The Philomath High School girls soccer team broke a scoreless tie early in the second half with back-to-back goals six minutes apart to defeat Newport Tuesday on the road, 2-1.
The Warriors (9-3-2 overall, 8-1-1 Oregon West) now advance as the league runner-up directly into the Class 4A playoffs and were seeded eighth for a first-round match against ninth-seeded Klamath Union. The match has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6 on the PHS pitch.
Philomath and Newport remained scoreless into the second half in a key conference match to end the regular season. But in the 42nd minute, junior Ana Candanoza scored unassisted to get the Warriors on the scoreboard. Then in the 48th minute, freshman Kya Bolton found the net with an assist by senior Isabel Morales-Marquez.
“Our defense and midfield played really well,” PHS coach Mat Phelps said. “Natalie (Dunn) controlled the middle with strong defense and ball winning. Ana worked really hard on both ends. Great team win tonight against a good team.”
The Cubs scored in the 78th minute to avoid the shutout.
Newport (9-5, 6-4) advances into a play-in game at 5 p.m. Saturday at St. Helens.
Elsewhere, league champion North Marion was seeded sixth for the 4A bracket and will not learn its opponent until the play-in matches are completed.
