BY LUKE ANDREWS
South Medford and West Salem started the 2008 soccer playoffs on Thursday — two days before the rest of the state is scheduled to play.
The earlier date came partly from the urging of West Salem, which would have had a handful of players not available for Saturday’s game because of religious conflicts.
Yet it also benefitted South Medford as its coach Dave Kaufman will be inducted into the Sonoma State University Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Saturday.
“I’m very grateful that I’ll be able to participate in both,” Kaufman said. “It’s an honor, no question.”
Kaufman, a South Medford graduate, played goalkeeper at SSU from 1989-1991 after spending two years at Santa Rosa Junior College.
He is the all-time leader in saves and shutouts in SSU history, ranks second in goals against average and fourth in minutes played. He was an All-West Region selection as a junior in 1990 and started on SSU’s 1991 NCAA runner-up team, which was inducted as a group into the school’s hall of fame last year.
“I was fortunate to play with some of the best players in the country at that time,” Kaufman said. “I was by no means the fastest, by no means the strongest. But I tried to learn the game as a youngster so I could organize the game and put the pieces where they need to be to minimize opportunities on the goal.”
Kaufman added that he’s looking forward to reconnect on Saturday with many people who inspired him along the way.
“I owe so much to the people who exposed me to the game,” he said. “As an athlete, you kind of have to be a little selfish. At that time, playing was about all that mattered. When you get to be my age, you kind of have to reflect on who helped get you there.”
