Lady Viks climbing league standings

SOCCER - Forest Grove keeps rolling with a sweep of Newberg and McMinnville to move into third place

By Zack Palmer

The Forest Grove News-Times, Oct 9, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Chase Allgood / News-Times

Forest Grove senior Brandi Dawson collides with Newberg’s Ayla Zahler during last week’s game.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Forest Grove’s 2-0 loss to Tualatin on Sept. 24 seems to be nothing more than a minor bump in the road, as the Lady Vikings rebounded nicely last week with Pacific Conference victories over McMinnville and Newberg.

Forest Grove improved to 7-1 overall this season and climbed into third place in the league standings with a 3-1 win over Newberg last Tuesday and a 2-0 triumph over Mac on Thursday.

“It was a great way to bounce back from the Tualatin loss,” said Forest Grove head coach Dennis Chang. “I think the Tualatin game really gave them confidence going into conference play.”

Elena Acosta scored two goals on Tuesday, including the clincher in the 78th minute after Newberg (0-5-0, 0-3-0) narrowed the gap to 2-1. Chrissy Marshall had a goal and an assist, and Brandi Dawson added two assists for Forest Grove.

“We hadn’t beaten Newberg in at least three years,” Chang said. “It was a fast game on the wet turf, and it really tightened up when Newberg pulled within one.”

“Newberg is a very talented, very physical team, but I think we just wanted it more,” Chang added. “The seniors on the team have never beaten Newberg, so it was a great win for them.”

Thursday against Mac (2-4-1, 1-2-0) the Lady Vikings went ahead on a beautiful goal by Dawson in the 17th minute, then locked things up in the 74th minute when Annie Sanchez headed home a Marshall cross for the final 2-0 margin.

The two wins pushed Forest Grove into the top half of the Pacific Conference standings, just one point behind second-place Tigard. The Lady Tigers (4-1-1, 2-0-1) came calling on Tuesday, but results were not available at press time.

“I think the talent has always been there, but the girls said after the Tualatin game that they finally felt like they’re playing like a team,” Chang said. “Traditionally they’ve struggled against Tualatin, but I think they realized they’re capable of playing with a team like that.”

The key for Forest Grove will be maintaining its momentum. The seniors on this year’s team were sophomores in 2007 when the Lady Vikings enjoyed a similarly hot start, winning six of their first seven games — including three scrimmages at the Century Jamboree — before fading in conference play and missing the state playoffs with just two wins in their final 10 games.

Forest Grove has the rest of this week off before returning to action next Tuesday on the road against Canby. The Lady Viks then get a rematch against Tualatin on Thursday.