At first glance, it appeared that Stayton's boys soccer team would have difficulty maintaining its high standards this season.
The Eagles graduated six starters, including four players who were integral in the team earning top-three seeds to the 4A playoffs the last three years, and another starter transferred to 6A South Salem. They would have to lean on five sophomores who were new to the starting lineup.
With two weeks left in the regular season, though, Stayton is in a familiar position. The Eagles are 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the tough Oregon West Conference, where they have a 30-match unbeaten streak. And they are No. 1 in the OSAA power rankings and co-No. 1 in the OSAAtoday 4A coaches poll.
“I think we've played incredibly well considering the players we lost from last year,” coach Chris Shields said. “We have a lot of young kids playing a lot of minutes.
“We've really had a great start to the year. The second half is always tough because everybody knows you, and knows what you do, and it's harder for younger kids like ours to adjust.”
After opening the season with a 3-2 home win over Cottage Grove -- last year's state runner-up – and a 3-1 road win at co-No. 9 Tillamook, the Eagles have posted six consecutive shutouts. They have outscored their opponents 34-3.
Stayton got its biggest win of the season Thursday, a 1-0 decision at co-No. 1 North Marion (8-1, 4-1). Junior midfielder Johnny Garcia scored off a corner kick in the 34th minute and senior Roman Gould recorded the shutout in goal as the Eagles took sole possession of first place in the Oregon West.
“We made the right play when it was necessary,” Shields said. “It's a tough place to play. That field is really small. It's a shoebox. It plays to their style. They're physically big, and they put five guys behind the ball and they boot it. They put pressure on you.”
The rebuilt back line – which features sophomore center backs Ruben Bell and Jose Navarro, senior left back Norberto Navarro and junior right back Isaiah Dixon – has been holding up just fine in front of Gould, a returning starter.
“We have the bend-but-don't-break method,” Shields said. “We're young in the back, so we have some mistakes. Roman's made some saves when he needed to. It's always nice to have sure hands back there.”
Senior Addison Samuell, who played center back last season, has thrived in his move to forward. He has notched a team-high 19 goals, recording five goals against Newport and hat tricks against Philomath, Cascade and Sweet Home. His play has made up for the graduation of leading scorer Ismael Esparza (17 goals in 2023).
“He's just bigger and faster than most kids,” Shields said of Samuell. “And he's obviously talented. We're not afraid to play a guy who was an all-conference center back as a forward because that's where we need him to play.”
Stayton has been winning without one of its top offensive players in sophomore left wing Edwynn Perez, who broke his foot in warm-ups before the first game. Senior center midfielder Fernando Joachin, an all-conference player last year, also has not been available but is expected to join the lineup soon.
The loss of Perez prior to the Cottage Grove game forced the Eagles to shuffle their lineup. Down 1-0 with 20 minutes left, Shields moved Samuell from the back line to forward and the team responded with three goals, getting the game-winner from Norberto Navarro with 16 seconds left.
Since winning the 4A Showcase title in the spring of 2021, the Eagles have been met with disappointment in the postseason. They were the No. 3 playoff seed in 2021 but lost in the first round to Ontario 1-0. They were the No. 1 seed the last two seasons, but fell to North Marion 3-2 in the quarterfinals in 2022 and Estacada 3-2 in the first round last year.
Stayton had allowed four goals all season before giving up three to Estacada.
“We made three defensive errors we hadn't made all year,” Shields said. “We know we're better than we've played in the tournament. I don't have any explanations for the Ontario or Estacada game.”
With so much turnover in the lineup, Shields is reluctant to say the Eagles have unfinished business.
“I try not to put too much pressure on them at this point,” Shields said. “I try not to lump in expectations from previous years. So many of them are so young. I don't want them to overthink it.”
Pelicans stop Henley
Co-No. 9 Klamath Union's boys have pulled into a first-place tie with No. 4 Henley in the 4A Skyline Conference after a breakthrough win over the Hornets on Oct. 10.
The Pelicans won 2-1 at home to end a 20-game losing streak to Henley that dated to 2013. Junior Caleb Morton broke a 1-1 tie with a goal in the 74th minute.
