soccer state playoffs after defeating the visiting Pleasant Hill Billies 3-1 during a league playoff game on Oct. 27.
The Lady Dawgs finished regular season play second in 3A/2A/1A Special District 3 team standings with a 2-0-4 record. Pleasant Hill finished third at 1-3-2. Their league playoff game was to determine the league’s second seed to state. As league champion, Santiam Christian (3-0-3) earned an automatic state bid as the league’s first seed.
Hallie Drago got Creswell on the board against Pleasant Hill in the 11th minute, dribbling down the left side of the field before hitting what Head Coach Janelle Sailer described as a “beautiful shot.”
About seven minutes later, Drago hit again off what Sailer termed a “perfect pass” from Anna Dahl.
With the score 2-0, the halftime talk was all positive since “the girls were playing great,” Sailer said.
In the second half, the Lady Dawgs “continued to play well,” Sailer said. “They continued to be dangerous and had many scoring opportunities.”
In the 66th minute those efforts paid off again. Allison Smathers took a shot, the Billies’ goalkeeper bobbled the ball and Dahl followed up to head the ball into the goal off the bounce to make it 3-0.
The Billies scored their goal with about 10 minutes remaining.
Creswell goalkeeper Tabetha Donovan had six saves in the game.
The 16th-ranked Lady Dawgs travel to take on top-ranked Catlin Gabel in a state playoff match this week. If they win, they will compete in a state quarterfinals match on Nov. 3, against the winner of the state playoff game between eighth-ranked Santiam Christian and ninth-ranked Riverside.
“We are very excited to make the state playoffs this year,” Sailer said, adding that with the Lady Dawgs focusing on their possession game and unselfish passing, “it should be a competitive game up in Portland.”
Follow the Lady Dawgs’ progress through the 3A/2A/1A Girls’ Soccer State Championships bracket at http://www.osaa.org/activities/gsc/brackets.

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