By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

TURNER, Ore.– Diana Burnell has continued her freshman success into her sophomore year this season with the Cascade Girls Soccer team.  Going as far as scoring seven goals once in a game earlier this year against Cascade as she’s one of the captains of a Cougar team that has two seniors on it. 

An honor for sure, she feels even like an upperclassmen Burnell points, but all-in-all she’s excited to see where this team is in the coming years.

“I love the girls, give them a few years.  I definitely think, as we mature and as we build we’ll definitely be a force,” Burnell said.  “It’s weird.  I feel like a senior as a sophomore.  I’m just really flattered that these girls look up to me and trust me enough to score for them.”

Burnell scored the lone goal for Cascade Tuesday afternoon in their 5-1 defeat to Philomath.  A good learning experience for the squad as they prepare for another round with Newport and North Marion in their Oregon West Conference schedule in mentally staying with it.

“It was definitely a struggle (today).  We went into this game thinking that we were going to lose and get a shutout.  But once we got that one goal we definitely felt better in the second half after we talked that we could do this and it got better.  We tied them in the second half.\,” Burnell said.

The Cougars head to Sweet Home Thursday before hosting Stayton on October 16.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald