The Philomath High School girls soccer team won the Oregon West Conference title on Tuesday night with a 4-1 victory at Stayton.
The Warriors finished atop the standings with a 9-0-1 record — the lone blemish being a scoreless tie on Oct. 13 against Newport. Stayton settled for runner-up at 8-2, and both of the Eagles’ losses came against Philomath. The Warriors beat the Eagles 2-0 on Oct. 8.
“Great win for us in a playoff environment,” PHS coach Mat Phelps said. “It took a bit to figure out our attack, but we controlled the whole game and broke through in the second half.”
PHS junior Kya Bolton broke a scoreless tie in the 49th minute on an assist from sophomore Autumn Wilson. The Warriors then went up 2-0 in the 56th on a goal by junior Bella Nuñez, with Bolton picking up the assist.
After Stayton scored in the 63rd to cut the PHS lead to one, the Warriors countered just two minutes later when junior Reagan Nuño scored off another Bolton assist. Philomath put the game away in the 73rd minute on Bolton’s second goal of the evening, that one assisted by junior Bethany Cannon.
Bolton finished with two goals and two assists, factoring into all four of the Warriors’ scores.
“Kya really took over and we played great team defense,” Phelps said.
After Stayton scored in the 63rd to cut the PHS lead to one, the Warriors countered just two minutes later when junior Reagan Nuño scored off another Bolton assist. Philomath put the game away in the 73rd minute on Bolton’s second goal of the evening, that one assisted by junior Bethany Cannon.
“Kya really took over and we played great team defense,” Phelps said.
Philomath now waits for the Class 4A playoff brackets to be released. The Warriors earned an automatic berth into the 16-team field and will host a game on Nov. 4. Stayton (10-3-1 overall, 8-2 Oregon West) will also advance to the playoffs.
Philomath 4, Stayton 1
Tuesday, Oct. 27, at Stayton HS
Teams (Record) 1 2 F Philomath (11-3-1, 9-0-1) 0 4 4 Stayton (10-3-1, 8-2) 0 1 1
SECOND HALF—1, Philomath, Bolton (Wilson), 49th minute; 2, Philomath, Nuñez (Bolton), 56th minute; 3, Stayton, 63rd minute; 4, Philomath, Nuño (Bolton), 65th minute; 5, Philomath, Bolton (Cannon), 73rd minute.
JUNIOR VARSITY—Philomath 5, Stayton 1. PHS goals: 1, Bilder (Robertson), 39th minute; 2, Hernandez (Stimac), 56th minute; 3, Bilder (Stimac), 60th minute; 4, Bilder (Stimac), 70th minute; 5, R. Oster (Cucci), 75th minute.