One year after taking the No. 1 seed into the 4A boys soccer playoffs and losing in the first round, Stayton avoided the same pitfall Tuesday night.
The top-seeded Eagles left little to chance by rolling over visiting La Grande 8-0 in a first-round game. Senior Addison Samuell recorded a hat trick and juniors Johnny Garcia and Nick Pelayo added two goals apiece in the win. Stayton (14-0) will play host to No. 9 Klamath Union (10-2-2) in a quarterfinal Saturday.
Garcia's goal in the 15th minute opened the floodgates for the Eagles, who led 4-0 at half.
"That's the game, you've got to wait for the right moment and when it happens, you've got to get the goal and keep it going from there," Garcia said. "We've just got to stay consistent, work hard at practice and come out the same way we did and work hard."
Stayton, which also had the top seed in 2022 and lost in the quarterfinals, will try to carry the momentum forward.
"I hope it starts us off on a good note," Samuell said. "Continue to go strong. We need to finish those final moments like we do against stronger teams and that'll help us a lot."
Samuell hiked his state-leading goal total to 39, moving him into a tie for ninth place on the state's all-time single-season list. The all-time record is 53, set by Jefferson's Danny Mwanga in 2007.
"My goal is to keep on scoring and that's what I need to do,” Samuell said. “If I need to get to the top of the list to do that, then I'd love to do that. Being that guy is a strong piece of me, but at the same time, I know we got other goal-scorers. I just try to put the chances I have away.”
The game was called by mercy rule after a goal by junior Isaiah Dixon with 26:48 remaining.
-- Jeremy McDonald
Highlights from Tuesday's playoff round of 16:
6A
Grant outscored West Linn 4-3 in a penalty-kick shootout for a 2-1 home victory. West Linn took a 1-0 lead in the first half, but the Generals got the equalizer midway through the second half when Graham Chandler scored off an assist from Darby Geller. … Reigning 6A champion Lakeridge advanced with a 4-2 win over Wells, getting goals from Zavier Lara, Dom Lemuz, Axel Eriksson and Elliot Schwartz. … Lincoln went on the road for a 3-2 overtime win over South Eugene. Pablo Guevera hit a free kick over the wall and off the post for the game-winner. Seba Vallejos and Hersom Regelado also scored for the Cardinals. …Edwin Cuevas-George scored twice and Danny Reynaga added a single tally to propel McMinnville past Roosevelt 3-1. …
Vala Saghafi scored four goals to lift Jesuit over Metro League rival Westview 6-1. Saghafi started the scoring in the 12th minute, and after Westview pulled into a 1-1 tie at half, he scored three goals in the second half. Caden Hoppes and Nikhil Chaudhari also had goals for the Crusaders. … Franklin went on the road for a 2-1 win over Sherwood. Nevin Rueegger converted an assist by Ezra Petke-Long in the first half and Joaquin Lee scored off a feed by Zayan Sweilem-Zook in the second half. ... Second-seeded Beaverton survived a challenge from Forest Grove to win 2-1. The Vikings took a 1-0 lead in the last two minutes of the first half, but the Beavers pulled even on a penalty kick by Gio Ruano-Aguilera in the first minute of the second half. With nine minutes left, Quinn Norby hit a free kick that was stopped by the goalkeeper, but Cal Spear deposited the rebound for a 2-1 lead.
