Lady Tiger soccer team remains unbeaten

By Ray Rodriguez - Argus Observer
Sunday, September 23, 2007 12:25 AM PDT

Ontario - Even though they salvaged a 3-3 tie with Riverside Saturday, the Ontario girls soccer team is still undefeated in Greater Oregon league play.

They earned the tie, even though they were without the services of reigning all-GOL standout Kim Boyd, who sat out due to an injured ankle.

While the star was out, the youngsters stepped to the forefront.

“I think we went into this game, knowing it was going to be a struggle because we had so many inexperienced girls,” Ontario head coach Stacey Captein said. “We had to rely on freshmen and they did a really good job. For them to come out and give the support they did, I was really proud. I would call this a win for us.”

Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili gave the Tigers an early 1-0 lead in the first half, using her head off a corner kick from teammate Ashley Moeller.

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Ontario put 11 shots on goal in the opening stanza, but Dzhidzhiyeshvili’s shot was the only one to hit the back of the net.

Both offenses woke up in the second half as they combined for 18 shots on goal and scored five goals.

Riverside’s Yvonne Torres evened the score at 1 with a goal in the 11th minute of the second half and three minutes later, Ontario’s Alexis Jagelski gave the Tigers the 2-1 lead.

The Pirates came right back at the 18-minute mark, using a goal from Jenna Mittelsdorf. Mittelsdorf took a feed from teammate Lidia Velazquez and beat Ontario goalkeeper Megan Schram to tie the score at 2.

Gracia Erlebach gave Ontario the lead at the 22-minute mark as the sophomore striker took a pass from teammate Leslie Gonzalez and she deposited her shot past Riverside’s Jordan Mittelsdorf and Ontario was up 3-2.

Not to be outdone, Riverside’s Amy Kegler knotted the score at 3 as she received a pass from Torres and she took full advantage placing her shot past a sprawling Schram for the goal.

“The difference was I played one of injured players (Velazquez),” Riverside head coach Paul Keefer said. “That gave our team a mental lift. They were struggling without her and when she went back into the game they regained their confidence.”

Thursday, Boyd and Erlebach scored goals and Schram made seven saves to lead Ontario the 2-0 shutout over La Grande in GOL girls soccer action in Ontario.

The Tigers netted both goals in the first half and never looked back, using a solid defensive effort from Rachel Corn, Hailey White and Leslie Gonzalez.

“Rachel Corn and Hailey White did a knock up job out there,” Captein said. “I was really proud. We have a young team. ”

Ontario 3-0-1 overall, 2-0-1 GOL) next hosts non-league opponent Weiser Tuesday.