HSSZ: Week of Oct. 5 Capsules

PREVIEWS

Cottage Grove Lions: 4-8, ranked #13
■ Setting up: The Lions play host to No. 1 Marshfield in their toughest match of the season this Thursday. While an automatic playoff spot is off the table for Cottage Grove, an incredibly tough strength of schedule could earn the Lions a play-in spot. Setter Jocelyn Torralba will be key to setting up points against Marshfield.

Springfield Millers: 8-11, ranked #16
■ Setting up: Springfield begins the back-half of league play on Thursday at North Eugene, a team the Millers beat 3-1 earlier in the season. The Millers hope to be at full strength after coach Keri Green said multiple players missed last week with illnesses.

Thurston Colts: 12-4, ranked #4
■ Setting up: The Colts hope to build on an undefeated first half of league play when they travel to No. 8 Churchill on Thursday. In six league matches, Thurston has lost four total sets. Senior setter Emily Buller continues to excel in setting up Thurston’s talented hitting group.

RECAPS

■Cottage Grove beat Junction City 3-1 Tuesday before falling in a sweep to No. 2 Marist Catholic on Thursday.

■Creswell had a busy week, playing two conference games before hosting a tournament on Saturday. Creswell swept Harrisburg last Tuesday thanks to Lizabelle Osborn’s 10 kills, Piper Hanson’s 7 kills, and Kimberlee Kelsey’s 17 assists. In a sweep over Elmira on Thursday, Osborn had 12 kills. In the tournament on Saturday, the Bulldogs went undefeated in pool play before falling to the finals to No. 7 Burns.

■Pleasant Hill hasn’t lost a set since losing to No. 1 Sisters on Sept. 14. Last week, the Billies swept Siuslaw and La Pine. Against Siuslaw, Ruby Jackson had 8 kills and 3 aces, Cheyenne Green had 5 kills, and Claire Crawford had 5 kills and 18 assists. Against La Pine, Green had 14 kills, Crawford had 9 kills and 27 assists, and freshman Anna Crawford had 11 kills and 17 digs.

PREVIEWS

Cottage Grove Lions: 8-2, ranked #7
■ Kicking off: The Lions play host to No. 18 Marshfield in a key Sky-Em League game on Monday. GK Jace Meyer has posted three shutouts on the season, while Cottage Grove’s offense is averaging over 3 goals a game. 

Creswell Bulldogs: 7-1, ranked #5
■ Kicking off: Santiam Christian visits Creswell in a Mountain Valley Conference game on Thursday. A Bulldogs team that won five games last season is ranked No. 5 in the state, and Creswell is the only team in the MVC ranked inside the top 20. Senior forward Alex Lopez has been key for the offense.

Pleasant Hill Billies: 2-5-1, ranked #37
■ Kicking off: It’s been a tough go offensively for the Billies, who have only 2 goals through three conference games. Fortunately, Pleasant Hill travels to winless La Pine on Thursday, so look for midfielder Steven Gunn and the offense to thrive against a La Pine team that’s allowing almost 4 goals a game.

Springfield: 0-7, ranked #29
■ Kicking off: A winless Springfield tries to get on the board this week with Midwestern League play beginning. The Millers play host to an Eagle Point squad on Saturday that’s struggled to score this season. If head coach Juan Gonzalez’s defense can hold strong, the Millers could get their first win this week.

Thurston Colts: 2-3-2, ranked #14
■ Kicking off: Thurston opens league play at rival Springfield next Tuesday. With No. 7 Ashland being the only MWL team in the top-10, the league title race is wide open. GK Carter Brooks contineus to play well for a Thurston squad that’s allowing less than 2 goals a game

RECAPS

■Cottage Grove had a big week, beating Junction City 4-0 and No. 16 Marist Catholic 5-1. Rogelio Soto-Cruz had a goal and assist agains JC, with Cristian Gonzalez, Justin O’Sheedy and Hayes Valley all scoring. In the Marist win, Valley led the way with a hat trick.

■Creswell’s sole game last week was a 4-0 win over East Linn, moving them to 3-0 in conference play. Alex Lopez had two goals in the win, sophomore Brady Pratt had a goal and two assists, one to Lopez and one to Braidyn Morse.

■Pleasant Hill got its first win in over three weeks when the Billies took down East Linn 2-1 last Tuesday.

■Thurston had a 5-0 win over Class 4A’s North Bend on Saturday, with goals coming from Jordan Needham, Tyler Raven, Carlos Vega, Yurem Martinez, and Nano Martinez. The game was GK Carter Brooks’ first shutout this year.

PREVIEWS

Cottage Grove: 1-6-2, ranked #25
■ Kicking off: The Lions open the back-half of Sky-Em League on Monday when they host Marshfield in a matchup between the bottom-two teams in the Sky-Em League. Last time these two faced off in mid-September it finished 3-3, with Autumn Leach scoring twice for CG. 

Creswell: 7-1, ranked #5
■ Kicking off: Creswell has a huge Mountain Valley Conference game this Thursday at No. 14 Central Linn. Creswell is a half-game ahead of Central Linn in the MVC, so a win on Thursday would all but clinch the Bulldogs a top-four spot in conference – and thus an automatic playoff bid.

Pleasant Hill: 6-3, ranked #16
■ Kicking off: The Billies head to Santiam Christian on Thursday before hosting rival No. 6 Creswell on Tuesday. Pleasant Hill is sandwiched by SC and CHS in the MVC standings, so wins over both would be big. Look for Tressa Geyer to continue running a potent Billies offense that’s scored 35 goals in eight conference games.

