The Philomath High School girls soccer team will open the Class 4A playoffs at home Tuesday with a matchup against Molalla. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.
The Oregon West Conference champion Warriors, seeded sixth, enter the contest with a 13-1-1 record. Molalla, seeded 11th, comes in with a 9-6 record after two straight losses to end the regular season.
The two schools had three opponents in common this season. The Indians beat North Marion (6-4) while Philomath had a win (3-2) and a tie (4-4) against the Huskies. Against Junction City, Molalla had a 1-0 win while Philomath posted a 7-0 victory. And in matches against Cascade, the Indians pulled out a 1-0 win while Philomath swept the league opponent with identical 4-0 scores.
Molalla finished third in the Tri-Valley Conference with a 4-4 record behind The Dalles (8-0) and Gladstone (6-2). Philomath won the Oregon West with a 9-0-1 record ahead of North Marion (8-1-1) and Newport (4-4-2).
The winner will move on to the quarterfinals to face the winner of 14th-seeded Mazama against third-seeded Scappoose. Marist Catholic is the top seed and is situated on the opposite side of the bracket.
Philomath and Molalla last met in the first round of the playoffs two years ago with the Warriors advancing with a 3-1 victory. Kamilla Grimmer scored two goals, one on a penalty kick, and Bailey Bell also found the net in the win.