BSC: Huskies bow out of playoffs with 3-0 defeat at Newport

North Marion boys upset No. 6 Tillamook to advance to state quarterfinals

JONATHAN VILLAGOMEZ - North Marion senior Ismael Carrillo scored the Huskies overtime goal against Tillamook on Nov. 2 to help the boys soccer team defeat the Cheesemakers in penalty kicks in the first round.

The North Marion boys soccer team may have entered the state playoffs as a bit of an underdog after finishing third in the conference standings, but the Huskies proved to be a formidable opponent after pulling off a first round upset last week before falling in the quarterfinals at Newport on Saturday.

The Huskies (9-6-2, 6-3-1 Oregon West) braved not just one, but two wet and windy trips to the Oregon Coast last week for a pair of postseason games in the 2016 OSAA 4A state playoffs.

North Marion opened the week on Nov. 2 against the No. 6-ranked Cowapa League champion Tillamook Cheesemakers (11-3-1, 7-0-1), who entered the game as one of the hottest teams in the 4A classification.

Tillamook had entered the game without a loss since early September, having shut out four of the last seven opponents. But the Huskies were on an equally torrid string of games and were coming off a dominating 6-0 win in the play-in round against Sweet Home the week before.

The Cheesemakers were the first to score, but sophomore Edgar Lopez answered back. The Huskies’ lead scorer who netted five goals against Sweet Home tied the game at 1-1. The contest remained tied at regulation, forcing two 15-minute overtime periods.

This time it was North Marion’s turn to strike first on a shot by senior midfielder Ismael Carrillo to make it 2-1. But the Cheesemakers would not go down without a fight and connected in the second overtime period to make it 2-2 and send the game into penalty kicks.

With the pressure on, the Huskies came through in the clutch, defeating Tillamook 8-7 on penalty kicks to advance to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season.

Their reward was a second trip to the coast on Saturday, this time against a familiar opponent in the league-rival No. 3 Newport Cubs (11-1-4, 6-0-4). The Cubs defeated North Marion 3-1 early in the season in September, but the Huskies scored a 4-4 draw against Newport in October.

Unfortunately for the Huskies, it turned out to be Newport’s day, as the Cubs connected on three first-half goals to end North Marion’s season with a 3-0 loss.

North Marion finished the season with nine victories for the fifth consecutive season.

Story by Phil Hawkins, Woodburn Independent. Click here for story

Picture by Jonathan Villagomez

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