Sports Zone

HSSZ previews & recaps: Oct. 31 edition

PREVIEWS

VOLLEYBALL 

Cottage Grove Lions (10-9, #9)

Setting up: Cottage Grove earned a postseason berth thanks to a third-place finish in the 4A Sky-Em league. After their home match with Manzama, the Lions wait to see where they are placed in the playoff brackets. The results will determine the first round of matchups on Saturday, Nov. 2. 

Creswell Bulldogs (13-10, #14)

Setting up: After losing to No.17 Sisters in the 3A Mountain Valley Conference league playoff last Saturday, the Bulldogs were placed in a first-round bracket home match with No. 19 Vale on Wednesday, Oct. 30. The winner advances to play at No. 3 Santiam Christian in the second round on Saturday, Nov. 2. 

Pleasant Hill Billies (26-1, #1)

Setting up: After taking first place in the 3A Mountain Valley Conference last Saturday, the Billies earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. They face the winner of the Sisters-Horizon Christian matchup on Saturday, Nov. 2. 

BOYS SOCCER

Cottage Grove Lions (10-3, #6)

Kicking off: The Lions close their season in the top 10. Their ranking automatically qualifies them for the OSAA’s 16-team bracket based on the regular season. The 4A-Sky Em will determine the Lions’ allotted playoff spot with the first set of rounds on Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

Creswell Bulldogs (11-2-1, #9)

Kicking off: The Bulldogs end their season with a top-10 seed. Twenty teams automatically qualify for the OSAA’s 20-team bracket based on Special District and/or district tournament play. Seven Special Districts determine the allotted playoff spots. Special District 3 will determine where the Bulldogs’ spot will be with the first set of rounds on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Springfield Millers (5-6-1, #18)

Kicking off: The Millers host their last game of the season against the No. 30 Crater Comets on Saturday. This will be their senior night game at Silke Field. It’s been a tough season for coach Juan Gonzalez, who has struggled to get the team back to winning status, and a senior team that led to a quarterfinal finish in 2022. However, the 5A league allows for 16 teams to make their way into the finals. The Millers have until 10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 until the rankings settle.

Thurston Colts (4-8, #27)

Kicking off: The Colts host their last game of the season against No. 22 Eagle Point on Saturday. Head coach Jake Bonnett has struggled to get his players to play the full 80 minutes and stick to a plan. However, he is happy with how the team has matured this season. For next year, he remarks, “We’ve got a lot of talent at the next level ready to make the shift up from JV next year.”

GIRLS SOCCER

Creswell Bulldogs (8-3-3, #11)

Kicking off: The Bulldogs end their season within the top 11 teams. Sixteen teams qualify for the bracket-based system on the OSAA rankings. Five Special Districts determine the allotted playoff spots. Special District 3 will determine where the Bulldogs’ spot will be with the first set of rounds on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Pleasant Hill Billies (9-3-3, #13)

Kicking off: The Billies end their season within the top 12. Sixteen teams qualify for the bracket-based system on the OSAA rankings. Five Special Districts determine the allotted playoff spots. Special District 3 will determine where the Billies’ spot will be with the first set of rounds on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Springfield Millers (3-6-2, #22)

Kicking off: The Millers close out their season with a home game against the Crater Comets on Saturday. In ‘23, the Comets blew out the Millers 4-0, but in their last game of the season, the Millers will need to go big. Offensively, they’ll rely on Kenya Bautista, Emily Cervantes Carlos, and Keeley Battey.

Thurston Colts (8-4, #8)

Kicking off: The Colts will finish their season against Eagle Point on Saturday. The Colts have been sitting comfortably in the top 10 in 5A for a couple of weeks. With their ranking and previous state champion coach Jessica Cardwell, the Colts might be eyeing the playoffs after Saturday. 

