HSSZ Capsules: Week of Sept. 28

PREVIEWS

Cottage Grove Lions: 3-6, ranked #16
■ Setting up: Cottage Grove continues league play with a home game against No. 3 Marist before heading to the Creswell tournament on Saturday. A young Lions squad with only one senior has been led offensively all season by sophomore Taylor Bennett and junior Joci Torralba.

Creswell Bulldogs: 7-3, ranked #4
■ Setting up: Creswell hosts its own tournament this weekend before hosting rival No. 2 Pleasant Hill for a rematch. The Billies swept the Bulldogs last time out, so the senior/freshman hitting duo of Lizabelle Osborn and Piper Hanson will need to step up this time around.

Pleasant Hill Billies: 12-2, ranked #2
■ Setting up: After a loss two weeks ago to No. 1 Sisters the Billies rattled off five straight wins. This week they head to No. 4 Creswell in an important Mountain Valley Conference rematch. Juniors Cheyenne Green, Claire Crawford, and Ruby Jackson continue to lead the Billies offense.

Thurston Colts: 11-4, ranked #4
■ Setting up: Thurston heads to Ashland (2-8) on Tuesday for a match between the top of the Midwestern League and the bottom. Senior Savannah Efseaff has played well offensively for the Colts and should have a good match against Ashland.

RECAPS

■ Creswell had only one match last week, a 3-0 sweep of La Pine. Lizabelle Osborn led the way with 14 kills, Piper Hanson had 10 kills, and Kimberlee Kelsey chipped in 18 assists.

■ Cottage Grove fell to North Bend 3-0 before going 2-2 at the North Marion Invite. Taylor Bennett led the way against NB with 9 kills while Joci Torralba had 11 assists. At the NM Invite, Bennett had 24 total kills, Mariah Bailey had 16 kills, and both Bailee Fournier and Torralba had 30 assists.

■ Pleasant Hill swept Harrisburg before going 4-0 in a round robin event at Marist on Saturday.. Cheyenne Green had 12 kills against Harrisburg and followed that up with 36 kills in the round robin event. Ruby Jackson had 13 aces and 5 kills against Harrisburg and 25 total kills on Saturday.

■ Springfield lost to Churchill on Tuesday before heading to a round robin tournament at Marist. Despite a 1-4 record on the week, Springfield sits at 8 wins on the season, double their win total from a season ago.

PREVIEWS

Cottage Grove Lions: 6-2, ranked #8
■ Kicking off: The Lions face off at home against Marist Catholic on Monday in a matchup between the current top two teams in the Sky-Em League. Cottage Grove has allowed only 4 goals in the last five games thanks to Rogelio Soto-Cruz anchoring the defense and Jace Meyer manning the goal.

Creswell Bulldogs: 6-1, ranked #4
■ Kicking off: Creswell continues league play this week as the Bulldogs host East Linn and Siuslaw. Siuslaw has allowed only one goal all season, so Creswell needs solid play from sophomore Brady Pratt, who runs much of Creswell’s offense in the midfield.

Springfield: 0-6, ranked #26
■ Kicking off: With league play beginning soon, only two teams in the Midwestern League have a winning record. If the Millers want to turn their season around as league play begins, they’ll need solid play from senior captain Silvino Cesar Hernandez.

Thurston Colts: 1-3-2, ranked #20
■ Kicking off: Thurston faces off against North Bend on Saturday. The Colts won their opener this year, but have yet to put another in the win column. Look for the offense to continue running through Carlos Vega as Thurston tries to get on track before league play begins.

RECAPS

■ Cottage Grove extended its winstreak to five with wins over Marshfield and North Bend, both Sky-Em League opponents.

■ Creswell had a 2-0 week in the Mountain Valley Conference, beating rival Pleasant Hill 1-0 and Central Linn 4-0. Lyosha Mitchell scored the only goal against Pleasant Hill, while Alex Lopez led the way with two goals against Central Linn.

■ Pleasant Hill had a tough week, losing to Dayton 2-0 and rival Creswell 1-0. Despite the losses, GK Hunter Allen continues to play well and keep the Billies in games.

■ Thurston had two games last week, a 2-2 draw with Newberg and a 4-0 loss at Crescent Valley. Sophomore Yurem Martinez had both goals in the draw for the Colts.

PREVIEWS

Cottage Grove: 1-5-1, ranked #27
■ Kicking off: The Lions head to the third-place team in the Sky-Em League in Junction City on Thursday. Cottage Grove’s defense continues to be its strong suit thanks to solid goalkeeping from junior Tayler Bentley.

Creswell: 6-1, ranked #5
■ Kicking off: Creswell extended its win streak to five with two big wins last week. This week, the Bulldogs head to Siuslaw on Tuesday to face off against one of the bottom teams in the Mountain Valley Conference. Look for senior Tailey Carson and freshman Mila Nguyen to continue solid offensive seasons.

Pleasant Hill: 4-3, ranked #18
■ Kicking off: The Billies got back on track with two wins last week and look to keep the momentum going when they head to No. 2 Sisters on Tuesday. Pleasant Hill lost 1-0 on a last-minute goal earlier in the season to Sisters, so another solid game from GK Kenna Caldwell and an offensive spark from Tressa Geyer could mean a Billies upset.

Springfield: 1-5, ranked #25
■ Kicking off: The Millers face off with No. 3 North Eugene this week. It’s been a tough go so far for Springfield, who have only two goals all season. If the Millers want to compete with North Eugene, they’ll need star Elidia Cervantes-Carlos to get going offensively.