“We’re not the biggest, but we have the endurance,” Morton told MyBasin.com. “We’re always able to finish the game strong. Usually we have more energy towards the end, so we use that to our advantage and we just keep attacking.”
Henley's Luke Balzotti scored in the sixth minute for a 1-0 lead. The Pelicans answered a minute later when Omar Garcia converted a pass from Morton.
Klamath Union defeated Hidden Valley 3-1 on Monday to improve to 8-1-1 overall, 4-1 in the conference. Henley (8-2-1, 4-1) bounced back Monday to top Phoenix 6-1.
Other highlights:
Boys
McLoughlin strengthened its grip on first place in 3A/2A/1A Special District 6 with a 2-0 win over second-place Riverside on Saturday. Geovanny Sandoval scored off assists from Mike Wolden and Mason Harshfield and Cristian Hernandez recorded seven saves. … Tillamook holds first place in the 4A Cowapa League after a 2-0 win at Seaside on Saturday. Diego Baragan Lara scored in the 13th and 49th minutes. … Hood River Valley handed La Salle Prep its first loss in the 5A Northwest Oregon Conference by scoring three second-half goals in a 3-0 road win Oct. 9. Julian Lara had two goals and Sebastian Clarkson had one. …
Creswell picked up two pivotal wins in 3A/2A/1A Special District 3 to move to the top of the standings, beating Siuslaw 4-0 on Oct. 7 and Santiam Christian 4-0 on Oct. 11. Matthew Jenkins had two goals in each game. Goalkeeper Deacon Edwards racked up 25 saves and Brady Pratt had four assists in the two wins. … Beaverton and Jesuit, ranked No. 2 and No. 5, respectively, in the OSAAtoday 6A coaches poll, will meet in a Metro League first-place showdown Thursday on the Beavers' field. … Tuesday's schedule features two other first-place clashes: Crescent Valley-Woodburn (5A Mid-Willamette Conference) and St. Mary's-North Valley (3A/2A/1A Special District 5).
Girls
St. Mary's picked up two big wins in 3A/2A/1A Special District 4, handing Brookings-Harbor and Sutherlin their first district defeats. The Crusaders won 3-0 at home over Sutherlin on Oct. 8, getting a goal from Bella Musso in the first half and two goals from Ainsley Javarone in the second half. Javarone struck twice in the first half and Avery Gunn added a second-half goal as St. Mary's won at Brookings-Harbor 3-1 on Oct. 10. … Sprague and West Salem played to a 1-1 draw in a key Central Valley Conference match Oct. 10. Sprague is 3-0-1 in conference play, West Salem is 2-0-2. …
Scappoose assumed the lead in the 4A Cowapa League by winning 2-0 at Astoria on Oct. 10. Aubrey Hass scored off a corner kick in the first half and a 20-yard direct kick in the second half. … Philomath and North Marion are tied for first place in the 4A Oregon West Conference with 4-0-1 records after playing to a 2-2 draw at North Marion on Oct. 8. … Henley defeated visiting Klamath Union 1-0 on Oct. 9 with first place in the 4A Skyline Conference on the line. … Valley Catholic and Oregon Episcopal, ranked No. 2 and No. 4, respectively, in the OSAAtoday 3A/2A/1A coaches poll, tied 0-0 in a Special District 1 match Oct. 10 at OES. …
Central Linn got two second-half goals to edge Creswell 2-1 and add to its lead in 3A/2A/1A Special District 3. Josie Grunerud scored in the 45th minute and Maddie Duringer converted in the 62nd minute. … Grant visits Lincoln on Tuesday in a game between teams that are unbeaten in the 6A Portland Interscholastic League. … Second-place Caldera will try to get payback against first-place Summit on Tuesday in a 5A Intermountain Conference match at Summit. The Storm won at Caldera 1-0 on Sept. 25. … First place in 3A/2A/1A Special District 1 will be at stake Thursday when No. 1 Catlin Gabel goes to No. 2 Valley Catholic.
jerryu@osaa.org
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