No. 5 Grant boys soccer senior Owen Bonnin scored three goals Tuesday night.
However, one was an own-goal that changed the momentum on the road at No. 1 Lakeridge, cutting the Generals lead to 2-1.
The Pacers found the equalizer, but Bonnin made up for it by converting on a penalty kick in the 67th minute, which proved to be the game-winner in a 4-2 victory.
Grant now heads to the 6A state final for the first time since 2014, its fifth overall appearance in the season’s final game and the Generals will be looking for title No. 2. The first and only came in 2008.
“It’s unreal, we worked so hard over the summer and there’s so much camaraderie and passion for the game,” Bonnin said. “It feels like we’re on top of the world, we can’t lose to anybody.”
Grant took control of the match from the jump, dominating possession and creating some early chances as the Pacers tried to recover.
In the sixth minute, junior Ewan Massimino was tackled in the box and the Generals were awarded a PK. Bonnin, the 2025 Co-PIL Player of the Year, stepped up and nailed the shot for the early 1-0 lead.
“He’s been our leader for three years,” Grant head coach Erik Miller said of Bonnin. “For him to have that tonight to step up again for his team – he’s never let us down once – I’m just super proud of what he’s done.”
The Generals weren’t resting on that one-goal lead as they continued to push forward despite Lakeridge getting some looks and corners on counter attacks.
On a deep pass into the box, senior Henry Wines was able to corral the ball in the 13th minute, find a hole among three Pacers defenders and ripped the second goal of the match for Grant.
“It was huge, all season we’ve been talking about getting the first one, coming out hard and setting the tone,” Bonnin said. “For (Massimino) to draw that pen and then I step up and take it, it was just unreal, unreal feeling.”
Lakeridge was able to salvage the rest of the half and went into the break only trailing by two. In the second, the Pacers played like their back was against the wall as the attack pressed forward.
The Pacers weren’t able to get a shot, but applied enough pressure to force a mistake. Bonnin in front of the Grant goal tried to head a pass back to goalkeeper Travis Lobdell who came out of goal to get the ball. Bonnin’s pass sailed past his keeper and into the net in the 53rd minute.
Grant was able to get two shots on goal following the own-goal, but Lakeridge broke through in the 65th minute thanks to a header from Dominic Lemuz off a corner kick to level the match at two.
“We’ve gone through so much this year,” Bonnin said. “Our whole team steps up in a big way every time, we respond when we go down. Just keep pushing, we trust all of our guys to score.”
Nemo Mathews kept pushing for Grant, drawing a penalty in the box in the 67th minute to allow Bonnin another shot at a PK, which he hit once again to make it 3-2 Generals and take the air out of the Pacers’ sails.
However, following the goal, less than a minute later Mathews was issued his second yellow of the match, turning into a red and leaving Grant down a man for the final 12 minutes.
It didn’t seem to matter much though as the Generals attack was still applying pressure. Massimino got a pass at the top of the box and turned it over to senior teammate Oscar Kohn on the near side in the box.
Kohn worked a couple dribbles and created an opening, firing a shot that found the upper, far-side corner for a Grant goal in the 75th minute that sealed the deal.
“(Kohn’s) journey has been amazing, he suffered a big injury last spring, had two knee surgeries, and has really been working his way back all year,” Miller said. “We had a long heart-to-heart conversation after the last game and I said, ‘We’re going to need you for this game.’ He did exactly what we talked about, stepping up for the team and that’s kind of what this team has done all year. It’s not him, it’s the next person, next man up. It’s a special group.”
The Generals draw No. 3 Beaverton for the state title match after the Beavers won in PKs over No. 2 West Linn.
Beaverton is in the final for the first time since 2010 and is looking for its first title since a shared one in 1985 with Sunset. The last outright title for the Beavers was the year prior in 1984.
“We’re gonna respect every team and just play our game, trust what we’ve learned and come out hard no matter who the opponent is,” Bonnin said.
The match is set for 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 at Hillsboro Stadium.