■ Springfield: 1-5-1, ranked #26
Kicking off: The Millers begin league play on Saturday when they play host to Eagle Point (1-3-1). If Springfield wants to start Midwestern League play on a positive note, it’ll need offense from forward Lydia Stewart, who scored twice in a draw last week.

Thurston: 3-3-2, ranked #12
■ Kicking off: Thurston begins Midwestern League play next Tuesday at rival Springfield. The MWL looks like it will have four teams competing for three automatic qualifier slots, so a win over Springfield is big to start Thurston’s campaign for back-to-back league titles.

RECAPS

■Cottage Grove went 0-1-1 last week, losing to No. 1 Marist and getting a 2-2 draw with Junction City. In the draw against JC, Autumn Leach scored on a penalty kick, and Zoey Knutson scored with an assist from Jaylee Lima.

■Creswell had a 3-1 win over Santiam Christian last Tuesday, led by goals from Mila Nguyen, Chloe McBee, and Dakota Carson. Nguyen had 2 assists, while GK Kylie Leonard had 4 saves.

■Pleasant Hill won both of its games last week, beating Elmira 2-0 and La Pine 8-0. Sophomore Trinity Smead had both goals against Elmira, while GK Kenna Caldwell had 6 saves. Against La Pine, Tressa Geyer had 3 goals and 3 assists, and Tessa Hammond had two goals.

■Springfield drew 3-3 with Churchill last week, the team’s first non-loss since late August. Senior Lydia Stewart had two goals in the tie and Kenya Bautista added the third goal.

RESULTS

FOOTBALL
Friday, Sept. 29
■ Cascade 46, Cottage Grove 0
■ Siuslaw 38, Creswell 14
■ Elmira 31, Pleasant Hill 21
■ Thurston 34, Springfield 13

VOLLEYBALL
Tuesday, Sept. 26
■ Cottage Grove 3, Junction City 1 (25-14, 25-11, 20-25, 25-22)
■ Creswell 3, Elmira 0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-22)
■ Pleasant Hill 3, Siuslaw 0 (25-15, 25-8, 25-6)
■ Thurston 3, Springfield 0 (25-18, 25-9, 25-18)
Thursday, Sept. 28
■ Marist Catholic 3, Cottage Grove 0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-10)
■ Creswell 3, Harrisburg 0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-16)
■ Pleasant Hill 3, La Pine 0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-16)
Saturday, Sept. 30
■ Creswell 2, Cottage Grove 0 (25-14, 25-16)
■ Creswell 2, St. Mary’s 0 (25-17, 25-7)
■ Burns 2, Creswell 1 (27-25, 14-25, 17-15)

BOYS SOCCER
Tuesday, Sept. 26
■ Pleasant Hill 2, East Linn 1
■ Churchill 3, Springfield 0
Thursday, Sept. 28
■ CGHS 4, Junction City 0
■ Creswell 4, East Linn 0
■ Siuslaw 3, Pleasant Hill 0
Saturday, Sept. 30
■ Thurston 5, North Bend 0
Monday, Oct. 2
■ CGHS 5, Marist Catholic 1

GIRLS SOCCER
Tuesday, Sept. 26
■ Creswell 3, Santiam Christian 1
■ Pleasant Hill 2, Elmira 0
■ Springfield 3, Churchill 3
Thursday, Sept. 28
■ Cottage Grove 2, Junction City 2
■ Pleasant Hill 8, La Pine 0
Monday, Oct. 2
■ Marist Catholic 8, CGHS 0

SCHEDULES

FOOTBALL
Friday, Oct. 6
■ Marist Catholic at Cottage Grove, 7 p.m.
■ Sisters at Creswell, 7 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at La Pine, 7 p.m.
■ Springfield at Churchill, 7 p.m.
■ Eagle Point at Thurston, 7 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL
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.
■ Thurston at Churchill, 6:45 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 7
■ Pleasant Hill, Springfield at Pleasant Hill Tournament, TBD
Monday, Oct. 9
■ Pleasant Hill at Sisters, 6 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at North Bend, 6:30 p.m.
■ Siuslaw at Creswell, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 10
■ Ashland at Springfield, 6:45 p.m.
■ Willamette at Thurston, 6:45 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 11
■ Junction City at Cottage Grove, 6:30 p.m.
■ Sisters at Creswell, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 12
■ Pleasant Hill at Harrisburg, 6:30 p.m.
■ Churchill at Springfield, 6:45 p.m.
■ North Eugene at Thurston, 6:45 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Thursday, Oct. 5
■ Santiam Christian at Creswell, 4:30 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at La Pine, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 7
■ Eagle Point at Springfield, 1 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 9
■ Marshfield at Cottage Grove, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 10
■ Creswell at La Pine, 4:30 p.m.
■ Thurston at Springfield, 6 p.m.
■ Crosshill Christian at Pleasant Hill, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 11
■ Cottage Grove at North Bend, 5 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 12
■ Creswell at Crosshill Christian, 4:30 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at Elmira, 6 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Thursday, Oct. 5
■ Creswell at Central Linn, 4:30 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at Santiam Christian, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 7
■ Eagle Point at Springfield, 3 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 9
■ Marshfield at Cottage Grove, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 10
■ Thurston at Springfield, 4 p.m.
■ Creswell at Pleasant Hill, 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 11
■ Cottage Grove at North Bend, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 12
■ Siuslaw at Pleasant Hill, 4:30 p.m.
■ La Pine at Creswell, 6 p.m.

CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, Oct. 7
■ Cottage Grove, Pleasant Hill at Paul Mariman Invitational, Philomath HS, 2 p.m.
■ Springfield, Thurston at The Harrier Classic, Bryant Park, Albany, 2:10 p.m.