RECAPS

■ Cottage Grove had a 3-3 draw with Marshfield to open Sky-Em play last week. Freshman Autumn Leach scored twice and Maddison France scored one on an assist from Jaylee Lima.

■ Creswell had two big wins last week, beating La Pine 7-0 and Elmira 5-1. Seven different players scored agains La Pine, including Dakota Carson, Tailey Carson, and Mila Nguyen. Tailey Carson and Nguyen each had two goals against Elmira.

■ Pleasant Hill had a big 2-0 week in Mountain Valley Conference play. The Billies traveled to Siuslaw and won 5-1 behind Tressa Geyer’s 2 goals. Pleasant Hill then faced Central Linn and won 2-0, with Geyer again scoring twice and GK Kenna Caldwell grabbing 17 saves.

RESULTS

FOOTBALL
Friday, Sept. 22
■ Cottage Grove 14, Sweet Home 12
■ Elmira 14, Creswell 0
■ Pleasant Hill 41, North Marion 34
■ Springfield 35, South Eugene 0
■ Thurston 64, Crater 21

VOLLEYBALL
Tuesday, Sept. 19
■ Pleasant Hill 3, Harrisburg 0 (25-5, 25-11, 25-9)
■ Churchill 3, Springfield 1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-12)
■ Thurston 3, North Eugene 0 (25-9, 25-16, 25-14)
Wednesday, Sept. 20
■ North Bend 3, Cottage Grove 0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-17)
■ Creswell 3, La Pine 0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-9)
Saturday, Sept. 23
■ Tillamook 2, Cottage Grove 0
■ Pleasant Hill 2, Springfield 0
■ Pleasant Hill 2, Sweet Home 0
■ Pleasant Hill 2, Marist 0
■ Pleasant Hill 2, Crook County 0
■ Marist 2, Springfield 0
■ Springfield 2, Sweet Home 0
■ Crook County 2, Springfield 1
■ Cascade 3, Thurston 0
■ Marshfield 3, Thurston 0
■ Thurston 3, North Eugene 1

BOYS SOCCER
Tuesday, Sept. 19
■ Dayton 2, Pleasant Hill 0
Wednesday, Sept. 20
■ Cottage Grove 2, Marshfield 0
Thursday, Sept. 21
■ Creswell 1, Pleasant Hill 0
Saturday, Sept. 23
■ Crescent Valley 4, Thurston 0
Monday, Sept. 25
■ Cottage Grove 5, North Bend 1
■ Creswell 4, Central Linn 0

GIRLS SOCCER
Tuesday, Sept. 19
■ Pleasant Hill 5, Siuslaw 1
Wednesday, Sept. 20
■ Cottage Grove 3, Marshfield 3
Thursday, Sept. 21
■ Creswell 5, Elmira 1
■ Pleasant Hill 2, Central Linn 0
■ Marist 7, Thurston 2
Saturday, Sept. 23
■ Crescent Valley 2, Thurston 1
Monday, Sept. 25
■ North Bend 7, Cottage Grove 1

SCHEDULES

FOOTBALL
Friday, Sept. 29
■ Cottage Grove at Cascade, 7 p.m.
■ Creswell at Siuslaw, 7 p.m.
■ Elmira at Pleasant Hill, 7 p.m.
■ Thurston at Springfield, 7 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 28
■ La Pine at Pleasant Hill, 6 p.m.
■ Creswell at Harrisburg, 6:30 p.m.
■ Marist Catholic at Cottage Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 30
■ Cottage Grove, Creswell at Creswell Tournament, 8 a.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 3
■ Pleasant Hill at Creswell, 6:30 p.m.
■ Thurston at Ashland, 6:45 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 4
■ Sutherlin at Creswell, 6:30 p.m.
■ Thurston at Churchill, 6:45 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 5
■ Marshfield at Cottage Grove, 6:30 p.m.
■ Elmira at Pleasant Hill, 6:30 p.m.
■ Springfield at North Eugene, 6:45 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Thursday, Sept. 28
■ East Linn at Creswell, 4:30 p.m.
■ Siuslaw at Pleasant Hill, 6:30 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at Junction City, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 30
■ North Bend at Thurston, Noon
Monday, Oct. 2
■ Marist Catholic at Cottage Grove, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 3
■ Santiam Christian at Pleasant Hill, 4:30 p.m.
■ Siuslaw at Creswell, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 4
■ Thurston at Canby, 5 p.m.
■ Springfield at North Eugene, 6 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 5
■ Santiam Christian at Creswell, 4:30 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at La Pine, 4:30 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Thursday, Sept. 28
■ La Pine at Pleasant Hill, 4:30 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at Junction City, 5 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 29
■ Creswell at Sisters, 4 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 2
■ Marist Catholic at Cottage Grove, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 3
■ Pleasant Hill at Sisters, 6 p.m.
■ Springfield at North Eugene, 6 p.m.
■ Creswell at Siuslaw, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 4
■ Thurston at Canby, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 5
■ Creswell at Central Linn, 4:30 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at Santiam Christian, 6 p.m.

CROSS COUNTRY
Friday, Sept. 29
■ Creswell at Willamette Golden Hour 5K, 5:50 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 30
■ Springfield at Nike Portland XC, 8 a.m.
■ Cottage Grove, Pleasant Hill, Thurston at Woahink Lake XC Invitational, 12:30 p.m.