Down 3-0 in the first 13 minutes of Tuesday afternoon’s home game against No. 1 North Marion, the Philomath boys faced a fight-or-flight moment on the soccer field.
The Warriors persevered those early challenges, outscored the Huskies the rest of the way and despite a 5-3 loss built a little momentum heading into a Thursday trip to the coast for a key match against Newport.
Gallery: PHS boys soccer vs. North Marion (Oct. 8, 2024)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 5-3 boys soccer loss vs. North Marion on Tuesday.
“What a show of character by the boys to come back and make a game of it,” PHS coach Dave Ellis said.
Freshman Dreyton Nuno, sophomore Jacob Hernandez and sophomore Esias Sapp had goals in the game for the Warriors.
“Silas (Pittman) was incredible just the amount of work and leadership he showed in the middle of the park. Without him as captain, we don’t make that comeback,” Ellis said. “Despite the fact that he didn’t get a goal, he was the person who powered us into that and led us and dragged us and kept us in the game.”
North Marion (8-0 overall, 4-0 Oregon West) got a gift early on when Philomath inadvertently knocked the ball into its own net. Four minutes later, senior Josue Lomeli Marin scored with an assist by sophomore Juruen Delgado. And then in the 13th, Delgado tapped the ball into the net to build the visitor’s early lead.
Ellis made a defensive adjustment about 10 minutes into the game.
“I made a change and put together a back line that had never played together and it just worked,” he said. “The team settled down and we played much, much better.”
North Marion had allowed just three goals in seven games with four shutouts coming into the Philomath matchup so the likelihood of a Warriors comeback seemed slim. But in the 24th minute, the home team got on the scoreboard when Nuno found the net.
On the play, Warriors junior goalkeeper Jake McGaughy sent a kick downfield that set up the scoring opportunity. On the play, Nuno beat North Marion’s keeper to the ball and finished to cut the deficit to 3-1.
But the Huskies dealt another tough blow in the final minute of the first half. Sophomore Damien Vallejo Lopez made an effective pass to Juruen Delgado, who scored with a shot to the upper right corner of the net over the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper.
“In the second half, I was able to bring Jacob on at center forward and that definitely changed the game — just his athleticism, his drive, his push is something that we’ve missed a lot in that 9 role this year and so he changed the game for us in that spot,” Ellis said. “I was really, really happy with him.”
Philomath came out with an aggressive approach in the second half and nearly scored in the 47th minute. Jacob Hernandez got the ball deep into the zone and Pittman ended up taking a shot that hit the post. A minute later on a corner kick, Jacob Hernandez nearly slipped one through off a Sammy Hernandez corner kick.
In the 56th minute, the Warriors made it 4-2. On the play, Sammy Hernandez dribbled down the middle of the field and found his brother, Jacob Hernandez, in position to his right. The pass was on the mark and Jacob Hernandez buried it for the goal.
Philomath made another run a short time later with Sammy Hernandez, Pittman and Jacob Hernandez on the attack. Five minutes later, Pittman had a chance on a header from about 15 yards on a cross from Nuno but it missed to the left.
North Marion broke through for its fifth goal in the 73rd minute with junior Marcos Mejia Nolasco scoring with an assist by freshman Greyson Hurst.
Moments after the Huskies received a yellow card, Philomath struck for its third goal with Sapp scoring on an assist by junior Caleb Babcock.
“They’re the No. 1 team in the state for a reason,” Ellis said. “They’re very, very good, they’re very, very drilled. I feel like we learned a few things and discovered a few things about us that are going to give us a better chance in the second half (of the conference schedule).”
Ellis said that between varsity and junior varsity, there were six athletes missing because of illness and one injury.
Philomath’s game Thursday at Newport is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.
