Volleyball Previews
Cottage Grove Lions
■ Setting up: The Lions start their season by playing host to Creswell and South Umpqua. Cottage Grove has only one senior in Caitlin Miller, meaning the start of the season will likely be a learning curve.
Creswell Bulldogs
■ Setting up: Creswell has an important tournament to start the season at Cascade Christian. Some of the top teams in Class 3A will be there, so the Bulldogs will start the season with a bang no matter what. Then, on Tuesday the Bulldogs head to their rival-to-the-south in Cottage Grove in what should be an easier match.
Pleasant Hill Billies
■ Setting up: The Billies head to Cascade Christian on Saturday to face off with some of the top competition in the state. The tournament will be a great early test for a Pleasant Hill squad that hopes to contend for a quarterfinal spot in the postseason.
Springfield Millers
■ Setting up: Springfield has a busy first week with three matches scheduled and a tournament. The Millers have a solid group of returning seniors from last year’s squad who will be hungry to improve on last season’s four-win team.
Thurston Colts
■ Setting up: Thurston has an experienced roster returning from a team that made the playoffs last year. The Colts have eight seniors and only two underclassmen on the roster. Thurston starts this year’s campaign against solid Class 6A teams at the Mountain View tournament on Saturday.
Boys Soccer Previews
Cottage Grove
■ Kicking off: Cottage Grove’s first game under new head coach Jaime Urenda is at Thurston next Wednesday. Urenda, a CG alum, takes over a program that just missed the postseason last year, but also lost six seniors.
Creswell
■ Kicking off: The Bulldogs play host to Western Christian on Tuesday to open the season. Creswell kicks off the season looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Good news for the team is that it lost only two seniors from last year’s 5-5-3 team, although one of those losses was leader Max Velarde.
Springfield
■ Kicking off: Head coach Juan Gonzalez and the Springfield Millers start their 2023 season by playing host to the 2022 Class 5A runner-ups in West Albany on Tuesday. West Albany will be a great early season test for the Millers, who graduated seven seniors from last year’s quarterfinal playoff squad.
Thurston
■ Kicking off: Head coach Jake Bonnett kicks off his second season at the helm by hosting Cottage Grove next Wednesday. Bonnett has big expectations this year for a team that lost only two seniors from last season.
Girls Soccer Previews
Cottage Grove
■ Kicking off: Cottage Grove’s only game this week is at home against Class 2A’s Western Christian. Head coach Kalli Schwehr and the Lions look to improve after a 2-11 season in 2022. CGHS will rely heavily on the return of senior Summer Lebow, one of the Sky-Em League’s top defenders last year.
Creswell
■ Kicking off: Creswell hosts Dayton on Tuesday to start the 2023 season. Head coach Dan Smathers will be looking for a good start from a group that lost only two seniors from a 5th-place league team. The Bulldogs will be looking to make the playoffs for the first time under Smathers.
Pleasant Hill
■ Kicking off: The Billies host Class 4A’s North Bend on Tuesday to start the season. Pleasant Hill’s big hurdle to start the year will be filling in the shoes of last year’s four seniors, three of whom are playing college soccer. The Billies return eight seniors, including attacking duo Dakota Hyland and Tressa Geyer.
Springfield
■ Kicking off: Head coach Alyssa Hinojosa takes over after being an assistant last year. The Millers made the postseason in ’22, but lost 10 seniors. Springfield starts the season Friday against Ridgeview.
Thurston
■ Kicking off: The Colts must replace an incredible group of seniors from last year’s quarterfinal team, including Midwestern League player of the year Abby Fitzpatrick. Thurston returns two 2nd-team All-Leaguers in juniors Macy Taylor and Gabriella Montes.
Schedules
VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Aug. 24
■ Pleasant Hill at Springfield, 6:45 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 25
■ Thurston vs. Sheldon at Mt.View High School, 9:15 a.m.
■ Thurston vs. South Salem at Mt.View High School, noon
■ Thurston vs. Mountain View at Mt.View High School, 1:15 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 26
■ Creswell, Pleasant Hill at Cascade Christian Tournament, 9 a.m.
■ Springfield vs. TBD at Central HS Tournament, 9 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 29
■ Creswell at Cottage Grove, 6:30 p.m.
■ Corvallis at Springfield, 6:45 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 31
■ Creswell at Monroe, 6 p.m.
■ South Umpqua at Cottage Grove, 6:30 p.m.
■ Springfield at Willamette, 6:45 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Friday, Aug. 25
■ Springfield at Ridgeview, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 29
■ West Albany at Springfield, 4 p.m.
■ Western Christian at Creswell, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 30
■ Cottage Grove at Thurston, 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 31
■ Delphian / Willamina at Pleasant Hill, 2 p.m.
■ Creswell at Sutherlin, 6 p.m.
■ Silverton at Springfield, 6 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Friday, Aug. 25
■ Ridgeview at Springfield, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 29
■ Dayton at Creswell, 1 p.m.
■ North Bend at Pleasant Hill, 6 p.m.
■ Thurston at Woodburn, 6:30 p.m.
■ Springfield at West Albany, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 30
■ Western Christian at Cottage Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 31
■ Silverton at Springfield, 4 p.m.
CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, Aug. 26
■ Cottage Grove at Junction City Rust Buster, 9 a.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 30
■ Creswell, Pleasant Hill at Creswell Opening 3K, 4 p.m.
