Since winning the 5A boys soccer title in 2023, Summit's championship bids have ended in frustration.
The Storm took the top seed into the state final in 2024, but lost 2-1 when La Salle Prep came from behind on two second-half penalty kicks. Summit also had the No. 1 seed last year when it fell 3-2 in the semifinals to Corvallis in a penalty-kick shootout despite dominating play.
“That was an absolute shocker,” fourth-year coach Tom Bunnell said. “I really thought that was our year. We were on absolute fire. That one eats at me more than anything.
“There's no doubt in my mind we could have won three in a row. Not that it would've been easy.”
This season, Summit once again looks like the leading 5A contender. The Storm (10-1-1, 8-1 Intermountain Conference) has outscored opponents 49-4 and is No. 1 in both the OSAA 5A power rankings and the OSAAtoday 5A coaches poll.
“I do believe that we've got everything to win it,” Bunnell said. “It's just you don't want soccer to get in the way, which it has. Hopefully, this is the year. I've never across the board liked a team as much as this team.”
Since faltering in a 1-0 loss at Redmond on Oct. 1, Summit has won four matches by a combined 24-0. That stretch includes a 5-0 victory at No. 3 Bend (11-2, 8-2) on Oct. 22 that moved the Storm into first place in the Intermountain.
“We have to hold ourselves to a super-high standard,” Summit senior Max Pagano told the Bend Bulletin after the match. “We know what we are capable of, and we just need to continue to put that together. We can’t let our foot off the gas. Every team in our league is super solid.”
Juniors Will Newton, Nick Orton and Cole Carter and seniors Owen Gassner and Phoenix Page all found the net for the Storm, who played a more complete game than in its 2-1 home win over Bend in the first round of conference play.
“I just think we realized that we're better,” Bunnell said. “The guys had a little bit of a chip on their shoulders.”
Summit appears to be hitting stride heading into the playoffs. The first round is Nov. 3.
“We're playing very well,” Bunnell said. “Every team we've had here, we've had huge on-ball movement, just combination play, being active. I want them being creative because it's fun. They do that. When they get on a roll, it's unbelievable. They can really ramp it up.”
The Storm returned six players who saw significant playing time last season in Newton , Orton, Pagano and seniors Zach Bradley, Quentin Swanston and Brennan Johnson. Newton, who scored 19 goals last season, leads the team with 22 this year.
“He's got an amazing sense of where defenders are, where the spaces are,” Bunnell said. “He's got great control of the ball. He's very crafty. He can slip into spaces. He's sneaky fast, too. He has an ability to free himself for shots.”
Bradley (six goals, 10 assists) catalyzes a midfield that includes Swanston and Pagano, providing crucial support on both ends of the field. At center back, Orton is part of a back line that keeps the heat off junior goalkeepers Jacob Jenkins and Laird Jessup, who have been sharing time.
Summit opened the season with a 0-0 draw against Jesuit, then won six in a row, capped by the 2-1 win over Bend. That's when the Storm lost to Redmond (6-4-1, 5-3-1) in a game that Newton missed with a sprained ankle.
“We rolled into the game a little overconfident and living in the past,” Bunnell said. “We just flat-out got beat. It was good for us, in a sense.”
The Storm gets a chance to redeem that defeat Tuesday when it plays host to Redmond.
