Kya Bolton didn’t like the call that set up a drop ball midway through the first half Tuesday. She did something about it.
The Philomath junior scored twice, including a goal moments after the restart, and the Warriors defeated Cascade 3-0 at Philomath High School to stay unbeaten in league play.“It was a drop ball, and it kind of made me a little mad because it was not a good call,” Bolton said. “So I was throwing a little bit of a fit, and I just tried to attack it after he dropped it.”
Philomath improved to 9-3-1 overall and 7-0-1 in league. Cascade fell to 7-5-1 and 5-3.
The teams traded possession through the first 25 minutes, with Philomath missing on a few chances off crosses in front of the net. Freshman Sienna Smith broke through in the 26th minute, scoring off an assist from freshman Lilly Ellis.
Two minutes later, with the Cascade goalkeeper off her line, Bolton lofted a shot over her for a 2-0 lead.
“Lilly got the ball right after and played me through,” Bolton said. “So I was like, ‘Oh, this is my opportunity.’ So I shot it over her, because she was out of her box where she shouldn’t be.”
Philomath coach Mat Phelps liked the patience Bolton showed on the play.
“Lilly heads-up to play it into space, and Kya just making a smart decision, didn’t rush it, and knew that she could get it over if the keeper was out, and just put a good shot in,” Phelps said.
Cascade managed a few shots on goal, and most of those went right into the hands of senior goalkeeper Makena Sleeman.
Philomath appeared to make it 3-0 in the 53rd minute when sophomore Autumn Wilson buried a shot, but the official ruled that Ellis had fouled the goalkeeper on the play, and the goal was disallowed.
Bolton added her second goal five minutes later with Smith getting the assist. Philomath coach Mat Phelps said Bolton read the situation well and lofted the shot over the keeper, who had come off her line.
“Kya just making a smart decision, didn’t rush it, and knew that she could get it over if the keeper was out, and just put a good shot in,” Phelps said.
Bolton, a Class 4A first-team all-state selection last season after scoring 33 goals, missed several games to start this season. Phelps said she’s still working back into form.
“I think she’s shaking off some of that rust and finding her rhythm, and it looks a little different than last year,” Phelps said. “We don’t expect her to score 30 goals again. The great thing is we’ve got so many girls who are capable, and she can just kind of fit in and complement all of them, and they complement her. So it’s starting to come together. It’s just taking a little time.”
Bolton said the time away was hard.
“It was a lot mentally, because I’ve been playing the sport for so long,” she said. “The two-month break really kind of hit hard. I love that I get to watch people play the sport that I love, but it just kind of sucks that I got to miss a lot of it.”
Phelps said he saw a strong effort across the defense, singling out the back line of Noelle (Gonzalez-Bush), Sophie (Ellis) and Lucy (Thomas), along with Annaleise (Brown). He gave particular credit to Bella Nuñez in the defensive midfield.
“She won so many balls. She was willing to get to everything,” Phelps said about Nuñez. “You don’t get a lot of attention as a defensive mid, but she wins the balls. She’s one of our heartbeats back there.”
Bolton credited the team’s conditioning for its success in the attack, pointing to the team’s “Fitness Fridays.”
“They were getting tired and we could take advantage of that and keep playing around them,” she said. “We were connecting passes, which tired them out and made us more successful.”
Phelps said the Friday sessions are built around hard work followed by some fun.
“We work extremely hard on Fridays instead of taking an early weekend day off,” he said. “We work really hard and then we have fun afterward, whether it’s playing some silly games or whatever, and we usually have a treat for the girls afterward.”
Philomath will host Central at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in its regular-season home finale. The team’s seniors will be recognized before the game. The Warriors beat Central 9-0 on the road Oct. 6.
Philomath 3, Cascade 0
Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Philomath HS
Teams (Record) 1 2 F Cascade (7-5-1, 5-3) 0 0 0 Philomath (9-3-1, 7-0-1) 2 1 3
FIRST HALF—1, Philomath, Smith (L. Ellis), 26th minute; 2, Philomath, Bolton (L. Ellis), 28th minute.
SECOND HALF—3, Philomath, Bolton (Smith), 58th minute.
JUNIOR VARSITY—Philomath 4, Corvallis 0 (Friday). PHS goals: 1, Davis (Robertson), 4th minute; 2, Mecham (Bilder), 47th minute; 3, R. Oster (Mecham), 68th minute; 4, Stimac (Cucci), 74th minute. Philomath 3, Cascade 0 (Tuesday). PHS goals: 1, Hernandez (Mecham), 8th minute; 2, R. Oster (Hernandez), 10th minute; 3, Bilder (Robertson), 15th minute.