CROSS COUNTRY 

Wednesday, Oct 30

5A-2 Midwestern League Championships

Thurston and Springfield will compete at the Districts this Wednesday at the Jackson County Expo. For Springfield, look out for Bella Wells and Ellen Auxier who have been leading the girls with top-10 finishes. Both girls recently had PRs of 19:49 and 19:50. On the boys’ side, freshman Adrien Estes continues to improve. His time of 16:19 is a PR and places him as one of the top 10 freshmen in all the classes in the state of Oregon. For Thurston, witness Carson Buergey and Nathalie Parker.

Thursday, Oct. 31

3A/2A/1A-SD4 District 4 Championships & 4A-4 Sky-Em League Championships

Cottage Grove, Creswell, and Pleasant Hill will compete at the Districts this Thursday at Lane Community College. For Cottage Grove, watch for Carter Bengtson, who is first in Class 4A, and Ella Cardwell, one of only four girls from CGHS over the past 20 years to break 20 minutes in the 5k. Lincoln Criddle, Ben Shaw, and Kylie Leonard are key runners for Creswell. For Pleasant Hill, keep a watchful eye on Nellie Smith, Annaleigh Epperson and Gage Roper.

RECAPS

VOLLEYBALL 

Cottage Grove swept their last game of the season 3-0 at North Bend, securing 3rd in the 4A Sky-Em league. There were several standouts for the Lions: Taylor Bennett with 6 kills, 18 digs and 3 aces; Mariah Bailey with 6 kills, 11 digs and one ace; Jocelynn Joseph 6 kills, 3 digs and 2 aces; and Bailee Fournier with 2 kills and 16 digs.

Springfield 3-0 against Crater last Tuesday, marking their second loss to the Comets.

■Despite a rough start, Thurston finished its season on a high note with a second rivalry win against Springfield 3-0 last Tuesday and then went on to edge out No.10 North Eugene 3-2 on Thursday. Coach David Natt said, “The team found itself in the last third of the season.” It was a solid performance by the team for five grueling sets with high set scores (North 27, Thurston 25; Thurston 25, North 2; Thurston 25, North 22; North 29, Thurston 27; Thurston 15, North 9). There were several Colt standouts in this last match: Addison Nelson with 17 kills, 3 blocks, 17 digs, and 5 aces; Emma Efseaff with 9 kills,1 assist, and 11 digs; and Mallory McGuire 1 kill, 1 assist, and 36 digs. 

GIRLS SOCCER

Cottage Grove beat Marshfield 4-1 last Tuesday and then went on to win 3-2 in a tight game against Junction City on Thursday. For Marsfield, the Lions had 20 shots on goal. Junior forwards Ally Kishen, Brielle Engle, and sophomore midfielder Addison Voelkel scored the Lions’ 4 goals. At Junction City,  Engle scored one goal, and Voelkel scored two goals. 

Pleasant Hill lost a hard-fought game to the No.2 Central Linn Cobras last Wednesday 2-0. It was an intense game with only a few shots on goal by each team and a 0-0 score at halftime. In the 2nd half, Central Linn scored off a corner kick. Then, Pleasant Hill captain, Tessa Hammond, just grazed the top crossbar and missed from an indirect kick 25 yards out. Second senior captain Ellie Epperson missed the side crossbar with a header off a corner kick. Then, the Cobras added a 2nd late goal. GK Kenna Caldwell had 7 saves.

Springfield edged out Eagle Point 2-1 last Saturday but it did not come without struggle. The Eagles scored in the first five minutes, but then Kenya Bautista came to the rescue five minutes later with a pass from Emily Cervantes Carlos for her first goal of the season. In the 2nd half with about 20 minutes left, Keeley Battey scored her 4th goal of the season to win it for the Millers 2-1.

Thurston beat the Churchill Lancers last Wednesday 7-1. Senior forward Macy Taylor had three goals and three assists to lead the Colts to the victory. In addition, Taylor Tiller, Lauren Kranzush, Kielyn Ruhl, and Emmie Gerdrum all scored for the Colts. Emily Kranzush, Taylor Suiter and Amber Acocella assisted. Senior GK Gaby Montes made 12 saves in goal and Bella Hansen had one save. Churchill’s Ali D’Arcy scored the one goal for the Lancers.

