STAYTON, Ore.—It’s coming down to this game, to get to the 4A State Championship at least.

For the OSAA First-Ranked Stayton Eagle, a win against fourth-seeded Henley will put them in their second-straight Oregon State Title game, their third since 2010.

But head coach Chris Shields is keeping his team within themselves.

“We have a lot of kids who were on the roster last season,” Said Shields.  “So they understand how this works in the sense this is not our first state tournament game.  So, we approach it like any other game.”

And for good reason, the Hornets slowed the North Bend’s top scoring offense of 128 goals in 17 games this season, to two in their 4-2 win Saturday.  It was expected as Henley has permitted just 12 goals in their 15 game voyage to the OSAA Semi-Final game.

The Hornets got to the North Bend game via a 2-0 victory after winning the Skyline Conference by two games over Phoenix and are averaging four goals a game.

To neutralize the offense, the Eagles must rely on their defense, led by freshman goalie Jose Navarro.  The freshman hasn’t allowed more than two goals this season and is carrying seven shutouts to his credit.

“Henely is a much improved version of JC,” Shield said about the task at hand.  “They have athletes at all positions, a top tear player in the middle of the field and the ability to score goals.  They sound very similar to us, like to play direct and counter.”

There was an opportunity that two starters could be out in their victory against Junction City, one of them being senior forward Ivan Navarro.  Navarro quickly silenced any doubt with four huge goals in the 7-2 victory.

Shields has said the he expects Ivan Navarro to play come Tuesday as well as being full strength for the game.

“As for as injuries, we should be at full strength come Tuesday night,” he said.  “Unless something happens that I am unaware of.

Kickoff is slated at 4:30pm at Sprague High School Tuesday afternoon at Olympic Stadium.

Jeremy McDonald is a professional sports journalist in the Salem/Portland area and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalist in Oregon with B.S. degrees from Southern Oregon University in Journalism (2011) and Health/PE (2013).  Got a story idea? Email him at jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com or on Twitter at @J_McDonald81!

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