As the 6A girls soccer state tournament has been whittled down to eight teams following Wednesday’s second round, the title race has come down to a battle between just two conferences: the Three Rivers League and the Metro League.
Incredibly, six of the nine teams from the Three Rivers advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals, with two Metro teams rounding out the remaining field.
Two-time defending state champion Tualatin needed penalty kicks to down No. 18 Southridge after the teams played to a 1-1 tie. Tualatin goalkeeper Emily Leonard saved all three Southridge attempts while the Timberwolves scored on all three of their kicks.
The Timberwolves move on to face No. 10 Lake Oswego, a TRL foe they beat 2-0 during the regular season. The Lakers won 1-0 over 26th-seeded Westview, which had upset No. 7 North Medford in the first round.
Top-seeded Jesuit won its ninth game in a row (eight by shutout), downing Lincoln 4-0 to maintain the Crusaders' hopes of winning their first championship since 2010.
Jesuit moves on to face No. 8 Lakeridge, a team that has lost just once this season (2-1 to Tualatin). The Pacers scored late in overtime to beat Forest Grove 2-1 on Wednesday.
Sunset is the other Metro team remaining, and the No. 3 Apollos beat South Medford 2-1 to set up a meeting with No. 6 West Linn, a 1-0 winner over Glencoe.
Tigard, the seventh-place team in the TRL, earned the biggest upset Wednesday, beating No. 4 Sheldon 3-1 in Eugene. The 21st-seeded Tigers went just 2-6 in league play, but were able to beat an Irish team that went 10-0 in the Southwest Conference.
Tigard will face No. 4 Sherwood in another all-TRL quarterfinal. The Bowmen beat Cleveland 3-0, and have outscored their two playoff opponents 10-0.
CLASS 5A
Summit continued its historic run toward a fourth consecutive state championship with a 2-0 victory over Putnam in the first round of the 16-team 5A playoffs Wednesday. The top-seeded Storm have outscored their opponents 67-1 this season, with the only goal against coming to 6A Central Catholic.
The Storm will face No. 8 Hood River Valley in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The Eagles beat Ashland 4-3 on penalty kicks after a scoreless draw. Summit beat Hood River Valley 4-0 in a non-conference game during the regular season.
Wilsonville, the second seed, throttled Dallas 6-0 to set up a quarterfinal matchup against Northwest Oregon Conference foe La Salle Prep, which beat Silverton 3-0. Wilsonville beat La Salle 2-1 at home on Oct. 20 .
Hillsboro and Sandy also advanced to give the NWOC four teams in the quarterfinals. No. 12 Hillsboro scored a 4-3 upset over Mid-Willamette Conference champion Corvallis. The Spartans next get Midwestern League champion Marist, a 3-2 winner over Crescent Valley.
Sandy beat Churchill 1-0, and the No. 6 Pioneers now travel to Central Oregon to face No. 3 Bend, which beat North Eugene 5-2.
CLASS 4A
Top-ranked Molalla avenged a major upset loss to Banks in last year’s state playoffs, winning Wednesday’s rematch 3-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. Next up on Saturday is Tri-Valley Conference rival Gladstone, which handed Molalla its only loss of the season, 2-1 on Oct. 20. Gladstone won 2-0 at Cottage Grove in the first round.
Defending state champion Valley Catholic moved on as the No. 11 seed, pounding No. 6 North Valley 6-1 on the road. The Valiants will face No. 14 Henley, a 4-0 winner at No. 3 La Grande.
Second-ranked Scappoose beat Klamath Union 5-0, and will play No. 7 Corbett on Saturday in the quarterfinals. The last quarterfinal will features No. 12 Brookings-Harbor at No. 4 North Bend.
CLASS 3A/2A/1A
The top four seeds in the bracket had byes for Wednesday’s first round, so it was a day off for both defending champion Oregon Episcopal and last year’s runner-up, Westside Christian.
Creswell, Cascade Christian, St. Mary’s of Medford and Pleasant Hill won first-round games Wednesday to move on to the quarterfinals. Pleasant Hill plays at Oregon Episcopal on Saturday, while Westside Christian will host Creswell.
The other two quarterfinal hosts will be Catlin Gabel (vs. Cascade Christian) and Blanchet Catholic (vs. St. Mary’s).
Ad Choices