5A
KP Roskowski scored 13 seconds into the match and went on to record a hat trick as top-seeded and reigning state champion Summit eliminated Springfield 7-0. Will Newton, Ethan Wheeler, Gabe Lachman and Evan Kapsa also scored for the Storm, who led 4-0 at half and finished with 25 shots and nine corner kicks. … Alex Fulgencio had a hat trick as Centennial won at Corvallis 3-0. … Wilsonville got goals from Derek Garcia in the first half and Alex Aguiar in the second half to down Redmond 2-1. … West Albany trailed visiting Ashland 2-0 early in the second half before winning 4-2 in overtime. Jonah Lasselle and Denilson Josiel Lopez scored in the 69th and 72nd minutes, respectively, to tie 2-2. Roman Robbins converted an assist from Yahir Tenorio in the 88th minute and Lasselle scored off a pass from Austin Lichty in the 95th minute. …
Jay R Flores had a hat trick and Luis Camacho and Derick Cuello added single goals in McNary's 5-1 win over Glencoe. Flores scored twice in the first half to make it 2-0, and Camacho scored with one second left in the first half for a 3-0 lead. … Crescent Valley blanked Caldera 3-0 behind three goals from Reese Christensen and Kai Hoogesteger's 12th shutout of the season. … Woodburn turned back Canby 2-0. Jorge Garcia scored off an assist from Israel Perez in the first half and Diego Albizo added an unassisted second-half goal. Canby, making its first playoff appearance in 12 years, got 15 saves from Jared Rojas. … La Salle Prep's Vance Sheffield racked up four goals and Louis Vogel had two goals in a 9-2 win over Churchill. Sheffield now has 99 career goals, No. 2 all-time in the state behind McLoughlin's Angel Castillo (96, 2021-23). … Hood River Valley moved on with a 4-0 win over McKay. Oscar Moline, Andro Mendez, Sebastian Clarkson and Javier Lopez scored for the Eagles.
4A
Madras won at Ontario 3-2. The White Buffaloes fell behind 1-0 on an Ontario penalty kick, but got goals from Jesus Gutierrez and Eben Tapia to lead 2-1 at the break. Steve Gonzalez added Madras' third goal in the 67thminute. … Elijah Oelkers had two goals for Crook County, which subdued Phoenix 3-1. Jaycob Miller had a goal and an assist and Victor Covarrubias had two goals for the Cowboys, who led 2-0 at half. … Hulises Najera found the net twice and Juan Camarillo and Orlando Vargas Heredia had single goals for The Dalles in its 4-1 win over Marist Catholic. …
Emmanuel Rea and Armando Legorreta had goals in Cottage Grove's 2-0 win over Hidden Valley. … Henley escaped with a 3-2 shootout win over visiting Philomath, outscoring the Warriors 4-3 in penalty kicks. Henley's Luke Balzotti and Layne Worrell scored goals. Philomath forced the shootout when Samuel Hernandez scored with 24 seconds left in the second overtime. … North Marion routed Astoria 5-0. Juruen Delgado, Christian Delgado and Ethan Kratochvil scored in the first half and Josue Loweli Marin and Alan Lucas had second-half goals. … Klamath Union advanced with a 2-1 win at Tillamook. The Pelicans trailed 1-0 at half, but Jose Garcia scored off an assist from Caleb Morton and Luca Rodriguez finished a cross from Omar Garcia for the lead.
3A/2A/1A
Valley Catholic pulled out a 3-1 road win over North Valley. Drew Klopcic converted a penalty kick in the 56th minute, but North Valley's Charles Janasik answered four minutes later to tie 1-1. William Eynard and Max Winters scored in the 65th and 73rd minutes for the Valiants, both assisted by Daniel Paz. … Papa Diallo scored twice and six others had goals for No. 1 Catlin Gabel as it ousted Central Linn 8-0 in a game called early in the second half. … Blanchet Catholic knocked out Creswell for the second year in a row, this time going on the road for a 1-0 win. The Cavaliers' Pedro Sosa Aguilar struck in the 10th minute. … Michael Wolden had two goals and Danny Gonzales and Geovanny Sandoval each scored once to lead McLoughlin past Riverdale 4-1. …
Adrian Vidican converted an indirect free kick in the first overtime period for Westside Christian, which topped Riverside 1-0. … Host Dayton trailed Siuslaw 2-1 midway through the second half but scored three goals in the final 20 minutes to win 4-2. Riley Corona and Alexander Garcia had two goals apiece and Johnathan Mendez had two assists for the Pirates. Kale Jensen and Sailor Jensen had goals for Siuslaw. … St. Mary's won at Sutherlin 2-0, getting goals from Sawyer Baker in the 33rd minute and Oliver Ford in the 60th minute. … Ryder Sendecke scored four goals and Lincoln Wiler and Eric Zhou also found the net for Oregon Episcopal, which handled Santiam Christian 6-0.
