The 4A state girls soccer game was much like the season that Marist Catholic had in 2025.
From start to finish, it was all Spartans.
For the third time in four years, the No. 1 Spartans are state champions after taking down No. 2 The Dalles/Dufur 2-0 in the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 4A girls soccer state title match, capping a season that saw them outscore opponents 103-7. For the Riverhawks, it was their first and only loss of the season while the Spartans' title is also the third in program history.
In the match, Marist Catholic outshot the Riverhawks 28-7 with 16 of those going on goal for the Spartans and only three for The Dalles/Dufur. It was also Marist’s 15th shutout of the season in 19 games.
“Ecstatic, I’m just so happy and we worked so hard,” Marist Catholic junior Libby McLaughlin said. “Everything just paid off.”
“We talked earlier this fall going back-to-back, winning three out of four, being at the state final four consecutive years is just a tribute to the ladies,” Spartans head coach Stefan Schroffner added. “I’m honored to coach them and they just fought all the way today, we didn’t panic.”
The first 10 minutes were back and forth, like the start of Marist’s season where it lost to 5A runnerup North Eugene 2-1 but had a big 5-2 win over 3A/2A/1A runnerup Valley Catholic.
The Spartans had a couple shots on goal in those first 10, but were also met by a Riverhawks shot from junior Lilyana Gonzalez that went off the crossbar in the 10th minute to put a fright into the Spartans.
However, that was as loud as it got for the Riverhawks on the night as the Spartans took over the next 30 minutes. No shots were able to fall, but Marist held a 14-4 shot advantage and were just waiting for the breakthrough.
“I think we just knew we had to keep pushing and putting in 100%,” McLaughlin said. “We came out in the second half with a lot of fire and energy. We wanted to keep that throughout the whole second half.”
That energy finally paid off in the 45th minute when senior Piper Paslay headed home a goal from the front of the goalkeeper box off a corner kick from McLaughlin.
The goal was Paslay’s 12th of the season with plenty of those coming off of headers.
“I was definitely relieved for sure,” McLaughlin said of the goal. “We got one in and our energy went through the roof. We just wanted more and more.”
“(Paslay) can read the ball right off the foot really well and she knows where to place herself,” Schnoffner said. “It’s one thing to be able to head the ball, but to head the ball down in a crowd with everyone pushing around, it’s just a tribute to her abilities and she’s going to be a great player in college.”
In the 59th minute, the Spartans were able to draw a foul in the penalty box, sending McLaughlin, who’s already the state’s all-time leader in assists as a junior, to the dot where she put home the PK to make it 2-0.
The Dalles tried to push forward, but the Spartans attack was constantly on. Riverhawks goalkeeper Olivia Prado played well, grabbing 14 saves and was named the player of the match for The Dalles side.
McLaughlin finished as the player of the match with her assist and goal, cementing herself as one of the state’s premier players.
“I could see they were double teaming her, they were congesting that middle,” Schnoffner said. “I think she found better space checking back to the ball and running to the lines. They weren’t guarding very wide so we found a lot more joy toward the sidelines.”
Getting to the title game was one thing as it marked four consecutive seasons of the Spartans being in the final game of the season.
Now winning two in a year, and a third in four years, the Spartans have certainly become a soccer powerhouse in the state.
“We’ve never two-peated before in our school history,” McLaughlin said. “I’m just really proud of everyone and ourselves.”
For Schnoffner, the win was extra special with this senior class as they were the ones to set the foundation for the run of titles to happen.
Those seniors include Emily Meigs, Paslay, Kate Pape, Sadey Woodrum and Schnoffner’s daughter Gina Schnoffner, who is heading to Whitman College next year to keep playing soccer.
“I coached her for four years, I remember when she was just a little freshman,” Stefan Schnoffner said. “She knows these moments and she knows how this program runs. I’m really going to miss coaching her. She’s a firecracker of a defender, she’s fearless and it’s going to be exciting to watch her play in college.”
With McLaughlin just a junior and plenty of other talented non-seniors set to return, there’s no reason the run will stop after 2025.
The Spartans will celebrate tonight though and for a while before they start thinking of 2026. But the history and pieces are there to keep this train rolling for a while.
“Every year is different, you don’t know who you’re going to play and we try to play the best teams in the state,” Stefan Schnoffner said. “You have to perform when it matters most rather than just during the season. The lights are bright, everyone’s cheering, the cameras are on you, can you before when it matters? They really did and they have been for the last several years.”
austinw@osaa.org
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