The second go-around for Medford’s large-school boys and girls soccer teams proved much like the first Thursday night on the pitch, with the North Medford girls scoring a 5-0 victory at South Medford and the Panthers coming out on top for a 3-1 triumph at the Black Tornado.

It was a continuation of efforts earlier this season, allowing the North girls and South boys to each earn a sweep in the crosstown rivalry and gain valuable position toward state playoff potentials.

Tenth-ranked North Medford, especially, didn’t need to stub its toe this late in the season and the Black Tornado girls didn’t disappoint after putting a stalemate throughout most of the first half in their rearview mirror and truly dialing it in.

“It was a hard-fought battle,” said North Medford girls coach Malaika Quigley of the Southwest Conference clash. “They came ready to play today and it showed.”

Isabella Driskell broke into the scoring column in the 35th minute after running onto a long pass that Alisa Wisdom was able to slip behind the Panthers’ defense to create a one-on-one finish into the bottom left corner past goalkeeper Makayla Jordan.

In the waning seconds of the first half, Driskell sent a corner kick into the box that bobbled around before Olivia Boger was able to punch the ball into the net with about 17 seconds remaining for a 2-0 halftime bulge.

North Medford (9-3-1, 7-3 SWC) kept the pressure on from there, getting a header goal by Payton Miller off a corner kick from Driskell in the 52nd minute and another goal by Driskell one minute later when another corner kick was sent out by the Panthers but immediately directed back into the net with a lefty shot from the right edge of the box.

In the 73rd minute, Boger closed out the scoring after receiving a through ball from Brooklyn Casale following an intercepted goal kick by South Medford (2-8-4, 0-7-4).

In the boys soccer matchup over at Bowerman Field, the Panthers wasted little time taking an advantage as Braulio Valenzuela played a beautiful ball over the top of North Medford’s defense and Steven Calvillo was there to sweep it in from about 7 yards out in the second minute of play.

South Medford (6-4-4, 4-4-3 SWC) doubled its lead in the 23rd minute when Tucker Hopkins stole the ball, slid through the Black Tornado defense to create some space and then sent a strong 28-yard strike nearly inside the goal post

That 2-0 cushion held up until the 52nd minute, when North Medford (1-11, 1-9) was able to benefit from some jostling in front of the goal and received a penalty kick. Jose Mondesi stutter-stepped on his approach before crisply sending a low shot into the left corner to cut the deficit in half for the Black Tornado.

In the 65th minute, Valenzuela was allowed to carry the ball from Panther territory deep into North Medford’s side of the field, cutting in slightly before ripping a 25-yard shot past diving goalkeeper Nash Pilig for the final tally.

“I felt like we were in control of the match for long periods of play in the first half,” said South Medford boys coach Matt Soper. “We were stringing some nice possession passes in the first half and we were doing really well with our passing combinations. The second half started good for us also until North scored their PK and gave North a lot of momentum for the next 10 minutes or so. That is when Braulio took it upon himself to score the decisive third goal.”

For South Medford, the win gave Soper’s team a fighting chance at possibly the last state playoff berth in the 32-team 6A bracket.

“These matchups versus North are always an intense mental battle,” said Soper. “I’m glad the boys pulled a win on the road, we needed that for sure.”

The Panthers stand No. 33 in the state power rankings but could take a big leap if they’re somehow able to upset league-leading South Eugene in the regular-season finale Tuesday night.

In Tuesday’s other results, Phoenix was able to improve to 7-2-2 overall and 4-2 in Skyline Conference play with a dominant 8-0 win over Mazama in Klamath falls.

The Pirates scored five times in the first half with a different player netting the end result in Ahvin Olson (seventh minute), Antonio Camargo (18th), Victor Peral (20th), Khaile Borland (21st) and Hector Ramos (39th).

Ramos and Peral also scored in the second half, with Daniel Macias closing the match by virtue of the mercy rule with his goal in the 47th minute on Olson’s second assist of the match.

Peral, Ramos and Borland were joined by Luis Ortiz and Elijah Palmer in earning one assist apiece, with Phoenix’s defense stifling the Vikings and Olson controlling the pace of play from the wing.