Summit’s varsity boys soccer team won their third state title on Nov. 11 after a dominant playoff run and regular season. The storm finished the season 15-1-3 and captured the second seed for the Oregon 5A playoffs.
“The main word I would use for our whole team this year was grit,” said Bowen Teuber, senior forward for the Summit soccer team. “We persevered a lot throughout our playoff run and showed that we didn’t want to lose. We lost in a close semi final last year and we had a lot of returners” referring to last season’s 2-1 loss to West Albany. The second seed guaranteed the Storm home-field advantage until the final which was played at a neutral site in Sherwood. The first of those opponents to enter the Storm stadium was the Centennial High School Eagles on Nov. 1.
The game was an utter domination by the Storm who won by mercy rule, 9-1. Goals in this game came from seniors Riley Ring, Teuber (who scored twice), Luca Gatto, Zak Bilobrovchukand and Thor Schmidt as well as juniors Kaden Roskowski, Ethan Wheeler and Cole Bradley, allowing the game to end with about five minutes remaining. With such a decisive victory in the first round, the Storm proved that they were here to stay and set the tone for their matchup with seventh-seed Ashland High School on Nov. 4.
Summit punched their ticket to the semifinals with yet another impressive victory, beating Ashland 5-0. There were some familiar faces scoring goals with Roskowski scoring two and Gatto adding one of his own. Senior Tommy Carrol and Junior Gabe Lachman scored their first goals of the playoffs. Securing a playoff shutout is no easy task and this wouldn’t be the last time the Storm would do it in the playoffs. The dominant performance secured the team at least fourth place in the state championship and the ability to fight for a spot in the state final in a semifinal matchup against La Salle Prep on Nov. 7.
For the second time in three years, Summit advanced to the state final with a 2-1 win over La Salle Prep in their last home game of the season. Teuber and freshman Quinton Swanston scored, in a great home sendoff for the team’s seniors Fernando Espinosa, Ryder Poulin, Gatto, Ring, Teuber, Carroll, Lachman, Max Basurto, Bilobrovchuk, Schmidt and Will Beltramini. The team would go on to finish their playoff conquest in the state-final game against Hood River Valley at Sherwood High School.
The Summit Storm won the Oregon class 5A state title after a 1-0 win against Hood River on Nov. 11. The only goal of the game was scored off of a rebound by Gatto around 14 minutes into the first half. From there, Summit’s defense held on through the second half allowing them to finish with the championship.
”It was unreal. I still think about it. It’s kinda tough with it being my last year but there’s no better way to end it,” Teuber said. “We set high expectations for ourselves before the season. Our goal was always to go out and win a league championship and a state championship.” This title has cemented Summit’s spot as a soccer powerhouse in the state of Oregon. Despite losing a plethora of seniors last season, the team was able to seamlessly transition to a new year with lineup changes and continue their success. There’s plenty of evidence to show that they can do it again next year.
