Philomath High’s girls soccer team scored early in each half and kept Stayton off the scoreboard Thursday in a 2-0 victory over the Eagles to move alone into first place in the league standings.
Warriors freshman Lilly Ellis scored in the sixth minute and senior Angelica Morales-Marquez added a goal in the 42nd minute — and Philomath’s defense did the rest.
“Our fitness and our willingness to play hard for 80 minutes were huge,” Philomath coach Mat Phelps said. “And then just persistence when the ball’s not going in the back of the net like we want, just continuing to do the things that give us the chances.”
The opening goal started at the other end of the field. With Stayton (6-2-1 overall, 4-1 Oregon West) threatening, PHS senior Annaleise Brown made a key defensive play, then dribbled down the right sideline and got the ball to junior Reagan Nuño. Nuño found junior Kyah Bolton, who crossed to Ellis at the back post.
“I was just out on the wing and I saw Kyah coming down,” Ellis said. “There was no one on me, so I just ran to the back post and Kyah crossed it, and I think it was my left foot. The girl was coming, and I just stuck my foot out and it went under the crossbar.”
Ellis’ shot hit the crossbar and dropped straight down into the net. The right-footed freshman said she was playing on the left side, “and that’s just how it came to me.”
Philomath nearly added to its lead late in the first half when Nuño got two chances off passes from junior Bethany Cannon. Stayton’s goalkeeper made stops on both occasions.
The Warriors (7-3, 5-0) broke through again early in the second half. Bolton sent in a corner kick, junior Bella Nuñez ended up with the ball and passed to Morales-Marquez, who scored from about 20 yards out.
About two minutes later, Stayton’s keeper made a diving save to take another goal away from Morales-Marquez. Bolton just missed wide right on a breakaway in the 48th minute, and Nuño nearly snuck one in but hit the post in the 59th.
Ellis said the offense has improved as more players join the attack.
“We’re definitely playing more offense as a unit instead of just playing into our forwards and maybe one wing coming up,” she said. “We’re getting our whole midfield and our defense, our outside backs, really helping support the attack. It’s getting easier to have more opportunities to cross it in, which we practice a lot, so it’s getting better.”
After a slow start to the season, Philomath has now beaten both of the teams Ellis expected to be the toughest in the league.
“Coming into it, I knew Newport and Stayton were going to be tough games, just the physicality of it,” she said. “It feels nice to know that we can win both games and that we can compete physically against them. We’re not backing down.”
Phelps said the team’s senior captains set the tone before the match.
“We’ve set pretty high goals for ourselves, so we want to win them all, and that’s important,” he said. “But recognizing the situation, our senior captains wanted us to be a little more focused. So yesterday, they brought the team in themselves and said, ‘Hey, let’s make sure we have a really good practice.’ I think they’re in a good headspace to be focused for the season.”
Phelps praised Ellis’ versatility. She played outside back and outside midfield against Stayton and has also played center forward and center midfield this season.
“The great thing is she understands the game really well, so I can play her anywhere,” Phelps said. “She’s really mature for her age in understanding the game, and she works really hard and gets in the right spot.”
Philomath, which is on a six-game winning streak, hosts Newport at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Warriors beat the Cubs 5-1 on Sept. 24 in Newport.
Philomath 2, Stayton 0
Thursday, Oct. 8, at Philomath HS
Teams (Record) 1 2 F Stayton (6-2-1, 4-1) 0 0 0 Philomath (7-3, 5-0) 1 1 2
FIRST HALF—1, Philomath, L. Ellis (Bolton), 6th minute.
SECOND HALF—2, Philomath, Morales-Marquez (Nuñez), 42nd minute.
JUNIOR VARSITY—Philomath 4, Stayton 0. PHS Goals: 1, Hernandez, 15th minute; 2, Stimac (Hernandez), 23rd minute; 3, Mecham (Cucci), 30th minute; 4, Harrington, 60th minute.
