While entering uncharted territory, few can argue whether the Taft High boys soccer team belongs in the Final Four of the 2019 Class 3A/2A/1A OSAA State Boys Soccer Championships.
However, historically speaking, the other three schools might be asking, “What are you doing here?”
Senior Player of the Year Edson Fuentes
On the surface, a better question might be, “How is Taft the underdog in this beauty pageant?”
With a gaudy 17-0 record and lofty scoring advantage of 117-9 this season, it’s statistically relevant to assume the upstart Tigers will feel right at home and belong in the fray when they take the pitch at 6 p.m. Tuesday at top-seeded Catlin Gabel to determine one State finalist. Second-seeded Oregon Episcopal will host No. 3 Brookings-Harbor at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Liberty High School in Hillsboro to unveil the other combatant for Saturday’s State championship.
Delve deeper, and it’s evident the Special District 2 champion Tigers’ No. 4 seeding is appropriate.
Consider:
Tuesday’s semifinal opponent, Catlin Gabel, is the defending State champion and also undefeated at 17-0 after outscoring its opposition 104-5 and going 9-0 in winning the Special District 1 title.
To do that, the Eagles twice shut out State No. 2 seed and SD2 runner-up Oregon Episcopal in the regular season and 1-0 in last year’s State title game despite the Aardvarks’ rich history of having won six OSAA boys soccer titles beginning in 2005 — with a runner-up finish sandwiched in between.
Taft head coach Ryan Ulicni
The two Portland private boarding schools — Catlin Gabel in the West Haven-Sylvan area and Oregon Episcopal in Raleigh Hills — have each won two State titles since 2013 and reached the final game three and four times, respectively.
Despite being the only semifinalist with a defeat, Oregon Episcopal is 14-2-1 with the fewest goals scored (81) and most allowed (12) this season, but is seeded second on strength of schedule.
Photos by Lon French
On to third-seeded Brookings-Harbor . . .
A public school that combines student-athletes from the communities of Brookings and Harbor in southwestern Oregon, the Special District 4 champion Bruins are also 17-0 and waltzed through the season by outscoring their opposition 124-5.
Brookings-Harbor trailed only Special District 6 champion Riverside, another perennial power, in goals scored this season (134) and tied Catlin Gabel in goals-against (5). Oregon Episcopal eliminated 2017 State champion Riverside 3-2 in overtime in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Sophomore goalie Sam Cortes
Making its deepest dive ever into the postseason, Taft faces a formidable challenge. Catlin Gabel has pitched 12 shutouts this year, including 6-0 and 9-0 victories to reach the State semis. The Tigers possess 10 shutouts of their own, however, and a 2-1 quarterfinal home victory over fifth-seeded and perennial State participant Riverdale, which handed Oregon Episcopal its regular-season tie.
With three unbeaten teams, a combined record of 65-2-1 and scoring margin of 426-31, there’s little question the stage has been set with this year’s four most worthy semifinalists.
The Final Four will undeniably be represented by the Big Four in small-school Oregon soccer.
Taft assistant coaches Daniel Haehl and Dayton Mays
Homepage Executive Editor and former longtime Sports Editor of the near-200,000 circulation Las Vegas Review-Journal, Fossum brings 40 years of award-winning experience covering virtually every facet of print and digital journalism to Lincoln City Homepage. The former longtime reporter for the Newport News-Times and Lincoln City News Guard is also Editor-in-Chief and Senior Columnist for SilverandBlackToday.com, which covers the NFL's Oakland (Las Vegas) Raiders.
District Player of the Year Edson Fuentes scored both goals Saturday to lead Taft High into the semifinals of the Class 3A/2A/1A OSAA State Boys Soccer Championships with a 2-1 home victory over Riverdale.
Unbeaten Taft High advanced Wednesday to the quarterfinals of the Class 3A/2A/1A OSAA State Boys Soccer Championships with an 11-0 first-round home victory over Central Linn at Voris Field.
Edson Fuentes and William Calderon scored two goals each in support of another shutout from sophomore goalie Sam Cortes on Monday to lift the Taft High boys soccer team to a 4-0 road league victory over Yamhill-Carlton, while the girls team fell, 4-0.
The ninth-ranked Taft High boys soccer team rebounded from its first loss of the season Wednesday by scoring five unanswered goals in the first half Friday for a 5-1 league home victory over Western Christian/Perrydale.
The first-place Taft High boys soccer team improved to 4-0 with back-to-back 4-0 league victories over Blanchet Catholic and Yamhill-Carlton this week.
