Warriors score early in each half to knock off OES and reach championship game

By Raju Woodward
Gazette-Times Reporter

PHILOMATH — All season long, the Philomath High girl’s soccer team had a simple goal in every match.

“We always tried to get a goal in the first 10 minutes,” senior forward Sadi Stouder said. “Because whenever we score a goal, our team intensity rises and it’s exciting to watch.”

Scoring quickly was exactly what PHS did on Tuesday afternoon en route to a 3-0 victory over Oregon Episcopal School in the OSAA 4A/3A/2A/1A semifinals.

With the win, the Warriors advanced to the state championship game for the first time in program history.

They will face Valley Catholic on Saturday at Wilsonville High at 3:30 p.m. for the title.

Nine minutes into Tuesday’s match, sophomore Sierra Grunwald headed the ball into the goal to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

“Lena (Cottam) crossed it in and it went just over Ramie’s (Sartnurak) head,” Grunwald said. “I happened to be right behind her and it bounced in there.”

It took PHS even less time to get on the board in the second half, and once again, Grunwald was involved in the play.

This time she assisted on a score by her sister, Tegan, in the first minute of the half. At that point, Warriors coach John Williams knew his team could put away OES.

“After that second goal, you could see OES hanging their heads,” Williams said. “That just made the third goal come easier. It was great.”

Fittingly, it was Stouder who scored PHS’s final goal and gave the Warriors some extra breathing room. She was even more vocal than usual on Tuesday, but that didn’t surprise her coach.

“Sadi directs traffic from the midfield,” Williams said of his senior captain. “That’s her job. She’s an attacking inside mid. She’s supposed to be behind the forwards and in front of the two defensive inside mids.”

Stouder took a pass from Joy deVos, made a quick move and fired a shot from about 15 yards out that went over the outstretched hands of Aardvarks goalkeeper Saskia Ilcisin and into the back of the net. Stouder, however, was quick to give credit to her teammates for making the play possible.

“I couldn’t have done that without the forwards making their runs, giving me my service and pulling the defenders off me,” Stouder said. “So it was team effort on that one.”

As it was on defense for the Warriors nearly the entire match. After a sluggish start in which they bent a little too much and didn’t close gaps as well as they could have in the first 10 minutes, they found their stride.

They ended up holding OES to eight shots, but Williams said it seemed like less because the Aardvarks only had a couple of quality shots on goal, as opposed to PHS’s 26 shots.

“They were all from a long way out and that gives the goalkeeper an advantage because she can see them coming,” Williams said.

Williams said Warriors keeper Hope Gunter did everything that was asked of her on Tuesday, especially when it came to being talkative and directing the backfield.

When asked about her team’s strong start in the second half, Stouder credited what Williams told them at halftime.

“He told us to play the game as if it was beginning at 0-0,” Stouder said. “So it’s a fresh start, anyone can win this match. So we just came out and said we need to step up our game and get a goal in the first 10.”

And thanks to a sister connection between the Grunwalds, the Warriors did exactly that and now have their eyes set on the state championship, an opportunity they have long waited for.

“For me, this is for everyone that has been through program,” Williams said. “We have knocked on the door a couple times and we finally got through the foot and now get to play for the state title and that’s cool.”

Philomath 3, OES 0

First Half

PHS: Sierra Grunwald (Lena Cottam), 9:00

Second Half

PHS: Tegan Grunwald (S. Grunwald), 41:00

PHS: Sadi Stouder (Joy deVos), 51:00