Highlights from the past week:
Boys
With a chance to claim the 6A Mt. Hood Conference outright, Gresham rallied from a three-goal deficit in the second half to defeat winless Barlow 5-4 on the road Oct. 22. The Bruins scored twice in the first six minutes of the second half to lead 4-1. The Gophers countered with consecutive goals by Alexander Galdamez (49th minute), Alex Garcia (penalty kick, 55th minute), Lum Hong (74th minute) and Galdamez (76th minute). Garcia also made a penalty kick in the first half. The win in the final Mt. Hood match put Gresham at 5-0-1 in the conference, ahead of No. 3 Central Catholic at 4-0-2. … No. 2 Grant and visiting Cleveland played to a 2-2 tie in the 6A Portland Interscholastic League finale Oct. 20, handing No. 4 Lincoln the outright league title. The Generals would have taken the outright title with a win. Cleveland would have shared the title with Lincoln with a victory. …
South Medford edged host Grants Pass 3-2 in a match to decide the 6A Southern Oregon Conference Hybrid title Oct. 22. Braulio Valenzuela Paz scored twice to put the Panthers up 2-0 at half. After a Grants Pass goal in the 62nd minute, Jake Kalina found the net to restore the lead to 3-1 with 14 minutes left, and South Medford closed it out. … No. 6 La Salle Prep secured the No. 1 playoff seed in the 5A Greater Metro Conference with a 2-1 home victory over No. 5 Canby in a first-place showdown Oct. 20. Tim Scherler scored in the 36th and 41st minutes to put the Falcons up 2-0. Canby's lone goal came with three minutes left. …
Top-ranked and reigning state champion Stayton moved into first place in the 4A Oregon West Conference with a 2-1 home win over No. 2 Cascade on Oct. 22, avenging its only loss of the season. The Eagles trailed 1-0 at half but got goals from Josiah Dessieux in the 60th and 77th minutes. Stayton can clinch the outright conference title with a win at Philomath on Tuesday. … Ontario blanked Baker/Powder Valley 3-0 on the road in match between co-leaders in the 4A Greater Oregon League on Oct. 22. Ontario's goals came from Ivan Lopez, Eddie Ramos and Syrus Uribe. … For the second year in a row, No. 4 Dayton needed a penalty-kick shootout to beat No. 6 Blanchet Catholic 1-0 in a Saturday playoff to claim the top seed in Special District 2. Dayton won the shootout 4-2.
Girls
No. 5 McMinnville captured its first-ever league title with a 2-0 home win over second-place Sherwood in the 6A Pacific Conference finale Oct. 22. Ailey Becker accounted for both goals, the second coming on a corner kick that she bent into the net. … Grants Pass secured the top seed in the 6A Southern Oregon Conference Hybrid with wins in its last two regular-season games, 2-0 at home over North Medford on Oct. 20 and 1-0 at South Medford on Oct. 22. Kaitlyn Coulter struck twice against North Medford and Ava Martin provided the goal against South Medford. … West Linn won 1-0 at No. 7 Lakeridge in a match that determined the 6A Three Rivers League championship Oct. 22. Clara McCuskey scored seven minutes into the second half for the Lions, who finished 4-0-2 in league play to edge Lakeridge (4-1-1) and No. 9 Tigard (4-1-1). …
No. 3 Central Catholic won the 6A Mt. Hood Conference title by going on the road to beat second-place Barlow 4-0 on Oct. 20. Katherine Miller scored twice and Joan VanSandt and Annie Charbonneau had single goals for the Rams (13-0-1, 6-0) against the Bruins (10-3-1, 4-1-1). … Top-ranked and two-time reigning 6A champion Jesuit put the final touch on a perfect run through the Metro League by winning 1-0 at No. 8 Sunset on Oct. 22. Abby Madson scored the only goal and goalkeeper Sofia Vera recorded the Crusaders' 13th shutout of the season. …
No. 3 Summit topped No. 4 Bend 1-0 to keep first place in the 5A Intermountain Conference on Oct. 22. The host Storm got a goal from Nina Taft in the 56th minute. Summit is 7-0-2 in the conference with three matches left, ahead of Bend (7-2-2) and Caldera (7-2-2). … No. 10 Canby blanked No. 5 La Salle Prep 2-0 at home with first place in the 5A Greater Metro Conference on the line Oct. 20. Megan Gingerich scored off a corner kick in the 35th minute and Norah Horton deposited a free kick by Campbell Cutsforth in the 47th minute. Canby can clinch the outright conference title with a home win over Liberty on Tuesday. …
No. 2 The Dalles/Dufur strengthened its grip on first place in the 4A Tri-Valley Conference by going on the road to defeat No. 8 Estacada 6-0 on Oct. 22. Ariana Gonzalez and Lilyana Gonzalez had two goals apiece for the Riverhawks, who are 8-0 in the conference with two matches left. Estacada is second at 7-2. … Savannah Newman's goal with 6:38 left gave No. 5 Western Christian/Perrydale a 1-0 road win over No. 4 Blanchet Catholic in a playoff for the top seed in 3A/2A/1A Special District 2 on Saturday. … Creswell senior Mila Nguyen has become the 22nd player to reach 100 career goals in state history. Nguyen has 33 goals this season, hiking her career total to 101.
jerryu@osaa.org
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