Despite seeing its season come to an end, you could not tell from the looks on the Wilsonville boys soccer team afterward.
The Wildcats knew they accomplished a lot this year as they fell to Corvallis, 2-1, Saturday at Randall Stadium in the OSAA Class 5A state quarterfinals.
It marked the second straight season that Corvallis ended Wilsonville’s season following a 4-0 victory in the second round last year.
“Actually, I’m totally fine with it,” senior goalkeeper David Ollison. “It’s disappointing but that was a hard-fought game. I mean, I guess it hurts a little bit but nothing to be really sad about. We played our best and we got on the flipside of it.”
Wilsonville (12-3-1 overall) made its first state-quarterfinal appearance since 2006 under coach Ian Reschke.
The Wildcats were one win away from their first Northwest Oregon Conference championship, and their three defeats came to Woodburn, Liberty and Corvallis – three teams who are now in the semifinals.
“It’s not for lack of effort,” Reschke said. “They did not lack effort at all. Things just happened the way it did, and I told the guys that’s just soccer sometimes. They put it in the back of the net and we didn’t.”
Corvallis senior Jamal Abdoul scored the game’s first goal in the 18th minute for a 1-0 lead.
Senior Wes Atwood then gave the Spartans a 2-0 lead in the 65th minute.
“I wish we could’ve capitalized a little bit earlier in the game,” Reschke said. “That first one was kind of the first backbreaker, of course. It was a decision that our defense usually doesn’t make but it cost us that one and it really put us behind. And that (two-goal deficit) made it tough — not much you can do afterward.”
Senior Myles Sorokovsky scored the Wildcats’ lone goal in the 76th minute to cut the deficit to 2-1, but Wilsonville did not have enough time to tie the game.
Corvallis advanced to the Class 5A state semifinals, where it hosted Crescent Valley on Tuesday.
The success of the team means that they have been invited to play on the latest 5G articifical hockey pitch installation at the District headquarters.