FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT
A5
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021
bendbulletin.com/sports
OREGON
Some fans allowed
at outdoor events
The Portland Timbers
and the Portland Thorns
will be able to welcome
a limited number of
fans back to home soc-
cer games starting next
month.
The Oregon Health
Authority said Wednes-
day that outdoor sport-
ing events can be held at
25% capacity. At Provi-
dence Park, that’s approx-
imately 6,500 people.
The Thorns will host
the first professional
sporting event in Oregon
with fans since the coro-
navirus shutdown when
they host Kansas City on
April 9 in the National
Women’s Soccer League’s
preseason Challenge Cup
Tournament.
“Playing in front of the
fans here in Portland is
one of the most unique
experiences a female
soccer player is going to
have,” Thorns forward
Christine Sinclair said.
“Knowing that they’re
cheering for us just gives
you that extra, extra lit-
tle bit of energy in the
game.”
Major League Soc-
cer’s Timbers will play a
CONCACAF Champions
League match April 13.
Annual season ticket
holders will get first crack
at the available seats,
based on a seniority sys-
tem. There will be a num-
ber of safety measures,
including distanced seat-
ing, mandatory masks,
digital ticketing and cash-
less concessions.
Some MLS teams have
already allowed a limited
numbers of fans, includ-
ing Dallas, Kansas City
and Orlando.
PREP GIRLS SOCCER
Long wait for big win
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
— Associated Press
Redmond’s Jillian Bremont (3) sets up a shot as Ridgeview’s Brooklyn Homan (3) and Scout Bale (8) pursue during a match at Ridgeview High School in Redmond on Tuesday night.
NFL
Niners, Williams
agree to mega deal
SANTA CLARA, Calif. —
The San Francisco 49ers
locked up their biggest
potential free agent for
the long term by agree-
ing to give star left tackle
Trent Williams the richest
contract ever for an offen-
sive lineman.
Williams’ agents say
the deal agreed to early
Wednesday will pay Wil-
liams $138.1 million over
the next six years, sur-
passing the $138 million
deal David Bakhtiari got
from Green Bay during
last season.
Williams also will get
the biggest signing bo-
nus ever for an offensive
lineman at $30.1 million,
as well as $55.1 million
guaranteed.
“Trent’s a game
changer,” said fullback
Kyle Juszczyk, who signed
a five-year contract to
stay in San Francisco
earlier in the week. “He’s
somebody that teams
have to scheme around.
They have to change
what they’re doing be-
cause he’s out there and
he’s a guy that we can just
completely count on and
know that he’s going to
get his job done and then
some.”
The Niners finalized
the deal just hours before
Williams could have left
to sign with another team
at the start of the new
league year.
Williams sat out the
entire 2019 season in
Washington over a dis-
pute with the front office
before reviving his career
in San Francisco.
After a slow start he
quickly got back to his
usual form and earned his
eighth Pro Bowl selection.
Williams was graded as
the top left tackle by Pro
Football Focus.
— Associated Press
A resurgent Redmond girls soccer team finally defeats crosstown rival Ridgeview
“This has been my goal since I started. It’s been so cool to be part of building this. It’s just been a
dream come true being part of this group and watching them improve every single year, and being
able to contribute something to that.”
BY MARK MORICAL
The Bulletin
REDMOND —
T
he emotions unleashed by the
— Dagne Harris, Redmond junior forward
Panthers as the final horn sounded
Redmond High girls soccer had never defeated
crosstown rival Ridgeview — a school that opened
in 2012. So after hanging on to a narrow 2-1 victory,
the Panthers whooped and hollered and celebrated
together at midfield.
Tuesday night at Ridgeview High
School were nearly nine years in the making.
“This has been my goal since I started,” said Red-
mond junior forward Dagne Harris, who was quick
to point out that the Panthers lost to the Ravens
twice in 2019 by a score of 8-0.
See Soccer / A7
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
GOLF
Oregon State embraces
underdog role in tourney
DJ, McIlroy searching as Masters nears
BY ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
As Oregon State’s players
celebrated their unlikely Pac-
12 tournament title, former
teammate Tres Tinkle was in
the stands with his arms raised,
one finger extended on one
hand and two on the other.
It’s clear what the “12” he
was signaling meant. That’s
where the Beavers were picked
to finish in the conference.
Instead, the first-time Pac-12
tourney champions are headed
to the NCAA Tournament.
