Last season, Corvallis was four minutes away from its first Class 5A boys soccer title since 2009.
But the Spartans couldn’t hold a late lead against reigning champion Woodburn and fell 2-1 in overtime. It was a crushing defeat, especially considering they had dominated the Bulldogs 5-1 in a conference match.
“It was definitely hard to swallow in the moment,” Corvallis coach Chad Foley said. “We kept thinking about that game for months afterward. But as we got through the hurt and the pain, it’s turned to motivation. It’s kind of galvanized us.”
The Spartans have a score to settle as they enter the 2018 season, and they seem to have the necessary ingredients to do so, as evidenced by earning the No. 1 ranking in the OSAAtoday Class 5A preseason coaches poll.
They won’t get a chance to redeem themselves against Woodburn, which has moved to Class 4A, but after what happened last year, they will be ready for the big moments that lie ahead.
“Woodburn had been in an environment like that, so they were prepared for it, whereas it was a pretty new experience for us,” Foley said. “It’s going to make us better this year just knowing what it takes to get there, and to get over the hump.”
The Spartans can gel around a nucleus of four outstanding players in junior forward Edgar Monroy, senior midfielder Avery Whipple, senior defender Riley Mellinger and junior goalkeeper Roman Gabriel.
The 6-foot-1 Monroy was the Class 5A player of the year as a sophomore, racking up 28 goals and nine assists. He has knack for finding the back of the net.
“Edgar has a skill set in that he just understands the game, understands spacing,” Foley said. “And he has physical attributes to match that. He can be physical, but he also has the speed to match. We haven’t had a more complete forward in the last decade or so.”
Corvallis graduated some key pieces, but perhaps no Class 5A program is more equipped to fill vacancies than the Spartans. They had 99 players turn out for soccer this season, about 30 more than the football program.
“Our program is pretty unique,” Foley said. “It’s really a special time for our program right now. I could have put together a whole team of seniors. Competition is fierce.”
Corvallis will see plenty of competition early in its schedule. The Spartans play No. 2 Hood River Valley, No. 3 La Salle Prep and No. 4 Hillsboro within their first four matches.
“I did that on purpose,” Foley said. “I requested those games, because of that state title game. Last year in our preseason we won games 9-0 and 10-0, and I thought that didn’t really prepare us for the playoff environment. I want our guys to be challenged early on.”
The Spartans no longer will get challenged by Woodburn in the Mid-Willamette Conference, but No. 5 Crescent Valley and No. 6 Central should present obstacles.
By playoff time, Foley is hoping that his team develops the same kind of mental edge that he has seen from Woodburn in recent seasons.
“They had a belief in themselves in that game that we weren’t able to match in that last 10 minutes,” Foley said. “It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. We learned that lesson the hard way last year.”
