Trying to shake off a disappointing tie three days earlier at Sisters, the Philomath High girls soccer team needed to collect their thoughts, focus on the task at hand and create opportunities to take care of business Thursday against Stayton, an opponent that has traditionally played the Warriors tough in recent years.
“We definitely were down from the tie and could’ve come out a little better but we really tried to pick it up,” sophomore Kamilla Grimmer said after Philomath’s 5-1 win. “I think we accomplished that and won the second half. … We got our energy back, which was important.”
The Warriors held a slim 2-1 lead at the break. Grimmer scored the game’s first goal in the 11th minute after beating one defender and then colliding with another.
“I got hit from the side and I got the wind knocked out of me,” Grimmer said. “I was fine, I just couldn’t breathe for a little bit.”
Stayton tied the game three minutes later, however, with the Eagles catching Philomath’s defense out of position. On the goal, senior Alissa Humphreys got the ball to junior Haili Nyquist for the score.
The Warriors went up in the 20th minute on a well-executed pass from sophomore Bailey Bell to freshman Petra Hernandez, who finished for the 2-1 lead.
PHS coach Mat Phelps said the team came out “fairly flat” in the first half and believes the loss of a key defensive player contributed to the slow start. Senior Reese Grube left the Sisters game on Monday with an ankle sprain.
“I think part of that was dealing with Reese’s (Grube) injury, not being in there in the back. That’s the voice of experience and keeping us organized,” Phelps said, adding that Grube is expected back this season. “But they responded really well at halftime to ‘hey, let’s slow down and play the game the way that we can and have some good ball control and work on more quality opportunities.’”
Bell recorded a hat trick within the first 19 minutes of the second half. In the 46th minute, she scored after taking a cross from junior Mia Cook for a 3-1 lead. In the 58th minute, she scored on a corner kick from senior Ella Weickum. And in the 59th minute, Bell scored with an assist to senior K Bacho.
“Bailey’s a great player, she works so hard and you can always count on her having quality opportunities,” Phelps said.
Bailey had a hand, or foot, in all five goals with assists on the first two.
“I feel like we’re doing really well this year,” Grimmer said. “I was kind of worried because we lost so many seniors and there’s a lot of freshmen but we’re doing way better than I imagined and I think we’re going to do well.”
Phelps sees impact up and down the lineup from each class.
“I feel like we have a really good balance right now,” he said. “Obviously, we’re not so reliant on just one class — we have all of the classes that are contributing, including the freshmen class, which is fun.”
Philomath (4-1-2 overall, 3-0-2 Oregon West) will play at home again on Tuesday with Newport scheduled to visit. The start time is listed as 4 p.m.
Stayton dropped to 2-5-1 overall, 2-3-1 in league play this season.
Philomath 5, Stayton 1
Thursday, Sept. 30, at Philomath HS
| TEAMS (RECORDS) | 1H | 2H | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stayton (2-5-1, 2-3-1) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Philomath (4-1-2, 3-0-2) | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| SCORING SUMMARY |
|---|
| First Half: 1, Philomath, Kamilla Grimmer (Bailey Bell), 11th minute; 2, Stayton, Haili Nyquist (Alissa Humphreys), 14th minute; 3, Philomath, Petra Hernandez (Bell), 20th minute. Second Half: 4, Philomath, Bell (Mia Cook), 46th minute; 5, Philomath, Bell (Ella Weickum), 58th minute; 6, Philomath, Bell (K Bacho), 59th minute. |
Conference Standings
(As of Sept. 30)
Oregon West Conf Pct. All Pct. PF PA Woodburn
Philomath
Sisters
Stayton
Newport
Cascade
Sweet Home4-0-1
3-0-2
3-1-1
2-3-1
1-3
1-4
0-3-1.900
.800
.700
.417
.250
.200
.1254-0-2
4-1-2
4-2-1
2-5-1
3-3
1-5
1-4-1.833
.714
.643
.313
.500
.167
.25030
23
22
6
13
9
26
7
9
28
11
24
25
Tuesday, Sept. 28
Newport 6, Cascade 2
Woodburn 8, Stayton 0
Thursday, Sept. 30
Philomath 5, Stayton 1
Cascade 2, Sisters 0
Newport at Sweet Home, late
Tuesday, Oct. 5
Newport at Philomath, 4 p.m.
Sisters at Woodburn, 6 p.m.
Sweet Home at Cascade, 6 p.m.
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