PREP ROUNDUP: South plays to stalemate

Sep. 8—South Medford kept knocking on the door Wednesday night but Roseburg goalkeeper Amy Carpenter just would not let the Panthers in as the Southwest Conference girls soccer opener for both teams ended in a scoreless draw.

The Panthers peppered Carpenter with 15 shots and numerous oncoming rushes but could not find the net, while South Medford senior goalkeeper Eve Lynx pitched a shutout on her own end with four saves.

"We were looking for that win outcome," said first-year South Medford head coach Alicia Stormberg, "but those girls left it all out on the field. I couldn't and wouldn't want more from them, they gave me everything they had. I'm super proud of them."

Of the many chances offered up by the Panthers (1-0-1, 0-0-1 SWC), none seemed better than a rocket of a shot by junior forward Brooke Fairbanks on a nice setup from Lexie Maukonen and Tyler Hampson.

After shifting the ball from the right wing to Maukonen and then quickly to Hampson, Fairbanks found herself in the clear on the right side and when the ball came back to her, she unleashed a 15-yard blast that hit the upper right crossbar of the goal and caromed back upfield.

"I thought it was going into that upper corner," Stormberg said of the shot by Fairbanks. "Brooke had an amazing game tonight, she always works hard for it."

It was one of many close calls endured by Carpenter, who was up for the challenge in many other opportunities with diving saves on shots by Hampson and Fairbanks.

Carpenter was also able to close out a few loose balls in the box and close-range efforts by Lexie Clark and Raegan Burke.

"We did a great job attacking," said Stormberg. "In the second half we kind of switched formations and settled down a little and had some beautiful balls and good combinations, but (Carpenter) had a great game."

Lynx, who missed the Panthers' opener due to illness, wasn't as tested as her counterpart but still came up with a handful of good closing efforts to deny the Indians (0-0-2, 0-0-1).

Helping quiet the Roseburg attack was a defensive backline bolstered by seniors Sarah Gaut and Clark and juniors Selena Marmon and Natalie Scheuneman, who had a nice deflection of a chance in the box by Roseburg.

"Our defense is killer back there for us," said Stormberg.

Everything seemed to open up a little more for South Medford when the Panthers went from a three-back to a four-back approach. The move helped break up the congestion that they battled on the back end with supporting players and allowed for a little more freedom for South to build from the back and players like Maukonen and Hampson to create in the midfield.

Volleyball

EAGLE POINT 3, KLAMATH UNION 0: At Klamath Falls, Eagle Point dug itself out of a hole in the first set and used that momentum to close out host Klamath Union in straight sets, 27-25, 25-17, 25-15.

The Eagles (4-2) were balanced on the offensive and defensive ends, with five players notching at least six kills and four posting at least eight digs.

Addison Holcomb led the charge with 16 kills and 13 digs, while Emma Kness had eight kills and 14 digs and Abby Trautman added seven kills and 13 digs.

Baylee Mullen finished with eight kills and Megan Carr had six, while Jaylinn Holte chimed in on defense with eight digs.

Makynlee Schauffler dished out 28 assists and was 22-for-24 from the service line with four aces.