By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SILVERTON, Ore.– The Silverton Boys Soccer team gave themselves a chance against Corvallis on Thursday night.
With the Mid-Willamette Conference Title on the line, the Foxes clawed back into the game early in the second half against the Spartans trailing 2-1.
Corvallis had jumped out to a 2-0 lead going into the second half before an PK Goal by Alex Flores gave some wind under the sails of Silverton to push as they looked for just their second-ever League Title.
They controlled the possession, they had several corner kicks and were applying the pressure on the Corvallis defense. The Spartan defense continued to hold strong, but it was a matter of time before Silverton got this game even.
“We haven’t won a conference title in 33 years, we really wanted it, we came out strong and got the changes, we just couldn’t put them away. We need to do a better job stopping them and just playing our game,” said Silverton’s Leo Icovino. “It shows. We got our chances against Corvo and shows that we can compete against these high team’s, so we need to keep doing what we’re doing.”
Corvallis were able to rebuild their lead to two goals off a fastbreak, counterattack in the 55th minute that made it a 3-1 game with 25 minutes left in the game.
Plenty of time sure for Silverton to comeback or Corvallis to add to their lead, but neither defense allowed another goal over those 25 minutes as the Spartans were able to clinch the MWC Title, spoiling the Foxes Senior Night and their bid to win the League Tite.
But despite the heartbreak, their preseason, their Mid-Willamette Conference slate, their games against Crescent Valley, West Albany and Corvallis, all got them battle-tested for the 5A State Playoffs that start on Tuesday.
“Our guys know how to put away good teams, it didn’t happen tonight, but those are the takeaways that we’re going to take away going into the Playoffs. Our preseason was tough, I think we’re pretty battle-tested, we’re versatile, we have a lot of players who played in different roles on different nights. It’s been good for these guys to learn to play different positions, different roles and I’m pretty excited for these guys to see what kind of damage we can do in playoffs,” said Silverton Head Coach Marty Limbird.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