Highlights from Tuesday’s other semifinal matches:
6A
No. 3 Beaverton won in penalty kicks 4-3 to eliminate No. 2 West Linn, winning the match 2-1. Cole White scored 55 seconds into the match for the Beavers and they held that lead all the way to the 78th minute when a header by Jonas Taylor went toward the near-side post and was put home by Lincoln Kensinger. No one scored in the 20 minutes of overtime, sending the match to PKs to decide a winner. In the PKs, White missed with his Beavers up 4-3 needing a stop to secure the win. Beaverton goalkeeper Mason Schinderle did just that to end the match. It’s Beaverton’s first time back in the final since 2010 where the Beavers will go for their first state title since a shared 1985 crown with Sunset. The last outright title for the Beavers was in 1984.
Game time: 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, Hillsboro Stadium
5A
Defending champion No. 3 La Salle Prep snuck by No. 2 Centennial 3-2 in regulation to earn a shot at defending its state crown. The Eagles scored first in the eighth minute when Juan Dominguez found the back of the net. The Falcons responded in the 19th with a goal from Ryder Korvola, which held until halftime. Centennial struck first in the second half with Oscar Marcial scoring in the 62nd minute. La Salle found the equalizer in the 69th minute from Henry Foubert, and then got the game-winner in the 72nd via River Nichols. The title game will be the Falcons’ 17th appearance and they’ll try to take home title No. 9.
No. 5 Corvallis gutted out extra rounds of PKs to win on the road over No. 1 Summit 3-2. Evan Kapsa scored in the ninth minute for the Storm to open the scoring, but the Spartans responded in the 10th with a goal from Sami Lopez off an assist from Mish Almazan Santos. Will Newton found the back of the net to put Summit back in front, but Faisal Alsharif was fouled and hit a PK to tie the match at two. Corvallis goalkeeper Walker Carroll played lights out the rest of the way and in PKs to help the Spartans advance to their eight state championship game, first since 2021 when they lost to La Salle. The last state title win for Corvallis was 2018, beating La Salle.
Game time: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, Hillsboro Stadium
4A
No. 1 Stayton would not be denied a spot in the state final this season, taking down visiting No. 4 Klamath Union to get back to the big game. Isaiah Dixon got the ball rolling in the 15th minute for the unbeaten Eagles with a goal. That score stayed through halftime, but the Pelicans leveled the match in the opening minute of the second half. In the 54th minute, Stayton went back up 2-1 after Johnny Garcia put back a blocked shot from teammate Josiah Dessieux. KU didn’t go away though, tying the match once again in the 63rd minute off a goal from Alex Alvarez. But with just over 12 minutes to go, the Eagles scored what proved to be the game-winner when Cesar Perez won a battle at the near post and rocked home the goal. The state final appearance will be the Eagles’ sixth and first since 2019. Stayton hasn’t won it all since 2010.
In a rematch of the 2024 state title game, No. 10 North Marion got revenge on No. 3 Henley with a 1-0 victory. The lone goal was scored by Damian Vallejo Lopez in the second half to get the Huskies back to the state title game for a second consecutive year and fourth overall. North Marion’s lone state title came in 2014, which was a win over Stayton. The two league foes played twice this year with the Eagles winning both by 2-1 and 2-0 margins.
Game time: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, Liberty High School
3A/2A/1A
There was no slowing down defending champion No. 1 Catlin Gabel as it dispatched No. 5 Creswell 8-0. Giancarlo Rendon Benitez scored in the third minute to get the party started, followed by Mason Campbell in the 11th and then another Rendon Benitez score in the 18th. Ben Sirtori scored next in the 23rd and Levi Whalen Stewart was next in the 27th to make it 5-0 eagles. Campbell and Rendon Benitez found the back of the net one more time in the first half to go up 7-0 and Sirtori delivered the final blow in the 67th for the 8-0 win. The Eagles will be playing in their 22nd state championship game and are looking for title No. 16.
No. 2 Oregon Episcopal outscored its first two postseason opponents 12-0, but that didn’t matter as No. 3 Westside Christian blanked the Aardvarks and won 1-0 to advance to the final. The lone score came from Maddox Ayala on a streaking header that was crossed by Luke Ziekle for the assists, his sixth of the postseason. Ayala has four goals in the Eagles’ three playoff matches. Westside Christian made its first and only state final appearance in 2023, falling to McLoughlin. Appearance No. 2 will be Saturday against league foe Catlin Gabel. The Eagles won the lone regular season matchup 4-3.
Game time: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, Liberty High School
austinw@osaa.org
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