Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2017)
Sports B1 Appeal Tribune, www.silvertonappeal.com Wednesday, November 15, 2017 BOYS SOCCER One epic comeback Woodburn tops Corvallis in OT to become repeat champ Woodburn holds up their OSAA Class 5A championship boys soccer trophy after defeating Corvallis at Hillsboro Stadium on Nov. 11. Woodburn won the championship 2-1 in overtime. PHOTOS BY ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL BILL POEHLER STATESMAN JOURNAL HILLSBORO – When Woodburn High School’s boys soccer team suffered a humbling loss to Corval- lis in a Mid-Willamette Conference game in the middle of October, peo- ple were shocked. The loss ended a streak of 57 games in a row that Woodburn hadn’t lost a conference game and was the team’s second loss in the 12 years it had been in the league. For many people, that loss sig- naled that the Bulldogs’ reign as the most dominant program in Class 5A was over. When Woodburn came back from a 1-0 deficit in the final four minutes of regulation to defeat Cor- vallis 2-1 in overtime Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium for the OSAA Class 5A state championship, no one was surprised. All that the early loss to Corval- lis served to do was motivate Wood- burn (15-2-2) to continue its state ti- tle reign. “It’s just another reason to work so much harder than we usually do, people doubting us and not expect- ing us to make it far,” said junior Trevor Karsseboom, who scored the game-tying goal with four min- utes left in regulation. “That’s just what kept us going is people doubting us, and now they’re all coming to us, celebrat- ing with us. It was all motivation at this point.” Woodburn’s state championship was its fifth, the others coming in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2016. This also was Woodburn’s ninth state championship game appear- ance and the sixth in the past eight seasons. “Honestly it means the world to me,” said Salvador Perez, who scored the game winner 36 seconds into overtime. “I could have never imagined this. Everything was for Woodburn.” But this was supposed to be a down year for Woodburn’s boys soccer program. The Bulldogs returned one play- er from last year’s state champion- ship team. Sure, it was Jesus Rodriguez, who assisted the game-winning goal by Perez, but the team was loaded with juniors who had never played varsity soccer. Not that it mattered. “I think for Woodburn soccer, we reload every year,” said first- year head coach Leroy Sanchez, who played on the Woodburn team that lost in the 1998 state champion- ship game. “We have the talent, we have kids that are playing that are plugged in. We just came out be- lieving that we could do it, we could go all the way to the end if we had enough heart to do it, and that’s what happened. I’m proud of the Top: Woodburn's Trevor Karsseboom, left, and Corvallis' Edgar Monroy, right, battle for the ball during the championship match. Bottom: Woodburn's Jose Ochoa (00) makes a save during the game. "We have the talent, we have kids that are playing that are plugged in. We just came out believing that we could do it, we could go all the way to the end if we had enough heart to do it, and that’s what happened." LEROY SANCHEZ, WOODBURN BOYS SOCCER HEAD COACH See SOCCER, Page 3B