BOYS SOCCER

Cottage Grove swept 5-0 at Junction City last Thursday. Armando Legorreta scored the Lions’ first goal from a corner kick. The second goal was scored by Rogelio Soto Cruz assisted by Elijah Smith from a throw-in. Hayes Valley scored the Lions’ third goal assisted by Tristyn Burnes. The Lions’ fourth goal was scored from Legorreta’s assist from Soto Cruz. Emmanuel Rea scored the last goal assisted by Cristian Gonzalez. Overall the Lions had 69% possession during the game.

Pleasant Hill played its last game of the year last Wednesday and edged out Sisters 1-0. 

■After their loss to North Eugene, the Springfield Millers turned it around by winning 3-2 at Eagle Point on Saturday. Five minutes into the game right-wing freshman Easton Sankey took advantage of a short pass to Eagle Point GK Angel Cervantes and scored a goal. Then, at minute 24 from a corner kick, junior forward Bradly Velasquez Roblero sent the ball to the center and junior Jonathan Uribe scored another goal. However, a few minutes later, the Millers lost the ball in the midfield and the Eagles counter-attacked and scored Before halftime with an assist from sophomore Leonardo Rivera, Jack Sayre scored. This 3-1 score remained for almost the entire second half until 10 minutes before the end, the Eagles scored from a free kick. Millers’ GK Luis Olvera had six saves.

Thurston lost to the Churchill Lancers 4-1 last Wednesday but then went on to sweep 8-1 at Crater on Saturday. This marks their highest-scored game of the season. Coach Jake Bonnett said, “It didn’t quite go according to plan for the Churchill game.” The Colts scored an early goal and kept the 1-0 lead through halftime, but ultimately Churchill proved to be a very tough opponent. Senior Tucker Fitzpatrick scored the Colts’ only goal and sophomore Evan Sweeney recorded his first assist. For Crater, the Colts were initially down 1-0 for the first 15 minutes. However, the senior class rallied and scored 8 goals. Sophomore Jordan Etchison scored the Colts’ opening goal and had an assist. Senior Nano Martinez scored a hat trick goal; senior Tyler Raven scored two goals; Fitzpatrick scored a goal and two assists; Senior Noah Zanotto scored a goal and two assists and senior Hunter Reed got an assist. All in total, the Colts’ seniors scored 7/8 goals and had 5/8 assists. Juniors Jordan Hernandez and Benji Dano both got assists as well. 

CROSS COUNTRY

Run for Brownies

Cottage Grove ran the “Run for Brownies” event last Thursday. Coach Ricky Knutson said that it was a “small event meant to be a tune-up for the districts this week.”In this fast 3k race, Carter Bengtson took home the individual win against one of the top 3A runners in the state, and Ella Cardwell finished a fast second place in the girls’ race.  

Umpqua Invite

■Last Wednesday, Pleasant Hill, Springfield, and Thurston ran in the Umpqua Invite. On the boys team, Springfield grabbed 6th, Thurston 12th, and Pleasant Hill 14th. On the girls, Pleasant Hill grabbed 2nd and Thurston 8th. Springfield’s Bella Wells and Ellen Auxier led the way for the girls with top-ten finishes. Both girls had PRs of 19:49 and 19:50. On the boys’ side, freshman Adrien Estes continues to improve. His time of 16:19 is a PR and places him as one of the top ten freshmen in all the classes in the state of Oregon. Thurston saw almost 100 percent of the runners’ PR. Carson Buergey placed 2nd overall out of 186 varsity runners, and beat his school record by another second by running a time of 15:29. Nathalie Parker placed 36th overall in the girls varsity race with a PR time of 21:35. Pleasant Hill saw Nellie Smith who grabbed 20th with a time of 20:25.90, which was closely followed by Annaleigh Epperson at 20:35.00 who finished 22nd. On the boys, Gage Roper grabbed 14th with a time of 16:37.80.

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