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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2019)
7A Friday, November 15, 2019 The Observer Tomas Carradero/NCU Athletics The Eastern Oregon men’s soccer team celebrates following a goal during the fi rst half of Wednesday’s semifi nal match against Southern Oregon. Tomas Carradero/NCU Athletics Eastern Oregon’s Sarah Mitchell, center, controls the ball as Corban’s Hannah Shore approaches during the Mountaineers’ win Wednesday in the CCC semifi nals. EOU men, women reach title matches By Ronald Bond The Observer The Eastern Oregon Uni- versity men’s soccer team is starting to get used to win- ning shootouts. This one sent the team to nationals for the fi rst time. The Mountaineers tied their opponent in the Cas- cade Collegiate Conference tournament in Springfi eld for the second day in a row, this time battling to a 2-2 draw against Southern Oregon in Wednesday’s semifi nals, then turned a perfect effort in the penalty kick round to win it, 5-4, and reach today’s champion- ship match against top seed Corban. All fi ve players who took the penalty kicks for EOU — Javier Moran, Joaquin Bermejillo, Jack Rose, Elvis Pavon and Erik Mattice — were true on their attempts, with the fi nal tally from Mattice serving as the win- ner. The win also means an automatic NAIA playoff berth for the Mountaineers, the fi rst in program history, regardless of the outcome today. A win by EOU would give it the tournament title and the berth. However, by CCC rules, if the regular season champion also wins the conference tournament, the loser of the tournament title game receives an auto berth. Either way, the Mountain- eers — who were long shots just to get to the CCC tour- nament a few weeks ago — have assured themselves of stretching their season into late November. They did so by winning fi ve in a row to end the regular season, and now reaching the fi nals despite having both of their tournament contests go in the books offi cially as ties before winning the shoot- outs. Eastern seemed like it would avoid a second draw in as many days. A goal in the fi fth minute by Alexan- der Zuluaga and a score in the 40th from Patrick Larsen — who headed in a corner kick from Mattice — gave the Mountaineers a 2-0 lead at the break. EOU had the advantage despite being outshot by the Tigers ready for showdown Raiders in the half, 9-5. The Raiders’ shot mar- gin grew in the second half and led to them ultimately pulling even. Luis Aguilar pulled SOU to within 2-1 following a goal in the 63rd minute, and Michael Miller knotted the game with just over eight minutes to play in regulation. Max Rose, who had eight saves, stopped four shots in the second half and had an additional save in the second overtime to keep EOU in the match. EOU reached the confer- ence semifi nals a year ago but fell short in a 1-0 loss to Rocky Mountain and saw its season end one match short of nationals. Eastern (9-8-3) and Cor- ban (16-0-2) meet at 11 a.m. today in Springfi eld. The Warriors dominated in the fi rst matchup this season, winning 6-1. EOU WOMEN ROLL INTO CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH The Eastern Oregon University women’s soccer team reached the Cascade Collegiate Conference tour- nament semifi nals for the See Eastern / Page 8A TREASURE VALLEY STEEL, INC. Manufacturing Zee & Cee Purlins In-HouseCustom Cut Exact Lengths Ronald Bond/The Observer La Grande’s Blaine Shaw, center, pulls away from the Estacada defense on a 41-yard touchdown reception last week. The Tigers face Gladstone in the quarterfi nals tonight. By Ronald Bond The Observer It’s the rematch a year in the making. Actually, 372 days in the making. The La Grande Tigers will get their shot at ultimate revenge and look to get past the round that has tripped them up the past two seasons when they host Gladstone tonight at Community Stadium — the team that knocked the Tigers out of the playoffs in this round a year ago. “The boys are excited for a rematch,” LHS head coach Rich McIlmoil said. “They remember what that tasted like last year. I think things have worked out for a good rea- son this year in certain situations, and this is another one. It’s good for the boys to have the rematch, and they want it.” A victory would not only avenge the sting of the 30-27 loss in the 2018 4A quarterfi nals — one that has served as motivation for this team since it walked off the fi eld in Glad- stone Nov. 9 of last year — but it would be the Tigers’ fi rst win in the quarterfi nal round since 1976, when La Grande defeated Lake Oswego, 7-0, to reach the semifi nals. “They’ve put in a lot of hard work and dedication to get where they’re at,” McIlmoil said of the team. “We’re going to be excited to get after this game Friday night.” The undefeated Tigers, who enter with the best scoring defense in 4A at just under 10 points per game, will face in Gladstone what defensive coordinator Matt Wolcott said is a team that relies heavily on the run. The Gladiators, who come in at 7-2, defeated North Valley in the fi rst round, 51-14, and average 29.9 points per game. “As coaches we try to put our players in the best position possible,” Wolcott said. “We try to tell them what to expect from our op- ponents and just allow them to get them in position to make plays. We want them to play fast and hard.” The key to defeating Gladstone? “We have to try to make them one-dimen- sional,” he said. “If you force a run team to throw the ball, you’re doing a good thing.” La Grande’s top-ranked offense, mean- while, which enters scoring 47.9 points per game, will be going against a defense that is allowing 15.6 points per game and that McIlmoil said runs a 3-4 defensive front. “(It’s) a little bit unique, especially at the high school level,” the coach said. “I’ve done every- thing I can to make sure the boys are prepared. (Gladstone) likes to switch it up a little bit, and every now and then they’ll make it look like they switch over to a 4-3, so we’ve gone through all the blocking schemes and all the appropri- ate formations. They like to blitz their middle linebacker, so we’ve been working heavy on the blitz. We’re slowly working on the things they do well so we can counteract what they do well and beat them (with) what we do well.” Kickoff for the contest is 7 p.m. tonight at Community Stadium. See Football / Page 8A • 24 Colors • Custom Trim • 2 1/2” Corrugated • Delivery Available • Full Soffitt Line • 3 ft. Gulf Coast Panel • 3 ft. PBR Panel • 3 ft. Mesa Panel • 3 ft. Tuff Rib Panel • Standing Seam DELIVERY • 2 ft. Delta Rib AVAILABLE • 3 ft. Pro Panel 40 Year Full Paint Warranty • WeatherX Paint System ONTARIO 541-889-4214 BOISE 208-336-7505 1460 N. Verde Dr. Toll Free 1-866-887-8335 6619 S. Supply Way Toll Free 1-888-717-8335 WWW.TREASUREVALLEYSTEEL.COM
