Area girls soccer teams finished out league last week and await their postseason seedings.
In the Sky-Em League, Cottage Grove ended it by defeating Junction City 3-0 on Monday and losing to North Bend 3-1 on Wednesday. Against Junction City, Brielle Engle scored two goals and Addison Voelkel scored one. Zoey Knutson and Engle each recorded an assist. GK Nora Heegard recorded a shutout. On Wednesday, Engle scored the only goal for the Lions against North Bend, which was assisted by Knutson. The No. 17 Lions ended Sky-Em third overall this year at 2-5-1. Their regular season record was 6-6-1. The Lions are right on the cut off for an at large qualification. This may have been their last week of play.
Meanwhile, Creswell saw a historic finish in Special District 3 last week, when they were named co-league Mountain Valley Conference champions with Central Linn. The No. 5 Bulldogs finished 11-1-2 in league play and are 12-1-2 overall. They defeated both Santiam Christian and Sisters last week. Against Santiam Christian on Tuesday, junior Mila Nguyen scored an unassisted goal, her 26th of the season. Senior Elliette Kinney scored off a direct kick, her 16th of the season. Senior GK Kylie Leonard recorded 9 saves. Against Sisters, Nguyen scored both goals; a PK goal, and a goal assisted from freshman Ava Foote. Leonard recorded 9 saves again. The Bulldogs then faced the Central Linn Cobras to determine the No. 1 seed in SD3 and the Bulldogs won 3-2 through PKs.
The Bulldogs had two shots on goal in the first half, while goalkeeper Leonard made 10 saves to keep the game scoreless. In the second half, the Bulldogs again managed two shots on goal, and Leonard added six more saves. The game then rolled into overtime where the Bulldogs were held without a shot, and Leonard made two key saves to preserve the tie. The game ended in a shootout. Leonard made a clutch save on the first shooter, Avery Runyon. Nguyen then converted Creswell’s first attempt. Leonard came up big again with another save on shooter Maddie Duringer. Then, Kinslee and Central Linn’s Jayne Neal each scored. Finally, Jordyn Marklyn sealed the victory with the decisive goal in the final round.
The 13th-ranked Pleasant Hill Billies finished Special District 3 in third place, going 1-1 in their last games. It started with a 1-0 loss to Sisters on Tuesday. Thursday, the Billies downed La Pine 4-0 on Senior Night. In honor of Senior Night, senior co-captain Kenna Caldwell-Copeland did not play as goalkeeper in the second half and led the team to their first two scores of the night. Senior Trinity Smead also had one goal and one assist, senior Kaylee Gardner also scored one goal, and senior captain Isabel Hammond-Mendez also had one assist. Freshman GK Kora Flanders had one save to preserve the shutout.
In the Midwestern League, Springfield finished its last week 0-2, losing 8-1 to Thurston and 6-0 to Crater. They placed sixth in the Midwestern League at 1-5. With an overall losing season (3-10) and a No. 25 ranking in Class 5A, the Millers are outside both the automatic and at-large cutoff range for playoffs.
Thurston eyes a second-place finish in the Midwestern League for the third consecutive year, led by first-year coach Browning Stupp after defeating Springfield 8-1 last week. Emmie Gerdrum scored one goal with an assist from Quinn Taylor. Carmen Flores added a goal, unassisted. Rosie Montes converted a penalty kick for one goal. Taylor scored twice and tallied two assists – one to Taylor Suiter and another to Delaney Antone. Kielyn Ruhl also scored two goals, earning one assist from Antone and another from Taylor. Finally, Suiter recorded one goal and one assist, setting up Gerdrum’s score.
PREVIEWS
#17 COTTAGE GROVE (6-6-1)
Kicking off: The Lions are on the outside looking in at the Class 4A playoffs. However, if No. 16 Mazama loses its final game of the season on Tuesday, there’s a chance the Lions could get pushed up to No. 16 and take the fourth at-large qualification. Rankings for Class 4A freeze this Saturday.
#5 CRESWELL (12-1-2)
Kicking off: After the Bulldogs grabbed another win over Central Linn on Monday, they earned the No. 1 spot in Special District 3. With a No. 5 seed, they can secure a home game and a bye. Class 3A rankings will freeze on Tuesday night, but if they hold this seed, they’ll host the No. 12 seed in the second round on Nov. 4.
#13 PLEASANT HILL (8-3-3)
Kicking off: The Billies finished third in Special District 3 this season, earning an automatic qualifier for the state playoffs. Their ranking may go up or down depending on the final Class 3A games on Tuesday night before the rankings freeze, but with a No. 13 seed, they’ll be able to host a first-round home game this Saturday against the No. 20 seed. Their matchup announcement will be this Wednesday at 9 a.m.
#7 THURSTON (8-3-1)
Kicking off: The Colts play their last Midwestern League game this Wednesday against Eagle Point on the road. This should be a good opportunity for the Colts to improve their ranking before the Class 5A rankings freeze this Saturday. Eagle Point is 1-10-2 this season.
