Marshfield girls blank Junction City in soccer opener
Mar. 3—COOS BAY — When Marshfield's girls soccer team beat Junction City 1-0 in 2019, it marked a high spot for the Pirates — their only win of the year after a winless season in 2018.
Things look much better this year, especially after the Pirates opened the season with a 3-0 victory over Junction City at Pete Susick Stadium on Tuesday night.
"This win is a big start," said Marshfield goalkeeper Kaylin Dea. "I hope we don't let this momentum die."
The Pirates had two goals in the first half and one in the second, all impressive plays.
Isabell Perez scored on an assist from Charlie Dea, Kaylin's younger sister, in the 26th minute.
The other two goals both came off impressive assists by Maddie Deleon.
Jordyn Eichelberger scored in the 36th minute off a corner kick by Deleon. Then six minutes into the second half, Kaleigh England headed in a long throw-in from Deleon.
Deleon said the Pirates have been practicing hard on ball control and headers, and that goal was a perfect example of it paying off, she said.
While Marshfield controlled the ball well and had other chances without converting, it was Kaylin Dea who preserved the shutout with a series of saves, several of them diving attempts.
"I wasn't able to dive at all when I started," she said of when she joined the team as a junior.
She finished with 14 saves in all, including one in the 72nd minute when she deflected a Junction City corner kick and then scrambled back in front of the net to stop an attempt by another of the Tigers.
In a normal year, the soccer season would have started in September.
Marshfield was practicing then, and all summer before that. The Pirates even got a series of matches in against North Bend in a special part of the fall.
Coach Pio Figueroa was thrilled to see the Pirates get a chance to begin a regular season, one with six more matches over the next several weeks.
"As a coach, you enjoy seeing them happy on the field," Figueroa said.
He also was excited to see all the work in the summer and fall, and since the fall, pay off.
"They enjoy this game," he said. "You can see the dedication.
"I'm proud of them."
The commitment of the players is exciting to the veterans.
"We have a young team," Deleon said. "We've got a lot of new girls.
"These girls are excited to show up."
The Pirates are one of four Sky-Em League teams taking part in the soccer season, along with Junction City, Cottage Grove and Marist Catholic, and will play the others twice each.
The Pirates also have a nonleague game against North Bend on Thursday.
They are excited about the rest of the season.
"This was a good game," Kaylin Dea said. "There's lots of improvements to make.
"I see us improving."
Tuesday was a great start.
"We beat Junction City last year, but it was very close," Deleon said. "It was a very tough win.
"To see how much we improved from last year (is exciting)."
BOYS
Marshfield 6, Junction City 1: Marshfield's boys opened the season with a victory on the road, after a slow start.
"We were able to get everyone in the game and escaped without any major injuries," Marshfield coach Drew Jones said. "So I feel good about that."
The Pirates didn't score until the 24th minute, when Alberto Castillo scored on an assist from Austin Neilsen.
Castillo assisted on the next goal, by Jose Yanez-Torres in the 33rd minute, and then the Pirates benefited from an own goal a few minutes before halftime.
Yanez-Torres got his second goal unassisted just over a minute into the second half and Castillo got his second goal on a rebound from a corner kick in the 55th minute.
After Junction City scored on a breakaway, Yanez-Torres finished his hat trick for Marshfield in the 70th minute on an assist by Ernesto Hernandez Rosales.
On Thursday, the Pirates host Siuslaw, which is playing its first varsity season.
