A season that already was shaping up as the best in Cascade boys soccer history got a massive jolt last week.
The No. 5 Cougars took down top-ranked and reigning 4A champion Stayton 3-2 in an Oregon West Conference showdown, ending the Eagles' 48-game unbeaten streak in the conference. Cascade had lost 13 consecutive matches to Stayton dating back to 2019.
“You would have thought they won state. It was unreal,” Cougars coach Matt Dillon said of his players. “It was one of our goals in the summer. A lot of them were like, 'I want to beat Stayton.'”
With the victory, Cascade (9-0-1, 4-0-1) vaulted over Stayton (8-1, 4-1) into first place. The Cougars have a shot at their first-ever conference title, which could come down to an Oct. 22 date at Stayton.
Expectations are soaring for Cascade, which won a combined nine matches in the previous three seasons.
“Before it was like, 'Can we make playoffs?' Now it's like, 'How do we get in as the No. 1 seed?'” Dillon said.
The 25-year-old Dillon, who played at 1A Crosshill Christian, took over as coach last season and guided the Cougars to a 4-7-3 record, 1-6-3 in the Oregon West. With their core returning virtually intact, and an influx of talented freshmen, they have made a dramatic leap.
The Cougars have outscored their opponents 55-4, the only blemish on their record a scoreless tie with No. 10 Newport (5-2-3, 3-1-1) in a conference game Sept. 29. Improved fitness has been a key factor, according to Dillon.
“Last year we stacked eight guys behind the ball and played boot-ball for the last 20 minutes because we were tired,” Dillon said. “Over the summer, we hit them hard with conditioning. We didn't want to be the team that gave up, we wanted to be the team that makes other teams give up.”
Junior Julian Cabrera, who had a tryout with the New England Revolution MLS U-18 team in the summer, leads the team with 21 goals. He had a team-best 12 goals last season.
Junior Liam Clausen has 11 goals and sophomore Enrique Alvarez, a transfer from Crosshill Christian, has a team-high nine assists. The Cougars have more than doubled their 27-goal total from last season.
“It's just the way we play the game,” Dillon said. “We get the ball to our offense more often. We kind of had to reteach soccer in the sense of passing and dominating each sector of the field, and progress the ball, rather than play boot-ball and chase. Now Julian has a roster where we build the ball.”
Cascade has five freshmen on its roster, including three starters in midfielder Adan Martinez, defender Elmer Martinez and wing Seth Lee. Adan Martinez, who has competed against adults for the Salem Panthers in the semi-pro United Premier Soccer League, plays beyond his years.
The experienced back line features seniors Joseph Burnell and Tony Lopez, juniors Omari Andrade and Spencer Moll and senior goalkeeper Tanen Swing, a fourth-year starter.
Cascade showed its grit against Stayton by coming from behind with two goals in the last 15 minutes. Cabrera made it 2-2 with a penalty kick and Clausen put the Cougars ahead by breaking through the defense and beating the goalkeeper one-on-one.
The victory validated the team's impressive start. At a school with a history of success in other sports, the boys soccer team is starting to create a buzz.
“Everybody is loving it,” Dillon said. “The support the guys are getting at school, it's new to them, but it's great.”
As a young coach, Dillon has sought advice from the coaches of Cascade's reigning state champion and top-ranked football team. He said he often talks with head coach Shane Hedrick and assistant Mike Putnam.
“They've been coaching for forever. They're kind of my mentors,” Dillon said.
Highlights from the past week:
Boys
Unranked Lincoln, which opened 6A Portland Interscholastic League play with ties against No. 3 Cleveland and No. 5 McDaniel, defeated No. 6 Grant 2-1 and co-No. 9 Franklin 7-1. The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead on Grant on goals by Noah Clift and Morrisseau Slingerland in the 18th and 33rd minutes, respectively, and hung on to win after Grant struck with about 15 minutes left. Grayson Qualls and Remy Bruyere had hat tricks to turn back Franklin. … Aiden Leo scored with six seconds left to give 4A No. 3 Valley Catholic a 3-2 home win over 3A No. 2 Oregon Episcopal. Danny Hernandez had the other two goals for the Valiants, including the equalizer in the 78th minute. …
No. 4 Beaverton, the reigning 6A champion, shook off a 1-0 halftime deficit to win at Westview 2-1 in a Metro League match. Sam Vasquez drew the Beavers even in the 55th minute and Cole White put them ahead with 15 minutes left. … 3A No. 1 Catlin Gabel stayed undefeated by rolling over No. 8 McLoughlin 4-1 in a nonleague home game. Giancarlo Rendon-Benitez and Mason Campbell had two goals each and Ben Sirtori provided three assists. … Century, which started the season 9-0, tied 0-0 at home against Forest Grove and lost at Sherwood 3-1 in back-to-back 6A Pacific Conference games. … 3A No. 3 St. Mary's has won 10 consecutive games by mercy rule since a season-opening 2-2 home tie against Catlin Gabel. The Crusaders have outscored their foes 84-3. … Co-No. 6 The Dalles edged No. 8 North Marion 1-0 in 4A Tri-Valley Conference play.
Girls
Unbeaten Tigard, ranked No. 7 in 6A, posted back-to-back 1-0 home wins over Lake Oswego and St. Mary's Academy to start Three Rivers League play. Mia Sadek scored the game-winner in the 73rd minute against Lake Oswego. Miriya Kira provided the lone goal against St. Mary's Academy, striking in the 33rd minute. … 6A No. 5 McMinnville is alone in first place in the Pacific Conference after winning 2-0 at Forest Grove on Monday. The Grizzlies got goals from Tessa Ravia and Cameron Baker in the 12th and 30th minutes, respectively. … Barlow coach Jay Jacobsen recorded his 100th career victory Oct. 1 with a 3-1 home win over Nelson. He is in his 10th season with the Bruins. ...
In a battle of unbeaten teams, No. 3 Blanchet Catholic took over first place in 3A/2A/1A Special District 2 with a 3-1 home win over No. 5 Western Christian/Perrydale. Kinzie Lazarus had two goals and Natalie Ledford had one goal for the Cavaliers. … 5A No. 1 Bend, the reigning state champion, has rebounded from a home loss to No. 4 Summit with three consecutive shutout wins in the Intermountain Conference. The stretch includes a 3-0 victory over co-No. 9 Caldera in which Piper Abrams scored twice. … No. 4 Summit and No. 7 Mountain View tied 0-0 in an Intermountain match. … With first place at stake in the 4A Oregon West Conference, No. 8 Philomath blanked No. 10 Stayton 2-0 at home. The Warriors took control on a goal by Lily Ellis in the sixth minute, and Angelica Morales-Marquez made it 2-0. …
Co-No. 9 Churchill opened 5A Midwestern League play with a 3-2 win at No. 8 Thurston. Payton Meltabarger scored twice and Mieko Soria had a goal for the Lancers, who never trailed. … Elaina Jewett scored seven goals in leading 3A/2A/1A No. 6 to 8-0 wins over Riverside and McLoughlin. Lucille Horn had two goals against Riverside and Ava Montiel scored twice against McLoughlin for the Special District 5-leading Vikings. … No. 7 Pleasant Hill, the leader in 3A/2A/1A Special District 4, tied with visiting Central Linn 1-1 on Monday, the teams' second draw this season. Central Linn led 1-0 at half but the Billies got the equalizer on a Gabby Contreras penalty kick.
jerryu@osaa.org
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