EUGENE — Huddled around their head coach following a 2-1 loss to Marist Catholic Saturday afternoon in the Class 4A girls soccer quarterfinals, Philomath High’s players shared the emotions of the realization that another season had come to end.
Head coach Mat Phelps told the girls they should be proud for playing a great half of soccer after trailing 2-0 at the break.
“I feel like that was the best half of soccer we played this year and not because it was the prettiest, but because we worked the hardest and did the things that we wanted to,” Phelps said he told the team after the game, a group that included 10 seniors.
Gallery: PHS girls soccer at Marist Catholic (Nov. 9, 2024)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 2-1 girls soccer loss at Marist Catholic on Saturday.
Marist has been on an impressive run in the sport in recent years. For the second time in three years, Philomath had seen its season end on Kevin Teller Field at the hands of a No. 1-seeded Spartans squad. Marist beat the Warriors, 2-0, en route to the 2022 state title.
“We play them a lot and we know they’re good, one of the best teams in the state,” Phelps said. “We know we’re going to have to be good and that’s fine — it’s easy to get motivated.”
Marist (15-1-1) scored twice over a nine-minute span of the first half to knock the wind out of the Warriors. In the 21st minute, sophomore Tori Sherman scored with an assist by senior Ella Shepard. And in the 30th, sophomore Libby McLaughlin found the net from about 30 yards at an angle after receiving the ball from senior Kate Firth.
“I think we put our all into it,” senior Sophia Bauer said. “I think everyone makes mistakes on the field … I feel we pick each other up and just keep playing. We played our game — that’s all I can say. I feel like we tried our best out there.”
Philomath had few opportunities in the first half. The Warriors had two corner kicks that produced nothing and freshman Kya Bolton had a couple of shots that had a chance but Marist’s goalkeeper was aggressive with getting on the ball.
“We needed to play for each other and challenge those 50-50 balls — that’s really what it came down to,” Bauer said.
The halftime talk between players and coaches revolved around that part of Philomath’s game.
“We talked about getting to the balls in the air and being aggressive to the 50-50s and I think that really helped us push harder and gain more control,” PHS senior Natalie Dunn said.
Phelps said the players basically needed to make mental adjustments and increase their physicality out on the pitch to take their game to the next level.
“The discussion was ‘let’s have a little more confidence in ourselves and step higher and believe in our attack and just work extremely hard the entire half,’” Phelps said. “I think the girls did all of those things and played a great half.”
Marist continued to pretty much keep the Warriors in check several minutes into the half but then momentum appeared to swing in Philomath’s favor over the final 20. Midway through the half, junior Ana Candanoza got a through ball to senior Madyx Mooney for one of the team’s best chances of the afternoon. Marist disrupted the play and then 90 seconds later nearly scored on the other end on a Shepard shot, only to see Philomath senior goalkeeper Heidi Bacho make the stop.
With 13 minutes remaining, Philomath’s attack intensified. Sophomore Annaleise Brown saw a chance miss wide right. Seconds later, Bolton had an opportunity to make something happen with a corner kick.
Finally in the game’s 70th minute, an official’s whistle gave Philomath a free kick chance. Dunn buried it from about 25 yards to the far post to cut the Marist lead in half and set up a crazy finish.
The Warriors nearly tied it up a few minutes later. On the play, Bolton beat Marist senior Emma Hart to the ball and caught the goalkeeper out of position to create an open net opportunity. But junior defender Piper Paslay recovered in time to clear and end the threat.
Philomath had a free kick chance in the 77th minute but in the time that remained, Marist was able to close it out for the win.
Marist moves on to the semifinals for a match Tuesday against fourth-seeded Scappoose. The Indians eliminated Henley, 1-0. The other semifinal features No. 2 La Grande at home against No. 6 North Marion. The Oregon West Conference champion Huskies pulled off a mild upset over third-seeded The Dalles, 3-2, in overtime.
The championship game is scheduled for Nov. 16 at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.
Philomath’s season ends with an overall record of 10-4-2.
Bacho, Bauer, Dunn, Mooney, Aspen Russell, Isabel Morales-Marquez, Melea Lattin, Kateri Pindell, Petra Hernandez and Charis Bumstead played their final games.
“It’s definitely hard to see them go because a lot of them have been varsity players for four years and just really set a positive tone for our team and were a great example of hard work and being friends and loving each other on the field,” Phelps said. “It will definitely be hard to replace them.”
Said Dunn, “I’m definitely really sad — just the end of being able to go out and play with my friends every day.”
