HILLSBORO – Winning a state title is never easy, but No. 4 Marist Catholic girls soccer certainly didn’t face much resistance this fall.
The Spartans finished off one of the most, if not the most, dominant seasons in Oregon high school girls soccer history with a 4-0 win over No. 2 Scappoose in the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 4A state championship game Saturday at Liberty High School.
Marist Catholic (19-0) already had the season-record for goals scored in a season coming into the match, and it ended with a 146 this season while only giving up two goals.
Simply put, there was no denying the Spartans of their third consecutive state title, giving them four all-time, all of which have come in the past five years.
“The team is awesome,” Spartans senior Cruz Donawa said. “I have never been a part of a program that is so amazing. I came in here (as a sophomore) and this team has worked hard since June to here. I’m just beyond words, proud of this team.”
“A mix of a lot of things, I think it’s some relief, some real happiness and just joy,” Spartans senior Tori Sherman added. “We knew we were very capable of it, and we went and did it. It’s a really good feeling.”
The Spartans were swarming again against Scappoose, posting a 22-6 shot advantage, 10-1 in shots on goal.
Marist Catholic scored twice in each half while Scappoose never had much going toward the net in either half, cementing the 19-0 Spartans as champions.
“It’s just so great to coach this team in terms of our attacking,” Marist Catholic head coach Stefan Schroffner said. “I know there’s a lot of attention on Libby McLaughlin, but we have so many weapons. … I think 17 out of our 18 players have scored at least one goal, and that’s just attributed to the talent everywhere.”
The match started even with both sides gaining control of the ball at midfield and looking for the first real opportunity of the match.
In the 10th minute, Marist Catholic sent the ball forward into the final third where a cross was sent back by Scappoose, but it went right to Sherman, who pushed it back up to the middle of the net where Donawa, a Linfield commit, was next to the keeper and fired it home into the net and a 1-0 lead.
“I think when we got it, we kind of knew we were going to have this under control and we were the better team,” Sherman said of the first goal. “It was just about keep pushing and getting it to 4-0, really making it known that we are the better team.”
Those two are part of the self-labeled “Triangle of Death” the Spartans have along with senior Libby McLaughlin, who is seventh all-time in Oregon history in career goals (122) scored and first in career assists (124) and is committed to Seattle Pacific.
“We just came in and knew what we had to do and we got it done, simple as that,” Donawa said. “Every single day we came in and we knew we had to execute, never underestimate a team no matter their record. (Scappoose) was a great team, they put up a long, good fight, it was a great game. But we knew what we had to do and we did it.”
In the 23rd minute, Scappoose freshman Katherine Kessi, the 4A state cross country champion this fall, got in close to the Spartans goal and behind their senior goalkeeper Nev Ficek, but a couple Marist defenders came to the rescue and sent the ball out of danger.
After a couple pushes by both teams, Marist Catholic struck again in the 36th minute when Sherman took an entry pass from McLaughlin into the final third with a head of steam down the far sideline.
Sherman lined up her shot and curled it past the Scappoose junior goalkeeper Claire Steel who had come up a bit from net to try and narrow the window. Instead, the ball went around Steel and into the near-side of the net for a 2-0 Marist lead at halftime. Steel still finished the night with six saves.
“They have played with each other in those same positions for the past three years and they each work so hard as individual players, but they work on their chemistry together,” Schroffner said of the Triangle. “Offseason and during the season, they’ve all gotten better and better as players. They’re all going to play at the next level and it’s gonna be really fun to watch them as they play in college.”
Marist Catholic kept applying pressure in the second half, getting the first good look of the final 40 minutes when a header by Sherman in the near-side corner was blocked by Steele right at the post.
Scappoose struggled to create anything on offense as the Spartans dominated possession of the ball and put up 12 of their 22 shots alone in the second half.
In the 61st minute, it was McLaughlin’s turn to join the scoring as she took a pass from Sherman on the far side at the top of the box. She fired a shot that hooked to the near side and into the side of the net to make it a 3-0 advantage.
Two minutes later, Donawa cut into the box and received a perfect pass from McLaughlin that allowed Donawa to have a one-on-one with the Scappoose keeper, which Donawa won for her second goal of the match.
Donawa had the two goals while McLaughlin and Sherman each had one goal and two assists for one killer final match for the Triangle of Death.
“It’s been so fun, those two girls are some of my two best friends on this earth,” Sherman said of the trio. “It’s so fun to be able to play soccer with them and score all these goals and to be assisting each other’s goals.”
While 146 goals on the season gets more of the attention, the back line only giving up two is another display of how unflappable the Spartans were at one spot on the field.
Only two goals allowed ties for the second fewest ever allowed across a full season, only trailing the 2018 Jesuit team that allowed one, and the Spartans 17 shutouts is also tied for second behind that same Crusaders squad that had 18.
“A big shoutout to our defense, we lost our big defensive player Piper Paslay last year, so we were kind of unsure where we were going to stand,” Donawa said of the back line. “They just came in and worked super hard and they played amazing. They played amazing from the beginning to the end.”
The title came as the encore as well after the No. 10 Marist Catholic boys upset No. 1 Stayton in the game prior in the 4A state title game.
For the first time in school history, the Spartans head back to Eugene as double champions, cementing the school as a soccer powerhouse with more success sure to come.
“It’s probably the most important day in Marist soccer history,” Schroffner said. “It was great going through the playoff run with the boys and sharing the turf and practicing amongst each other. I think we motivated each other.”
“We’re a very close-knit community, boys and girls,” Donawa said. “It’s unimaginably amazing to be able to do this with them here too.”
Replicating a season like this won’t ever be easy, but that memory, along with the friendships made during this back-to-back-to-back state tile run, is what will live on for years in Sherman’s eyes.
“I’ll look back on this 10, 20, 30 years from now and I’ll be like, ‘Those were the best years of my life,’” Sherman said. “I’m gonna miss high school, I’m gonna miss this team. It was a really good four years, some of the best friends I’ve ever made. I’m gonna be kind of sad, but I’m also going to look back and be happy.”
austinw@osaa.org
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