As the 12th seed — ironically
enough — the Beavers will face
fifth-seeded Tennessee on Fri-
day in the Midwest Region.
The number 12 has become
something of a talisman for the
team from Corvallis.
It’s even on a patch sewn in-
side the team’s jerseys.
“That was kind of our rally
cry down the stretch. And then
when they saw that we popped
up as the 12th seed, everybody
looked like, ‘Yep. This is going
to mean something, something
special.’ So we’ll keep milking
it,” coach Wayne Tinkle said.
“We’ll keep milking it for sure.”
Oregon State (17-12) is
among five Pac-12 teams in the
tournament, joining Oregon,
which has made the field for
seven straight seasons under
coach Dana Altman, as well
as USC and Colorado. UCLA
faces Michigan State in a First
Four game.
The Pac-12 hasn’t had this
many teams in the tournament
since 2016, when it had a re-
cord seven make it.
But Oregon State and Colo-
rado (22-8) have not reached
this level in recent years. The
Beavers have made the tour-
nament just twice since 1990,
most recently in 2016.
The Buffaloes, who also ha-
ven’t been to the tournament
since 2016, have the school’s
best-ever seed at No. 5. They’ll
face No. 12 Georgetown on
Saturday in the East region.
“I’m very proud of our guys
and how they’ve handled
themselves this season. I want
it bad for them,” Colorado
coach Tad Boyle said. “Because
I always say, you know, I’m go-
ing to be coaching here again
next year.
See Oregon State / A7
BY DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
PONTE VEDRA BEACH,
Fla. — The road to the Mas-
ters is starting to fill up with
some high-powered cars.
Consider the last three
weeks on the Florida swing.
PGA champion Collin
Morikawa’s pure iron play led
to his first World Golf Cham-
pionship title. U.S. Open
champion Bryson DeCham-
beau brought the World Long
Drive atmosphere to the sixth
tee at Bay Hill, and he also
made a few big putts on his
way to the win at the Arnold
Palmer Invitational. And then
Justin Thomas had as good a
weekend as anyone who ever
won The Players Champion-
ship at the TPC Sawgrass.
The streak likely ends at the
Honda Classic because no one
from the top 10 in the world
is playing.
Still, it’s enough to whet the
appetite for Augusta National,
which is just over three weeks
away. Just not for everyone.
Rory McIlroy had his high-
est score since the summer
of 2019 and missed the cut at
The Players Championship,
his second weekend off in
four weeks. He said he would
head home and start the pro-
cess of “Bryson cleansing,”
which amounts to trying to
stop swinging out of his shoes.
Dustin Johnson has made it
to the weekend, but he keeps
finishing in time for lunch.
The No. 1 player in the world,
who picked up his 25th victory
worldwide in Saudi Arabia just
six weeks ago, has finished a
combined 36 shots out of the
lead in his last two events.
“I’ve got a little ways to go,”
Johnson said on a conference
call Tuesday for the Masters.
“Obviously, the game is not
quite in the form that I would
like it to be in right now, but
I’ve got plenty of time to get
it back in order leading up to
Augusta.”
Yes, there is plenty of time
for Johnson and McIlroy, not
to mention Xander Schauf-
fele, who went from mediocre
at Concession to missing the
cut at Sawgrass. Schauffele had
made 22 straight cuts until The
Players, so that gets attention.
It’s not the same as it was
two years ago heading into the
Masters, when eight of the top
10 players in the world had
won on the PGA Tour lead-
ing into the first major of the
year. And it’s not any cause for
alarm, even when someone
as steady as Patrick Cantlay
misses the cut. Even so, it’s
all about momentum at this
point in the calendar.
Thomas was lacking that
when he arrived at The Play-
ers. His head had been spin-
ning from issues off the course,
such as the fallout from an an-
ti-gay comment he muttered
under his breath and the death
of his grandfather. Add that to
poor play and he was headed
down the wrong road.
“I’ve put too much pressure
on myself,” Thomas said one
week ago. “I’ve been trying too
hard. I think I want to win so
bad, and I really want it too
bad. . . . The sense of urgency,
definitely I know. I think it’s
present a little bit in myself, but
I also have realized it. So I’m
hoping that it helps with that.”
It helped. His 64-68 week-
end matched Fred Couples
in 1996 as the lowest final 36
holes at Sawgrass by a winner.
His head is in a better place.
His game is in a great place.
One week can change every-
thing.
See Golf / A7