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Phoenix’s run ends in 4A title game By Danny Penza Updated: Nov 12, 2022 09:27 PM A A No. 14 Pirates unable to get one more win to cap dream run through state playoffs So much of the post-game talks Phoenix head coach Chris Gallegos has given over the past two weeks have been fueled by emotion and adrenaline, a clear reflection of the Pirates’ run to keep their season alive. On Saturday, it had a different kind of tone. Phoenix’s Cinderella run through the Class 4A state boys soccer playoffs came up just one win shy of capturing the program’s first-ever state title, as fifth-seeded Ontario edged the No. 14-seeded Pirates 1-0 at Liberty High School in Hillsboro. “I thought we played pretty well,” said Gallegos. “When you get to the final game, one little thing can turn the tide, and we made one little mistake out of the back and they punished us for it. We kind of played on our heels and we had some opportunities here and there, and the ball wasn’t rolling our way tonight. Ontario is a good team, but we had more than enough opportunities to handle the business tonight.” So much of Phoenix’s run to the 4A championship game had been about thriving in the underdog role. The Pirates upset three of the top six seeds to get to Saturday’s final, winning their first two games over No. 3 Philomath and then No. 6 Hidden Valley in overtime before beating Skyline Conference champion and second-seeded Henley on penalty kicks in frigid conditions in Klamath Falls on Wednesday night. Phoenix had previously played for state titles in 2011 and 1995 and was the runner-up at the 4A Showcase tournament during the abbreviated spring season in 2021. The Pirates finish the season with a 10-7-1 record after starting the season 0-4-1. Ontario, which was making its first-ever state title game appearance, finishes the year 14-1 and on a 13-game winning streak. “We had a tough preseason and we started preseason out 0-4-1, and no one was giving us a look, a shot,” said Gallegos. “I just told them, ‘Look what you accomplished as young men’ and that it was a pleasure of mine to be coaching them.” “Guys like Danny Palomino, I’ve been coaching Danny since he was 6 years old. The boys looked at me and they felt bad, but I told them to not feel bad for me and that they made a run. “I told them that there’s so many kids that never get to play in a state final and you guys got another shot,” continued Gallegos. “Two years ago we had a shot, now we had another shot. Yeah, it didn’t go our way, but that’s OK. We learn from this, we grow from this and we move on.” But in their attempt to get one last upset to cap a stunning run through the postseason, the Pirates had to fight from behind after the Tigers took an early lead. After Palomino was unable to put either of Phoenix’s first two shots on frame, Ontario was able to capitalize on a Pirates mistake at the back. A Phoenix goal kick went right to Ontario striker Jaaziel Chavez, who was able to dribble his way past a pair of Pirates defenders and beat the onrushing Julius Bolstad to put the Tigers up 1-0 just five minutes in. It was Chavez’s 21st goal of the season. Palomino, who entered the day with 16 goals on the season, continued to be the main threat in attack for the Pirates as the first half went on. Of Phoenix’s six first-half shots, the Pirates’ talented senior attacker attempted all but one of them. The Pirates outshot the Tigers 6-4 in the first half as Ontario showed that it was very happy to play on the counterattack. “We’ve had the good luck roll these last three or four games and I was hoping for one of those,” said Gallegos. “I don’t know if nerves got the best of us or what, but we just could not finish tonight.” It was a much more methodical beginning to the second half, but Phoenix nearly tied the game in the 54th minute. Jenner Selden was put through on a nice long cross-field ball from Dominic Crenshaw and got his shot off right before crashing into Ontario goalkeeper Martin Benites. As both players went down to the turf, the ball was cleared off the line by a Tigers defender. Both players were forced to be subbed out, but returned a couple of minutes later. Eight minutes later, Selden nearly tied the game again, this time hitting a wide-open header off a corner low and hard to the near post. Benites, however, was there to deny Selden again, falling on the ball right in front of the goal line after the initial save wasn’t cleanly caught. “He was really putting a lot of pressure up top and was 4 inches away from putting one away,” Gallegos said of Selden, a senior. “He became a great soccer player. We yanked him away from the basketball court for a little while to make him a soccer guy and it really, really showed and paid off.” As the second half went on, the Tigers only dropped deeper and deeper to protect their lead. For an Ontario team that had only allowed eight goals all season entering Saturday’s championship game, the Tigers leaned on one of their biggest strengths and it worked out as well as they could have hoped. The Pirates had one last chance in the dying seconds on a scramble in the box after a corner kick — one that saw Bolstad come sprinting up from his own goal box — but Jacob Moody’s shot went just wide at the near post. Benites took the ensuing goal kick to wind the clock out and start the Tigers’ celebration. “We put another forward and put more pressure up top and it starting paying off even more,” Gallegos said of his adjustments to try and break the Ontario defense. “We were so close, but couldn’t bury it tonight.” Phoenix finished with a 10-7 advantage in shots, but Benites only had to make a pair of saves. Bolstad, one of the Pirates’ six seniors, made six saves, four of which came in the first half. Crenshaw had another strong game at the back for the Pirates, who allowed just three goals in their four playoff games. “I’m just very proud of this team,” said Gallegos. “They accomplished a lot more than they will ever know.” Reach reporter Danny Penza at 541-776-4469 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @penzatopaper. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribunePhoenix's Jenner Selden, seen here in a photo from earlier this season, and the Pirates fell to Ontario in Saturday’s Class 4A championship game in Hillsboro.