Cal Spear drives in the clinching penalty kick in Beaverton's win over Grant on Saturday night. (Photo by J.R. Olson)

HILLSBORO – After a four-decade wait, Beaverton's boys soccer team was determined not to go home empty-handed Saturday night.

The third-seeded Beavers spotted No. 5 Grant the first goal but came back to beat the Generals 2-1 in a penalty-kick shootout in the final of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 6A final at Hillsboro Stadium.

Junior center back Cal Spear, the Metro League player of the year, scored the equalizer in the 51^st minute and provided the clinching shot in the shootout as the Beavers (17-1-1) claimed their first blue trophy since a co-title in 1985, the last of their four state championships.

“We wouldn't give up that easy,” Spear said. “We got scored on, it wasn't the best feeling. But I believe in the boys, we all believe in each other. We knew we'd fight back.

“It's been 40 years since soccer's won it. If you would've told me five years ago I'd be here, I wouldn't believe you. It's a crazy feeling.”

The title is the exclamation point on the team's rise under third-year coach Jason Carney. The Beavers lost in the first round in 2023 and reached the quarterfinals last year before breaking through this season, making the final for the first time since 2010.

“We worked so hard. Cinderella story,” said senior forward Gio Ruano-Aguilera, who assisted Spear on the goal. “First two years, we've never been on anyone's radar.”

Carney said the Beavers never let adversity get to them.

“It's just focus on the process, focus on doing the right thing, and the outcome of the game is going to be the outcome of the game,” Carney said. “The boys have just been brilliant with each other. It's so fun to be around them. They deserve it.”

Grant (16-3-1), which won its only title in 2008, got the upper hand in a defensive struggle Saturday when senior midfielder Henry Wines converted a pass from senior forward Gideon McDonald for a 1-0 lead in the 46^th minute.

But the Beavers didn't flinch. One minute after Ruano-Aguilera narrowly missed high on a header, he connected with Spear on a spectacular goal to make it 1-1.

Ruano-Aguilera passed ahead from about 50 yards out, and Spear rose above a line of players at the top of the box to head the ball behind him and past the goalkeeper.

“I went for the ball, and it was just lucky enough to go in,” Spear said. “I didn't think it was going to go in. I don't even know how it happened. I was on the ground, I got up, and it's in the goal. We'll take it any way we can get it.”

Ruano-Aguilera said that when he hit the ball, he saw Spear making a break for it.

“I knew we were going to tie the game right there,” Ruano-Aguilera said. “And I knew once it was tied, we were going to have all the momentum.”

It's not the first time Spear has come through in the clutch this season.

“He always pops up with an important goal,” Carney said. “If we have a one-nil win, you can probably guarantee it's going to be Cal.”

The teams stayed tied through the rest of regulation and both overtimes, setting up the penalty-kick shootout.

The Beavers, shooting first, took a 2-1 lead in the third round when senior goalkeeper Mason Schinderle made a penalty kick, then saved a shot by Grant junior Ewan Massimino. Spear converted in the fifth round to make it 4-2, clinching the victory.

“This is definitely a moment that I think we're going to remember the rest of our lives, just being out here with these guys,” said Ruano-Aguilera, who made a shot in the first round. “Especially senior year, the perfect way to end it.”

For Spear, the title brings him even with his sister Lainey, who won a title with Beaverton's girls basketball team in 2022.

“She did this her junior year. I was thinking about that this morning,” he said. “I've got one more chance to be better.”

Grant, which lost in the semifinals in three of the last four seasons, played in its first championship game since 2014. The Generals were left heart-broken.

“We left it on the field,” coach Erik Miller said. “They've done everything I've asked all season. The team has led themselves. To have it end this way is pretty devastating.”