Despite falling 6-1 to No. 1 Stayton Thursday afternoon, a definitive path to the Class 4A playoffs remains in front of the Philomath High boys soccer team.
The Warriors would need to sweep their last three regular-season matches to have any hope of snagging the second automatic berth out of the Oregon West. Such a run would need to include an upset over North Marion, currently two games ahead of the Warriors in the league standings and ranked No. 2 in the state.
Gallery: PHS boys soccer vs. Stayton (Oct. 17, 2024)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s boys soccer match at home vs. Stayton on Thursday.
“We understand what we’ve got to do to make the playoffs and this game isn’t a game we need to make the playoffs,” PHS coach Dave Ellis said. “We had a chance to grow and hopefully we learned some lessons. But really what we need to do is we need to beat Cascade on Tuesday and hopefully give North Marion, who’s ranked No. 2 in the state, a run for their money on Thursday and that should put us in the playoffs.”
The Warriors (6-4 overall, 4-3 Oregon West) would then need to avoid stumbling at home against Newport in the regular-season finale while North Marion falls to Stayton — both of those games on Oct. 29.
If that’s not the way things unfold, then Philomath would need to play its way into the playoffs with a play-in game. The Warriors are currently sitting at No. 12 in the OSAA rankings.
In Thursday’s match against top-ranked Stayton, the Warriors knew that they would need their top performance of the season with a crisp attack and tough defense — with maybe a little luck worked in.
Early on, the luck went Stayton’s way on a play that drew Philomath’s goalkeeper out of the net while junior Nick Pelayo scored. But then Philomath drew even on a spectacular shot from 30 yards out by freshman Sammy Hernandez, the ball perfectly placed just below the crossbar and just above the outstretched hand of the Eagles’ keeper.
As it turned out, that would be it for Philomath’s scoring on the afternoon. The Warriors had a few more opportunities in the first half — a header by junior Caleb Babcock just missed in the 18th minute.
Stayton took the lead in the 20th minute on a penalty kick by senior Addison Samuell. Just before the break, the Eagles made it 3-1 when Samuell scored again unassisted on a shot to the right post.
With a roster jammed full of underclassmen — Silas Pittman is the lone senior — Ellis knows his team needs to work through youthful moments that slip through on the pitch. He said the team needs to eliminate such mistakes to “grow up and figure things out.”
Meanwhile, Stayton (9-0, 6-0) simply has a very talented team. Samuell, who wears No. 19, just might end up being named the player of the year in 4A. In the second half, he scored his team’s final goal with 10 minutes remaining for the hat trick. The three goals pushed his season total up to 28.
“He’s the best player in the state — hands down, he’s unreal,” Ellis said. “His speed, his strength, it’s phenomenal.”
Stayton went up 4-1 in the 54th minute on Pelayo’s second goal of the game with an assist by Samuell. Junior Johnny Garcia found the net in the 61st on a header with an assist by sophomore Miguel Ceballos. Then Samuell hit the team’s final goal in the 70th to account for the final margin.
Philomath is scheduled to play at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at home against Cascade.
