Through the first 30 minutes of Monday afternoon’s season opener, Philomath High’s boys soccer team clearly established itself as the more skilled team. Playing Elmira, a 3A school that came into the contest with an 0-2-1 record, the Warriors had several opportunities to find the net but led just 2-0.
Then in the 34th minute, junior Jacob Hernandez scored with an assist by sophomore Archer Schroeder to give the home team a 3-0 advantage. As it turned out, Hernandez would go on to score three more goals in Philomath’s 8-0 victory.
The referee stopped the game in the 75th minute on the eight-goal mercy rule.
“I love playing games more than practicing and seeing how our team plays together,” Hernandez said about the team’s first opportunity to play an opponent this fall. “We don’t scrimmage much in practice so to see that we can connect and play easy feet and find goals, it’s good.”
Hernandez’s three other goals came in the second half just 13 minutes apart. Nine minutes into the half, he found the net with an assist by sophomore Dreyton Nuño. In the 60th minute, Hernandez scored again after a throw-in by junior Esias Sapp. And two minutes later, Hernandez finished unassisted for a 7-0 lead.
Although the team scored eight goals, it appeared to be a challenge for the players to develop any sort of rhythm on the pitch. Scoring opportunities developed quickly from the opening whistle but Elmira hung tough for much of the first half behind an aggressive performance from senior goalkeeper Carter Tracy.
Sophomore Sammy Hernandez got Philomath on the scoreboard in the fifth minute on a penalty kick and the score remained 1-0 until the 24th minute. On the latter goal, Sammy Hernandez scored again with an assist by Schroeder.
There were other chances with Nuño, senior Zach Grapoli and freshman Oliver DeMasi getting off shots. The Warriors also had a half-dozen opportunities on corner kicks. Elmira’s Tracy made a great stop in the 21st minute when he went high to get his hands on a shot by Sapp.
Although only a couple of shots had gone in, Philomath had created multiple opportunities with a strong presence around the net.
“We have a stronger attack this year,” Jacob Hernandez said. “It helps with confidence going into the next game and knowing that we can finish.”
After Jacob Hernandez scored to make it 3-0, Philomath added a fourth goal in the 37th minute when Nuño hit the net with an assist by Sammy Hernandez.
In the second half after Jacob Hernandez scored three straight goals, the game ended on a goal by senior Caleb Babcock, who dribbled in for a close-range shot after receiving a pass from Sapp.
Philomath (1-0) will play at home again Thursday when Marist Catholic visits. Games at Junction City on Sept. 16 at home vs. Gladstone on Sept. 18 are also on the slate before the Warriors get into Oregon West Conference play.
“I think we’re going to be competitive because a few other teams in our league lost players and we only lost one,” Jacob Hernandez said. “He was really good (Silas Pittman) but having 10 returners, that’s going to help us. And we’ve all played with each other for a long time.”
Philomath 8, Elmira 0
Monday, Sept. 8, at Philomath HS
| Teams (Record) | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elmira (0-3-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Philomath (1-0) | 4 | 4 | 8 |
Note: The game was stopped in the 75th minute on the eight-goal mercy rule.
First Half — 1, Philomath, S. Hernandez (PK), 5th minute; 2, Philomath, S. Hernandez (Schroeder), 24th minute; 3, Philomath, J. Hernandez (Schroeder), 34th minute; 4, Philomath, Nuño (S. Hernandez), 37th minute.
