By Emily Leonetti -- Staff Writer/Student

Picture by Elvert Barnes

Oregon City and West Linn battled it out on the soccer field last Thursday, resulting in a 1-1 tie. The Oregon City boy’s varsity team went up against West Linn for the second time this season. The tie was a disappointing score for the OC boys, since they won 1-0 against West Linn when they played several weeks ago.

"We didn't play to standard today," said head coach Myque Obiero "We can be better."

The game was intense and physical. Though the Oregon City boys held possession for the majority of the game, they were unable to finish or score a goal in the first half, allowing West Linn to pull ahead after scoring the first goal in the 22 minute. After senior Blake Beneville was taken down near their goal, OC started to pick up their game considerably—they sought to even the score. Beneville was subbed as he was walked off the field.

The next half was equally as tense and exciting as the first, resulting in several fouls on both teams. OC finally got their chance as senior Jake Phillips scored their only goal.

The crowd became increasingly excited and anxious as the game went on, even booing the referee several times. The crowd yelled at the ref about calls they thought were inaccurate or should have been made that weren't. He became more and more sensitive to this over the course of the game, giving a yellow card to assistant coach Joey Leonetti, and an automatic red card to senior player Jeremy James, (both of whom were on the sidelines at the time), for mouthing off to the sideline referee.

The turnout for OC students coming to support their team was larger than usual. One student even brought along a giant Oregon City Pioneers flag, while another brought a destroyed West Linn Letterman jacket.

For many of the fans, this season has been their first appearance at a high school game. One such fan is Senior Katie Kohler, who expressed enthusiasm: "I'm super impressed and proud to be a Pioneer," said Kohler.

Though the Oregon City fans stayed loud and proud, and the team battled hard throughout the final half, they were unable to pull ahead. This game, as well as the previous three, has been disappointing for the team after the phenomenal start of the season.

After the game, coach Obiero said, "The season is OK, but we are better. We need to be disciplined and finish."

The players weren't too happy with their performance either. "Definitely disappointing…" said senior Landon Collier "... having fans come out and not being able to play or finish."

The Oregon City boys have a chance to pick the season back up today when they go up against Canby at Canby High School at 7:00 pm.