By René Ferrán | For The Oregonian/OregonLive
Photos by Leon Neuschwander, for The Oregonian/OregonLive
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As the final seconds ticked down in regulation of the Class 6A boys soccer final at Hillsboro Stadium, the large contingent of Franklin fans began chanting, “Make some history!”
Thanks to Andrew Reed’s 94th-minute goal, the Lightning did just that, winning the first soccer state title in school history with a 2-1 victory over Summit.
After the school went 60 years since its last state championship in any sport (boys basketball in 1959), Franklin won two in the span of a week, adding Saturday’s title to the boys cross country championship earned in Eugene seven days earlier.
“That’s just crazy,” Reed said. “We’ve got a special group of players across the board.”
The Lightning (14-3-2) entered the playoffs as the No. 14 seed after winning a share of the PIL title, their first in the past 14 years. They became the second consecutive double-digit seed to beat Summit in the final after No. 12 Jesuit won in penalties a year ago.
The Storm (13-3-3) avenged that loss by beating the top-seeded Crusaders 2-1 in last Saturday’s quarterfinals, then outlasted Forest Grove in a penalty-kick shootout Tuesday to earn a repeat trip to the final.
“It’s really hard, because after last year, we knew this was our year,” said Storm senior Simon Kidder, a Mountain Valley co-player of the year this fall. “We really believed it, so I’d say this year is even harder than last.”
The Lightning grabbed an early lead when Riley Reisner cleaned up a rebound at the far post 8½ minutes into the game.
They nursed that lead for nearly 64 minutes before Summit found the equalizer in the 73rd minute as Alex Grignon volleyed in a free kick by Rory McKee from 5 yards.
“We came out a little slow, but once we got started, I felt we were the dominant team,” Kidder said.
Indeed, the Storm had several good scoring opportunities and outshot Franklin 14-9, but Lightning keeper Gael Salas-Lara, a two-time all-PIL first-team selection, proved up to the task.
That gave the Lightning confidence that if they could just find one bit of magic, they would prevail.
“We had a lack of focus for just a second and switched off,” Reed said. “It happened exactly the same way in the Cleveland game (a 2-1 overtime win in the semifinals). We conceded in the last four minutes, but we just got back together. We knew we could play deep into the game, and we’ve got the best goalkeeper in the state, so we would have won in penalties anyway.”
The shootout became unnecessary after Salas-Lara launched a counterattack with a long outlet pass following his seventh save. He connected with Jackson Kincaid-Osborn down the right wing, and the junior whipped the ball across the 6-yard box. Reed headed it short-side, catching keeper Khael Engleman leaning the wrong way.
Engleman got a hand to the ball but could only watch helplessly as it snuck inside the right post and settled into the side netting.
From the other end of the field, Salas-Lara could empathize with his fellow keeper’s plight.
“I thought he had it for a second, but the ball was going so fast, there was no time to react,” the Lightning senior said.
He then shook his head as he thought about the unlikeliness of Franklin’s championship. The Lightning hadn’t been past the second round in any of his previous three seasons, and the program hadn’t reached the quarterfinals until this year.
“It’s just unbelievable,” Salas-Lara said. “I’d always dreamt of this moment since I came into Franklin my freshman year. I just felt this season was going to be it. I knew. Just the dedication that everybody puts in. Nobody here is a star player. Everybody just has heart and plays to the final whistle. Eighty minutes and a handshake, that’s what Coach Ty (Kovatch) tells us every season, and those words are special.”
Class 5A: La Salle Prep 2, Wilsonville 1
Like Summit, La Salle Prep (17-0-1) returned to Hillsboro Stadium looking to take that final step after coming oh-so-close last season.
The Falcons lost in overtime to Corvallis in last year’s championship match, but there would be no denying them this season as they received two goals from sophomore Mizael Harris and held off Northwest Oregon Conference rival Wilsonville for their first title since 2009.
“There was just this overwhelming feeling of hard work well done,” La Salle Prep coach Seth Altshuler said. “It is hard to win consistently, and a year after going undefeated and losing in the state title match, to do it all over again and win it is something special.”
Wilsonville, which fell to 0-4 in state finals, finished the season 12-4-3.
Harris’ first goal was a dazzling chip of Wildcats keeper George Krecklow from 8 yards in the 23rd minute. He earned a brace with a tap-in goal with just under 8 minutes to play off an assist from Noa Taylor.
“Mizael just has an uncanny ability to stay calm in big environments,” Altshuler said. “He’s a special kid. I’ve never seen a sophomore play like he has consistently.”
The Wildcats scored with 1 second left when Joseph Friedman headed home from point-blank range off an assist from Adam Landy.
Class 4A: Woodburn 1, Stayton 0
Woodburn made it four consecutive state championships, including back-to-back at Class 4A after dropping from Class 5A two years ago, as Rodolfo Campuzano’s 29th-minute goal lifted the Bulldogs past Oregon West rival Stayton at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.
“Getting the chance to become a state champion for the fourth time in a row is truly a blessing,” Woodburn coach Leroy Sanchez said. “It indicates the passion that the players have for the game and also the success of the program as a whole.”
Campuzano collected a through ball from Ricardo Chacon and one-timed a shot past Ivan Pelayo for his 13th goal of the season.
The Bulldogs (15-2-1), who entered the playoffs as the No. 6 seed, avenged two regular-season losses to the league champion Eagles (15-3) to win their seventh title, all since 2010.
“Our boys worked really hard to win it,” Sanchez said. “Especially after losing to Stayton twice.”
Class 3A/2A/1A: Catlin Gabel 3, Oregon Episcopal 1
Felipe Rueda scored two goals and assisted on Spud Ward’s game-winner nine minutes into the second half as Catlin Gabel won a second consecutive state title by beating Southwest Portland rival Oregon Episcopal at Liberty High School.
The two small-school powers met in the final for the second year in a row, and the top-seeded Eagles (19-0) completed the first unbeaten and untied season by a Class 3A/2A/1A school since Riverside in 2011.
“It’s been an incredible run, made possible by a great group of kids who are easy to coach,” Eagles coach Peter Shulman said. “It’s very hard to repeat the championship, let alone go undefeated. They work hard, have fun, and have always figured out a way to get it done.”
Rueda opened the scoring with an unassisted goal 12½ minutes into the game, but the Aardvarks (15-3-1) answered less than seven minutes later when Kennedy Balandi one-timed a pass from Jonathan Segal past keeper Bowen Blair.
It was the sixth goal Catlin Gabel allowed this season, and Shulman characterized it as a punch to the gut.
“OES gave us fits in the first half, and they deserve a lot of credit. They were playing without some important players, but they looked the better side in the first half,” Shulman said. “We gathered ourselves at halftime, calmed down, and really began to click.”
Rueda slid a through ball to Ward for the go-ahead goal at 49:03, and 18 minutes later, he rocketed a shot from a sharp angle into the top-left corner for an insurance goal.
“That was as good of a shot as I have seen in a state final,” Shulman said.
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