The Philomath girls soccer team’s season came to an end Saturday night with a 2-0 loss to third-seeded Scappoose in the Class 4A state quarterfinals.
The sixth-seeded Warriors (14-2-1) couldn’t solve the Indians’ formidable defense and fell victim to a pair of goals from Scappoose senior Amalie Anderson, who struck in the 25th and 55th minutes.
“They were organized in the back and they had good athletes,” Philomath coach Mat Phelps said. “They were able to just clear out everything and make it difficult to play through the middle.”
The Warriors tested Scappoose early, mounting sustained pressure about 10 minutes into the match that created several scoring opportunities.
“We had a stretch for 15 minutes where we were really hammering the pressure and had several chances on frame — some outside shots and a corner kick — and we were building some momentum,” Phelps said.
But the Indians weathered the storm and shifted momentum back in their favor. Scappoose’s Anderson converted in the 25th minute to give the home team a 1-0 halftime lead.
“They had a lot of speed up top and they got their girl the ball in space and she was able to get that first goal in,” Phelps said. “We kept pressing and we had some other opportunities in the first half and really, in the last 15 minutes, we had quite a few chances and just couldn’t get the ball to go in the net.”
Philomath continued to battle in the second half, but Anderson’s second goal in the 55th minute sealed the outcome for Scappoose (15-1-1).
Despite the playoff exit, Phelps views the season as a success for a program that exceeded expectations and returned to the quarterfinals.
“We didn’t know what our expectation was and what we could do and we had to sit down and go over some of our goals and redo some of our goals,” Phelps said. “I think we met our goals for the year and playing into the quarterfinals and obviously it’s disappointing to lose, but we made a ton of progress from the first day of training camp until the last day of the season.”
The Warriors brought a 12-game unbeaten streak into Saturday’s contest, not losing since a Sept. 11 match at No. 1 Marist Catholic. Philomath advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-1 win over Molalla on Nov. 4.
Looking ahead, the program has a strong foundation to build upon with nine underclassmen on the roster who could return next season, including top scorer Kya Bolton, goalkeeper Makena Sleeman and several key playmakers.
“I think the experiences from this past season will pay dividends down the road with returning players carrying on that high expectation that we’ve had in our program for so long,” Phelps said.
The Warriors will graduate nine seniors who stepped into leadership roles this season.
“A lot of our seniors had never been starters but they came in and took over some of those roles from the previous class and just really stepped up,” Phelps said. “They did a great job of leading by example this year.”
Phelps praised the playoff atmosphere at Scappoose, where fans from both schools created an energetic environment.
“We had a ton of people from Philomath that traveled and they had a pretty good-sized crowd,” he said. “Everything seemed pretty positive on our end — just a lot of good cheering and a lot of hard soccer. The referee let the game play and so that’s how it played out.”
Scappoose advances to the semifinals and will play at second-seeded The Dalles. Top-seeded Marist will host fourth-seeded Henley in the other semifinal. The championship match is scheduled for Nov. 15 at Liberty High in Hillsboro.
Scappoose 2, Philomath 0
Saturday, Nov. 8, at Scappoose HS
| Teams (Record) | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philomath (14-2-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scappoose (15-1-1) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
First Half — 1, Scappoose, Anderson, 25th minute.
Second Half — 2, Scappoose, Anderson, 55th minute.