Several veteran players with exceptional skills and a knack for winning games graduated out of the Philomath High girls soccer program. But with a solid tradition of reloading rather than rebuilding, veteran coach Mat Phelps talks with confidence about the team’s chances this fall.
Phelps sees a competitive group that in the preseason is trying to figure out the best way to attack the opposition.
“A lot of the girls haven’t played together and so figuring out each other’s strengths and weaknesses and being able to encourage each other and build each other up is something we’ve really worked on,” Phelps said last week during the team’s home jamboree.
Philomath has also worked hard on establishing an edge through consistency and just doing the right things over and over, Phelps added.
“It’s a really positive, good group of girls that like being around each other and are learning,” he said.
The Warriors lost 11 seniors off last year’s 10-4-2 team, a veteran squad that pushed eventual state champion Marist Catholic to the limit in a 2-1 loss on the road in the 4A quarterfinals. As such, it’s no real surprise that a different vibe can be felt in the team’s preseason drills.
“There’s less certainty as far as who’s playing in what positions — that we’re figuring out,” Phelps said. “But everybody’s willing to learn and try new things. It’s like a 50% new roster for varsity, which is pretty crazy.”
Among the returning players, senior Ana Candanoza and sophomore Kya Bolton were both all-conference selections last year. Candanoza has been a mainstay in the lineup throughout high school.
“Ana has been a four-year starter and just gives us that consistency in the middle,” Phelps said. “She’s an extremely hard worker and sets the tone for us. We definitely appreciate that and now she’s kind of coming into more of a leadership role now that those seniors graduated.”
Bolton had an immediate impact on the program last season as a freshman and led the team in goals.
“I expect to see her be really dangerous up front,” Phelps said. “She’s got a lot of quality (attributes) as far as scoring goals, taking corner kicks and that kind of stuff.”
Juniors Jordyn Hood and Annaleise Brown are among the other key returnees.
“Jordyn is another one of those returners from last year that’s just building confidence and her skillset continues to grow,” Phelps said. “Annaleise is switching positions a little bit — she played midfield last year and will probably be center back this year. She’s just a rock back there and has really come into that leadership role as well and is really vocal on the field and does a good job.”
In the net, junior Makena Sleeman takes over as a first-year varsity starter.
“She played two years on junior varsity but she’s not your typical JV keeper,” Phelps said. “She really understands the game and is vocal and does a good job.”
Candanoza and senior Maggie King were chosen as team captains. Other seniors on the varsity roster include Lacey Bacho, Logan Cook, Jessica McLennan, Lucy King, Brielle Hagen and Abby Phelps.
In all, Philomath’s roster shows 35 athletes in the program.
“We will have a solid JV team with a lot of freshmen and I’m looking forward to seeing them grow,” Phelps said.
Philomath opens the season Friday and Saturday with games in the Oregon High School Showcase in Bend. The Warriors will go up against Crook County on Friday and Seaside on Saturday — each of those with 1 p.m. starts.
“We go to a tournament and we haven’t done that before,” Phelps said. “It will be nice to see competition that you haven’t seen and to just see what the rest of the state looks like a little bit so we’re looking forward to that.”
After the tournament, the Warriors will play their first home game at 4 p.m. Tuesday against Gladstone. Then it’s off for a Sept. 11 match at Marist. Junction City on Sept. 16 will wrap up the nonconference schedule before the team gets into Oregon West play.
Phelps said the early matches will hopefully provide clarification on a lineup strategy.
“We tried some different things today (Aug. 28 at the jamboree) but these are short games and it’s hard to tell,” he said. “Obviously we want to get good results in those games but also more clarity going into the league season.
“We want to compete for the league title — so what is our best chance with the group of girls that we have?” Phelps added.
Last season, North Marion edged Philomath for first place in the Oregon West.
In the OSAAtoday preseason coaches poll, Philomath was ranked sixth behind Marist, North Marion, La Grande, Scappoose and The Dalles.
