Boys soccer wins league games

The Outlaws closed out league with a 2-1 win at Junction City on Tuesday, October 21, and two days later a 5-0 shutout over Cottage Grove at home in Sisters.

Against the Tigers on a very muddy field on Tuesday, Keaton Green passed the ball to Malachy Sundstrom at the 14-minute mark. Sundstrom rounded the corner on the right side, beat three defenders, and scored on a blast past the keeper.

Thirteen minutes into the second half, Asher Bachtold played a quick direct kick at the half to Colby Simeral, who ripped a shot from a few yards outside the 18 for the goal and put Sisters on top 2-0.

With 10 minutes left in the contest, the Tigers scored due to a miscommunication between Minam Cravens and Ryan Funk, but Sisters held onto the 2-1 lead until the final whistle blew.

Coach Rob Jensen told The Nugget that Asher Bachtold and Jude Kokesh-Carhart both played gritty games, as did Keaton Green and Willie Stewart, who both played strong defense in the muddy conditions.

"I thought the guys did the best they could," said Jensen. "We had many guys falling down and sliding all over, and it was near-comical. We had some great opportunities to score and missed the mark by inches multiple times."

On Thursday, the Outlaws honored seniors Malachy Sundstrom, Minam Cravens, Andrew Mayes, Sam Garbrecht, Keegan Greaney, Ryan Funk, Alec Gannon, Anson Ricker, Sean Willitts and Josh Kizziar prior to the start of the contest. All 10 seniors started for the Outlaws and got lots of minutes on the field.

Jensen told The Nugget that seniors Andrew Mayes and Sam Garbrecht played with tons of heart on the wing position.

Sisters scored two goals midway through the first half. Ricker passed the ball to Willitts, who knocked in a sweet shot to the right side. Willitts slotted a ball to Kockesh-Carhart, who hit the bottom-right of the net for the Outlaws' second goal. Sisters held the Lions scoreless and entered the half with a 2-0 lead.

The Outlaws were clicking and firing on all cylinders in the second half and put together three quick goals between the 60th and 75th minutes.

The trio of goals started when Greaney sent the ball through the line to a streaking Simeral, who placed it past the keeper. Approximately five minutes later, Willitts sent a through-ball to Simeral, who crossed the ball to Kokesh-Carhart for his second goal of the night.

"There was lots of combination play, and the boys moved it at championship level," said Jensen.

The Outlaws are currently ranked No. 1 in the state and will continue to work hard as they prepare for the playoffs.

"As we prep for the playoffs we will focus on us," said Jensen. "We are bringing in guest coaches, and trying to really work on chemistry and fitness to make a deep run into the playoffs. We are going to do a lot of live play, fine-tune the small things, and practice defending against the counter-attack. It's time to accelerate through the week and improve every day."