Marist boys earn slot in state soccer finals with 3-1 win over Newport

Marist Catholic boys soccer is headed to its first state championship game since 2001, with a chance to win its first title since 1997. 

The Spartans (12-3-2) did it as a No. 10 seed, at home in front of a raucous crowd because they hosted another unlikely contender in No. 14 Newport Tuesday, Nov. 10. They did it as a possession-oriented team which scored off three set pieces, fended off an early second-half goal which could’ve relegated them to the frustrations of last year’s early elimination and closed it out with a crucial save from sophomore goalkeeper Nelson Holland-Bak.

At the end of this battle of Cinderellas, the Spartans had the slipper, with a 3-1 win.

“​​We knew that we had something special here,” Marist head coach Jonathan Fechtel said. “We knew we could make a run, and the boys knew, and they believed and they really did it. I’m really proud of them.”

Hudson Cheeseman connected with Luca Rushton twice in the first half to set the Spartans’ 2-0 advantage heading into the break. Rushton scored on penalties to send Marist through in its prior two postseason games, both upsets over No. 7 Cascade and No. 2 Valley Catholic. 

But experience aside, Rushton had been nervous for this one. He wasn’t quite sure how they’d build and defend against Newport (10-4-3).

Just over a minute into the semifinal, Cheeseman lofted in a deep free kick and Rushton judged a deflection well to drive the ball into the goal. Marist’s team rushed to a student section which flooded the stands, then returned to its own half, where it spent much of the time stiff and unrelenting against Newport possession.

As that ball hit the back of the net, Rushton realized it would be OK.

Ten minutes later, Cheeseman stood over another free kick, pinged it in again and found Rushton’s head for an arcing goal against the run of play. Despite several Newport shots, few were on target and the Spartans led 2-0 at halftime.

“The upsets, it makes us pretty happy and we’re just pushing through it,” Cheeseman said. “It makes us even more excited and gets us more pumped before each game to finish and get through.”

A year ago, Marist talked at the half of a 2-0 playoff game about keeping up the intensity. In that first-round matchup against Tillamook, though, the Spartans gave up three second-half goals and saw their run end. 

Tuesday night, they talked again at the half about intensity and focus. 

Then, one minute into the period, they gave up a goal. Newport’s Avery Chandler had a deep free kick of his own, and no Cubs or Spartans player touched the ball as it sailed through the box and into the back of the Marist goal.

But sophomore goalkeeper Holland-Bak recovered and stuffed Newport’s best chance of the second half, a one-on-one down the left wing and into the penalty area. Cheeseman had a chance to double Marist’s lead again 20 minutes from time off another free kick. 

Before the game, Fechtel pulled Cheeseman aside and told him to “be you,” he said, and to “believe in yourself.” 

With that free kick at hand, Cheeseman called his own number. 

They’d run this routine a few times, when he was close enough to have a shot, and scored twice off it in the regular season. Owen Conway rolled the dead ball a couple of feet in Cheeseman’s direction, and the senior ripped the ball into the stanchion. The net rippled as he raced around the field and into the student section’s arms.

“It rolled out to me and then I just hit it,” Cheeseman said. “It just went in and it felt amazing. It was great.”

This Marist team, Fechtel stressed, isn’t a set piece team. They haven’t been, at least. But they haven’t been a state finalist in the last quarter-century either. They’re masters of becoming what they need to be.

“The set pieces — I don’t know how many we’ve scored this season, but I think it’s pretty low in terms of set pieces,” Fechtel said. “And so to see the boys excel, and that last little one, we’ve seen it in games — it just barely missed the other day — and to watch Cheese put it in right in that top corner, oh, it’s amazing from the boys. However we can get a goal to win the match, that’s what we want.”

Marist will face No. 1 Stayton, 1-0 winners Tuesday over No. 4 Klamath Union, Saturday at Liberty High School in Hillsboro at 10:30 a.m.

Marist’s No. 4-seeded girls team also advanced Tuesday to the state final with a 4-0 win at No. 1 The Dalles-Dufur. Libby McLaughlin, Tori Sherman, Lexi Hudson and Kiara Philyaw scored as the Spartans pushed through a scoreless first half to down the top-ranked Riverhawks. Marist will face No. 2 Scappoose Saturday at Liberty High School at 1 p.m.