As the time ticked away in the game and the season on Saturday afternoon at Crescent Valley, the Philomath High School boys soccer team found a way to pull off a victory and finish on a high note.
With just 2 minutes to play, Nick Stucki found the net on a chance created by teammates Lucas Ainsworth. Fittingly, both are Warrior seniors.
“He tackled through two CV players and the ball squirted out to Nick 25 yards from goal,” PHS coach Dave Ellis said in describing the play that led to the goal. “Nick glided into the box and was a bit ponderous before slotting the keeper.”
The 1-0 victory gave Philomath a 3-3-1 record in this pandemic-shortened spring season. Crescent Valley, a 5A school, dropped to 2-5-2.
Ellis said Saturday’s contest was a “somewhat sloppy game that we spent the majority of time on top.”
Stucki and Ainsworth are two of the six seniors on the roster. The others are Judah Bacho, Andrew Chatfield, Adam Hernandez and Andrew Mecham.
Philomath’s defense had a bit of shaky start but made significant progress. The Warriors allowed only two goals over their final five games after giving up 10 in the first two.
“Dylan (Bell), Chatfield and Blaise Pindell formed a defensive foundation that the rest of the team could build from,” Ellis said.
Philomath 1, Crescent Valley 0
Saturday at Crescent Valley HS, Corvallis
| TEAMS (RECORDS) | 1H | 2H | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philomath (3-3-1) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Crescent Valley (2-5-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SCORING SUMMARY |
|---|
| Second Half: 1, Philomath, Nick Stucki (Lucas Ainsworth), 78th minute. |