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?”
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.
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.
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.
Class 3A/2A/1A Boys Soccer
Special District 1 |
|---|
| League | Overall | GS | GA | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catlin Gabel (3A) | 9-0 | 17-0 | 104 | 5 | 1 |
| Oregon Episcopal (3A) | 7-1-1 | 14-2-1 | 81 | 12 | 2 |
| Riverdale (3A) | 7-1-1 | 10-3-1 | 43 | 17 | 5 |
| De La Salle Catholic (3A) | 6-3 | 10-6 | 60 | 25 | 12 |
| Portland Adventist (3A) | 3-4-2 | 6-7-2 | 26 | 36 | 29 |
| Westside Christian (3A) | 3-6 | 4-10 | 25 | 57 | 39 |
| Horizon Christian, Tualatin (3A) | 2-4-3 | 6-5-3 | 42 | 46 | 25 |
| Mannahouse Christian (2A) | 2-5-2 | 4-8-2 | 33 | 71 | 34 |
| Faith Bible (2A) | 1-7-1 | 2-10-1 | 19 | 43 | 41 |
| Portland Christian (2A) | 0-9 | 0-15 | 7 | 116 | 51 |
Catlin Gabel Eagles
Coach: Peter Shulman
| No. | Name | Grade | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bowen Blair | 11 | |||
| 2 | Will Swan | 12 | |||
| 3 | Evan Williams | 10 | |||
| 4 | Noah Kim | 11 | |||
| 5 | Dylan Lian | 11 | |||
| 6 | Kai Gamboa | 11 | |||
| 7 | Justin Edwards | 11 | |||
| 8 | Mateo Sufuentes | 11 | |||
| 9 | Aidan Sheeran-Hahnel | 10 | |||
| 10 | Felipe Rueda | 10 | |||
| 11 | Elijah Widdows | 10 | |||
| 12 | Jed Whalen-Stewart | 11 | |||
| 13 | Adrian Long | 10 | |||
| 14 | Joshua Hamlett | 10 | |||
| 16 | Ezra Rich | 12 | |||
| 17 | Ezra Polesky | 12 | |||
| 18 | Spud Ward | 12 | |||
| 19 | Jaden Edwards | 11 | |||
| 20 | Ben Bockman | 11 | |||
| 21 | Evan Karp | 12 | |||
| 22 | Finn Russell | 12 | |||
| 23 | Tanner Hillison | 12 | |||
| 24 | Andrew Priest | 11 | |||
| 25 | Cai Fernandez-Powell | 11 | |||
| 27 | Seby Tremblay | 11 |
Oregon Episcopal Aardvarks
Coach: David Rosenberg
Special District 2 |
|---|
| League | Overall | GS | GA | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taft (3A) | 14-0 | 17-0 | 117 | 9 | 4 |
| Delphian (2A) | 9-3-2 | 10-6-2 | 60 | 21 | 16 |
| Western Christian/Perrydale (2A) | 9-3-2 | 10-6-2 | 61 | 28 | 17 |
| Yamhill-Carlton (3A) | 7-5-2 | 7-6-2 | 43 | 29 | 30 |
| Blanchet Catholic (3A) | 5-5-4 | 6-6-4 | 34 | 31 | 31 |
| Dayton (3A) | 3-11 | 3-12 | 25 | 22 | 45 |
| Salem Academy (3A) | 2-11-1 | 2-11-1 | 12 | 109 | 49 |
Taft Tigers
Coach: Ryan Ulicni
| No. | Name | Position | Grade | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Sam Cortes | GK/GK | 10 | ||
| 0 | Riley Ellis | GK/M | 10 | ||
| 4 | Ivan Cortez | D/D | 11 | ||
| 5 | Jose Flores | M/M | 11 | ||
| 7 | J.J. Lupercio | D/D | 10 | ||
| 8 | Kevin Acosta | M/M | 11 | ||
| 9 | Sammy Vasquez | F/M | 10 | ||
| 10 | Edson Fuentes | F/F | 12 | ||
| 11 | William Calderon | M/F | 11 | ||
| 16 | Joseph Cruz | M/M | 11 | ||
| 19 | Estib Hernandez | D/D | 12 | ||
| 21 | Alex Del Valle | M/D | 11 | ||
| 22 | Angel Islas | D/D | 10 | ||
| 23 | Adrian Moreno | D/D | 10 | ||
| 29 | Diego Gomez | M/F | 9 | ||
| 33 | Mauricio Rivas | M/M | 11 | ||
| 50 | Kaden Wright | M/M | 12 | ||
| 88 | Matias Vesma | M/F | 12 |
Special District 4 |
|---|
| League | Overall | GS | GA | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookings-Harbor (3A) | 14-0 | 17-0 | 124 | 5 | 3 |
| Umpqua Valley Christian (1A) | 11-3 | 12-4 | 78 | 20 | 10 |
| Sutherlin (3A) | 10-4 | 10-6 | 53 | 35 | 14 |
| Coquille/Myrtle Point (2A) | 7-7 | 7-7 | 25 | 42 | 27 |
| Glide (2A) | 5-8-1 | 5-8-1 | 18 | 37 | 35 |
| Douglas (3A) | 3-8-3 | 3-8-3 | 19 | 41 | 40 |
| South Umpqua (3A) | 2-11-1 | 2-11-1 | 20 | 90 | 46 |
| Gold Beach/Pacific (2A) | 1-12-1 | 1-12-1 | 5 | 69 | 50 |
Brookings-Harbor Bruins
Coach: Jess Beaman
| No. | Name | Position | Grade | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Juan Hernandez | GK/GK | 11 | ||
| 2 | Uriel Cortes | F/D | 9 | ||
| 3 | Diego Turner | F/M | 9 | ||
| 5 | Rylan Bruce | F/M | 11 | ||
| 6 | Miguel Ramos-Rodriguez | D/F | 10 | ||
| 7 | Aden Carpenter | D/M | 11 | ||
| 8 | Josh Serna | F/M | 9 | ||
| 9 | Bryan Valdovinos | F/M | 10 | ||
| 10 | Fabian Villa | M/F | 10 | ||
| 11 | Seth Broberg | D/F | 10 | ||
| 12 | Dylan Hodge | M/F | 10 | ||
| 13 | Jair Valdovinos | F/M | 12 | ||
| 14 | Hobbes Howard | D/M | 11 | ||
| 15 | Kallen Christensen | D/F | 9 | ||
| 16 | Harrison Nelson | F/D | 12 | ||
| 17 | Jake Beaman | D/M | 10 | ||
| 19 | Brayden Holler | F/M | 12 | ||
| 20 | Kai Seibert | F/M | 10 | ||
| 24 | Clayton Sackett | F/D | 12 |
