In a close match against Tualatin, the boys soccer team came out on top, 1-0, with a game-winning goal in the second half. This came after losing their first two games against Southridge and McNary. 

Head coach Jeremy Sutter called this start a very unfulfilling two starting games for the team. 

“It was an unfulfilling start, like we left something out on the field.” Sutter expressed

A couple bad injuries and illnesses have spread around the team too, making it difficult for the team in their last two games. Sutter also said that before the Tualatin game he had 7 players out due to injuries and sickness. 

 Sutter knew he needed to make a change in scenery for his team. leading them to bring up center back Caden Berg from the JV team. Known as a solid defender, he scored a nice left-footed goal against McNary in a 2-0 win for JV. 

Sutter also had to bring goalkeeper Liam Phillips off the bench, when starting goalkeeper Jerry Barefield got a concussion in the McNary game. This was Philips’ first varsity start. 

Tualatin has also had a difficult start to their season, losing 0-1 to Century and 0-2 to Aloha, so both teams had something to prove in the third game of the season. 

The first half started out pretty slow until Tualatin got their first shot on goal four minutes into the game. Phillips punched it over the bar, resulting in a missed corner opportunity for Tualatin. 

The Mountain Lions got their first chance at a goal with 32 minutes left in the half, thanks to winger Oliver Sage. His shot was just barely too far left. 

The game was pretty even throughout the next 20 minutes with not many shots from either team, but with 23 minutes left in the half, Sutter was given a yellow card for jewelry being found on a player. Then, Tualatin had a very good stretch from the twentieth minute to the fifth with four shots. Two of the four shots by Tualatin hit the crossbar in a very nail-biting 15 minutes for McDaniel. 

With three minutes left in the first half, Tualatin got a free kick which resulted in a missed shot off a Tualatin player’s hand just missing to the left side of the goal. This caused a bit of confusion from everyone on the field and the viewers of the game. 

Nevertheless, the first half ended in a 0-0 tie, with Tualatin having more shots on goal than McDaniel.

Second Half

Just minutes after the second half whistle blew, midfielder Melvin Huiles Ramirez took a great shot from distance that was just wide for McDaniel. With 33 minutes left in the game, Tualatin was awarded another free kick from just outside the box, which resulted in a great save by Phillips, who dove to his right to keep the game 0-0. 

But then, with 24 minutes left in the game, Winger Miguel Ansurez took a shot from the 35-yard line that caught their keeper off guard. The ball went over his head and McDaniel was up 1-0.

10th grader Alex Clark, a viewer of the game, said it was a great strike.

“It was a screamer,” Clark described. “It was a strike and a half, as they say in England.”

Not even three minutes after the goal, another shot was taken by Ansurez, past the right post for a Tualatin goal kick. In the thirteenth minute of the game, Tualatin got another great chance for a goal by a free kick. Again, Phillips came to the rescue to keep the game 1-0 with a great diving save to his right. 

The final 10 minutes of this game was dominated by McDaniel with some great opportunities for a second goal, but they couldn’t connect. The final whistle blew, and just like that, the McDaniel Mountain Lions won their first game of the season.

Phillips felt pretty good after his first varsity start.

“Made some good saves, and a clean sheet,” Phillips explained. 

It was the teams’ first clean sheet of the season, which means zero goals allowed throughout the full game.

  “Both those guys looked totally comfortable and played really well.” Sutter spoke about Phillip’s and Berg’s performance.

With the win under their belt, they hope to keep their momentum at Parkrose on Tuesday Sept. 13 and a home game versus Centennial two days later.