It’s been four years to the day since Stayton’s boys soccer team lost a match in Oregon West Conference play. The Eagles came into Tuesday’s battle with Philomath riding a 36-game unbeaten streak that dates back to Sept. 30, 2021.
In a Thursday evening matchup on Stayton’s pitch, Philomath pulled off a 1-0 win on a Mark Grimmer goal in the 58th minute. The Warriors went on to win the state title.
In this season’s first meeting between the two schools, both Philomath and Stayton entered with perfect 5-0 records. The Eagles dodged a few bullets early, dominated possession and survived a physical matchup for a 4-1 victory.
“That’s a fantastic team,” Warriors coach Dave Ellis said. “They came ready to play at a pace that we weren’t able to play at today.”
Senior forward and team co-captain Isaiah Dixon scored three goals to lead the Eagles.
“Things have been a little bit easy for us so far and I just don’t think we were ready to play them,” Ellis said. “All the credit to them — they were on top of it and they put away their chances.”
Philomath (5-1 overall, 1-1 Oregon West) had limited opportunities but nearly scored in the first few minutes, including a shot on goal by sophomore Sammy Hernandez.
“We had Sammy on that shot and there was a missed PK (penalty kick) that I was pretty upset about,” Ellis said. “If those two things go differently, then it’s a different game.”
That’s the thing about soccer — a lot of what-ifs out on the pitch. Against a team like Stayton, those missed opportunities tend to be amplified.
“Once they can get you down, man, that’s what they know how to do,” Ellis said. “They’re as good of a coached team as there is 4A.”
Stayton (6-0, 2-0) got on the scoreboard in the 11th minute on a goal by senior Nick Pelayo. The Eagles controlled possession for most of the rest of the first half and broke through with another goal in the 31st minute on Dixon’s first goal.
Philomath goalkeeper Jake McGaughy stayed busy and had at least a half-dozen saves in the first half alone.
In the second half, Dixon added goals in the 44th and 59th minutes to pretty much clinch the win for the Eagles although Philomath did have some chances during that stretch of the match.
In the 49th minute, junior Jacob Hernandez executed an effective slide tackle near the sideline and then got up to maintain possession. He was tripped up by a Stayton player, however, and that led to a free kick. Stayton’s defense was able to hold.
Four minutes later, sophomore Dreyton Nuño got a look from about 25 yards but the shot was saved by Stayton’s keeper.
It was during this juncture of the contest that the referee attempted to disrupt aggressive play. In the 52nd minute, he called over the captains from both teams for a chat near midfield. Then in the 54th minute, he told both teams to leave the field — a somewhat rare move. Still, despite those episodes, there were only three yellow cards.
Philomath continued its assault on Stayton and had a chance on a free kick from about 35 yards. Sammy Hernandez tried to sneak the ball into the upper portion of the net but it sailed high.
Finally, the Warriors came through in the 64th minute with Babcock scoring with an assist by Sammy Hernandez.
Philomath thought it had scored again in the 74th minute on a shot by junior Esias Sapp after a setup from Sammy Hernandez. But the Warriors were called for off-sides and the goal was disallowed.
Now that Philomath has experienced a loss and gone up against a top team, Ellis hopes there were lessons learned.
“You learn a lot more from a loss than you ever do from a win,” he said. “Nothing teaches like failure.”
Stayton, meanwhile, takes early control of the conference at 2-0. The two teams will meet again on Oct. 16 on the Eagles’ field.
“If we’re going to lose, I’m happy to lose to Stayton,” Ellis said. “I mean, they’re the best in the state for a reason. They play the game right and get after it.”
The coach believes his team can bounce back from the loss.
“They were ready to compete at a physical and pace level that we weren’t today,” Ellis said. “We’ve got to take that loss and feel the pain and reapply ourselves in training and take it out on Cascade Thursday.”
Philomath will host Cascade at 4 p.m. Thursday. The Cougars will bring records of 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the Oregon West following a 2-1 loss Tuesday against North Marion.
Stayton 4, Philomath 1
Tuesday, Sept. 30 at Philomath HS
| Teams (Record) | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stayton (6-0, 2-0) | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Philomath (5-1, 1-1) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
First Half — 1, Stayton, Pelayo (Ceballos), 11th minute; 2, Stayton, Dixon (Perez), 31st minute.
Second Half — 3, Stayton, Dixon (Perez), 44th minute; 4, Stayton, Dixon (Garcia), 59th minute; 5, Philomath, Babcock (S. Hernandez), 64th minute.
Oregon West Conference
School Conf All Stayton 2-0 6-0 North Marion 2-0 2-2-1 Philomath 1-1 5-1 Newport 1-1 4-2 Cascade 0-2 3-3 Sweet Home 0-2 2-4
Tuesday, Sept. 30
Stayton 4, Philomath 1
North Marion 2, Cascade 1
Newport 8, Sweet Home 0
Thursday, Oct. 2
Cascade at Philomath, 4 p.m.
Newport at Stayton, 6 p.m.
North Marion at Sweet Home, 6 p.m.
