Veteran head coach Mat Phelps has no qualms about the upcoming playoffs following a 1-0 girls soccer loss Thursday to North Marion. The Warriors, he feels, are sitting in a good place to have a chance at success once those 4A brackets are determined.
“I think we’re continuing to grow and we know especially after a game like today that there are things we can improve,” Phelps said when asked to comment on how he feels the team is shaping up with the postseason looming. “So we’ve got to keep working hard in practice and not take our foot off the gas.”
Gallery: PHS girls soccer vs. North Marion (Oct. 24, 2024)
A collection of photos from Philomath High School’s girls soccer match vs. North Marion on Thursday.
In a match that decided the Oregon West Conference title, the Warriors kept their foot on the gas to try to create chances against a formidable North Marion squad but could not get the ball into the net.
“I felt like we had quite a few chances and were close — we just didn’t get that final ball in,” Phelps said.
In the first meeting between the two teams at North Marion, the Warriors went up 2-0 by halftime before the Huskies came back with two in the second half to force a tie. Philomath hasn’t been able to replicate that early success over the past 120 minutes.
“I think in the first half (Oct. 8), we came out and controlled the first half and in the next three halves have been just really close with them,” Phelps said. “So I think they maybe weren’t expecting us (to come out scoring) in that first half in the first game but I don’t know, it’s hard to tell.”
The Warriors and Huskies were battling each other in an aggressive manner to try to control possession. For Philomath, freshman Kya Bolton picked herself up off the grass on several occasions and incidentally, the player most often on her was ejected in the 72nd minute after drawing a second yellow card.
“They are a physical team and so you get knocked down sometimes,” Phelps said. “But I thought she stood tough and won some good free kicks.”
In the first half, neither team threatened the opposing goal much with possession primarily in the middle of the field over the first 20 minutes other than a free kick by senior Natalie Dunn that made it deep into the North Marion box.
Over a three-minute stretch beginning in the 21st minute, the Warriors had a couple of chances — two of those involving crosses from Bolton toward senior Sophia Bauer. On the first one, North Marion’s goalkeeper stepped up to grab the ball and on the second, Bauer just barely missed getting her head on the ball. In between those two plays, Bolton missed by a foot high on a free kick.
About eight minutes later, Bolton had a clear path for a few seconds on a breakaway down the center right side but it closed quickly and a shot attempt went wide right of the net.
North Marion came out strong in the second half and threatened in the opening minutes only to see Philomath’s defense hold steady. The Huskies nearly got one in on a free kick by senior Chloe Comerford but PHS goalkeeper Heidi Bacho secured the ball to keep it from slipping through.
Philomath came very close to getting credit for a goal when North Marion almost knocked the ball into its own net, missing by a mere foot. Seconds before the Huskies made that scramble for the ball, Warriors senior Petra Hernandez had sent it in from the far sideline.
The Warriors didn’t get a corner kick opportunity until the game’s 56th minute and Dunn and sophomore Annaleise Brown were in position when the ball came in from Bolton but North Marion was able to clear.
North Marion then finished for a goal in the 61st minute with junior Bethany Dunn scoring left to right with an assist by freshman Jaqueline Lomeli Marin.
Bolton had free kicks in the 65th, 67th and 73rd minutes but could not find any luck getting through. On the other end, Bacho went to her knees to stop what turned out to be a somewhat weak shot on an opportunity that materialized on a pass from sophomore Paula Mensa Torres-Ortiz to Lomeli Marin.
Philomath had a couple of more chances late — a shot from junior Maggie King from 20 yards just barely missed wide right in the 73rd minute and Hernandez missed high from about 15 yards after receiving the ball from junior Ana Candanoza in the 78th minute.
Philomath will wrap up the regular season at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Newport. The Warriors beat the Cubs, 3-1, in the first matchup between the two teams Oct. 10. Newport will bring a three-game win streak into the match after defeating Cascade 4-1 Thursday.
Said Phelps, “That’s going to be a good game, we’ll need to focus.”
As the final regular-season home game, Philomath recognized the program’s seniors — Bacho, Bauer, Dunn, Hernandez, Charis Bumstead, Melea Lattin, Madyx Mooney, Isabel Morales-Marquez, Kateri Pindell, Isabella Poot and Aspen Russell.
“We had 11 today and I told them after the game that I’m really proud of the work that they put in and the example they are to the underclassmen,” Phelps said. “They have shown the other girls what it’s all about — hard work, be a family and have a good time.”
