Philomath High School’s girls soccer team enters a new season with a familiar issue — replacing production from a group that went 14-2-1 a year ago while also relying on a deep core of returning talent to carry the load again.
The Warriors won the conference outright last season at 9-0-1 and advanced to the state quarterfinals before falling to Scappoose 2-0, a run that followed a 4-1 first-round win over Molalla. Eleven players from that team earned all-conference recognition, and six of them are back on this year’s roster.
Head coach Mat Phelps said the summer showed him a group committed to building on that success, even with new faces in the mix.
“I think from preseason and just all summer long, just the commitment and the excitement to be out here,” Phelps said when asked what he learned about the team from preseason workouts. “We had really great numbers during our voluntary practices all summer long — a lot of newcomers with freshmen coming in that were really committed and showed up.”
As for finalizing any sort of lineup, it’s a work in progress.
“We’re still kind of learning who we are, where everybody fits,” Phelps said. “We got a few players that we’re testing out both on JV and varsity to kind of fill some of the holes.”
Junior Kya Bolton, the top scorer in Class 4A with 33 goals last season, returns for the Warriors. The first-team all-state selection begins this fall sidelined by an injury.
“She’s trying to do it the right way and make sure she gets back when she needs to,” Phelps said.
Several other key players also return, including junior Bethany Cannon, senior Annaleise Brown, senior Makena Sleeman, senior Jordyn Hood and junior Bella Nunez — all of those players earning all-conference recognition in 2025.
Philomath does have some production to replace after losing five all-conference selections to graduation. But Phelps said maintaining continuity with proven players while also giving newcomers a path to contribute is part of the program’s ongoing formula.
“We want some level of continuity every year, players that have done it and have been successful at this level and can continue to do that,” Phelps said. “So I love having those all-conference players back that just set the tone and kind of lay that foundation. But (assistant) coach (Anton) Grube and I talk about this every year. It’s really fun to see those that get an opportunity for the first time really step into that. And we’ve had a really successful JV team the last several years as well. And so there’s always girls that are in the wings waiting and they get their opportunity. We’re kind of in that stage of like, let’s see who really shines when they get their opportunity.”
Phelps pointed to his senior class, mentioning Sleeman, Brown and Hood as players who have grown into leadership roles.
“I think some of our biggest strengths are just the culture that we’ve had that just continues on,” Phelps said. “The seniors always are able to step into leadership roles because we’ve had good leaders before them setting a good example.”
Phelps said having a proven, all-conference goalkeeper like Sleeman changes how the team can approach games.
“It’s huge — just the communication that she provides, the leadership from the back that she understands the game, knowing that we can trust her is certainly a big thing,” Phelps said. “You don’t want to have to worry about goalkeeping as the season goes on, and we don’t.”
The coach said his lineup is still taking shape early in the preseason but expects Brown anchoring the back line and center, Sleeman in goal and Hood providing width on the attack.
“We’ll tweak that a little bit and try some things in the first few games and see — maybe bumping a midfielder to a forward or vice versa but for the most part, I think Annaleise is going to be that back line and center, Makena staying in goal obviously,” Phelps said. “Jordyn Hood provides a lot of great width and attacking outside and we have a lot of really good stamina girls on this team that can just run, and so that’s kind of unique. We can play them in a lot of different positions.”
Phelps also highlighted junior Reagan Nuño, who is new to the program this year.
“She’s dynamic so it’s fun to watch her,” Phelps said about Nuño, who was playing outside back at the jamboree. “She hasn’t played in a few years so it’s fun to get her out there as well.”
Phelps said the program has 33 girls across varsity and JV this season, a slight dip from a year ago. But the numbers are not necessarily a bad thing.
“It’s a few less than last year, but you know, in some ways, that’s good because it’s more playing time for girls, less time on the bench, and it’s plenty for both teams to have plenty of subs,” Phelps said.
Philomath opens the season Tuesday at home against Marist Catholic before heading to the Bend Soccer Showcase for games against Henley on Sept. 4 and Crook County on Sept. 5. The Warriors then play at West Albany on Sept. 15 and host Molalla on Sept. 17 before opening conference play Sept. 24 at Newport.
Phelps said the nonconference schedule is built with the postseason in mind.
“In some ways, we use it to hopefully prepare us for good competition toward the end of the year,” Phelps said. “There’s a couple of teams in our league that might provide competition and a couple that unfortunately don’t. So we try to have a strong slate of nonconference, so we understand the strength around the state, and we understand the level that we need to play at.”
As for competition within the conference, Phelps pointed to a handful of teams to watch, including one he was scheduled to see later in the day at the jamboree.
“Hopefully get a chance to see Newport today and see how they look,” Phelps said after the team’s first game vs. Lebanon. “There’s a couple of new teams in Central and Taft that I don’t anticipate being the best competition, but I think it’s always fun to see new teams. Stayton was getting better last year. Cascade’s physical and I would think Newport would be up there.”
PHS SCHEDULE
Sept. 1 — Marist Catholic, 4 p.m.
Sept. 4 — Henley (at Bend), 2 p.m.
Sept. 5 — Crook County (at Bend), 9 a.m.
Sept. 15 — at West Albany, 7 p.m.
Sept. 17 — Molalla, 5:30 p.m.
Sept. 24 — at Newport, 7 p.m.
Sept. 29 — Taft, 4 p.m.
Oct. 1 — at Cascade, 4:30 p.m.
Oct. 6 — at Central, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 8 — Stayton, 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 13 — Newport, 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 15 — at Taft, 4 p.m.
Oct. 20 — Cascade, 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 22 — Central, 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 27 — at Stayton, 6 p.m.
PHS ROSTER
Seniors (6) — Annaleise Brown, Ella Bumstead, Jordyn Hood, Angelica Morales-Marquez, Makena Sleeman, Lucy Thomas
Juniors (8) — Kya Bolton, Bethany Cannon, Laney Davis, Sophie Ellis, Bella Nunez, Reagan Nuno, Malena Phan, Sarah Robertson
Sophomores (10) — Helena Adams, Jordyn Allen, Aubrey Badizadegan, Makinzey Harrington, Rachel Mecham, Ava Oster, Ruby Oster, Eden Phelps, Adilee Stewart, Autumn Wilson
Freshmen (9) — McKenna Bilder, Milayna Cucci, Lilly Ellis, Noelle Gonzalez-Bush, Olivia Hernandez, Lily Hynes, Kate Pyburn, Sienna Smith, Anika Stimac
Head coach — Mat Phelps
Assistant coach — Anton Grube
