Horizon, Trout Lake earn soccer district playoff spots

Each team has one playoff match remaining on Friday.

Horizon finished district play in fourth place (eight-player) after losing 4-0 Thursday at home to Livingstone Adventist Academy. The loss led to a semifinal playoff matchup Oct. 26 at regular season champion Damascus Christian (result came after press time). No. 3 seeded Mannahouse Christian played at Southwest Christian in the other semifinal – on Monday. The semifinal winners play Friday for the district championship, while Monday’s losers play for third place.

Trout Lake finished last week with one win in three matches, as it caught up in league matches after having not played for a couple of weeks because of illness. The Mustangs had four matches canceled between Oct. 7-14. The Mustangs lost 7-0 at home to the district’s league leader (for 11-player teams) Grand View Christian on Oct. 18 and 7-1 at North Clackamas Christian two days later. Trout Lake rebounded with a 4-3 win at Portland Christian this past Friday to earn the fourth playoff spot over the Royals.

Trout Lake played a playoff match Oct. 26 at Grand View. North Clackamas was slated to host Faith Bible in the other semifinal match.

Horizon, which had earned ties against the three teams in front of it in district play, had a chance to finish second in district had the Hawks won their final two regular-season matches. Horizon won the first Oct. 18 at home against Open Door, 5-1, but lost to Livingstone two days later.

Horizon and Damascus played to a 2-2 draw Oct. 15. Horizon (3-2-3) twice came from behind in the match; the second comeback knotted things 2-2, which proved the final result. Junior Caleb Yuan scored the equalizer on a through-ball drop kick from senior goalie Josh Rogers from his 15-yard line.

Damascus (9-0-1, 7-0-1 district) had taken a 1-0 lead after a scoreless first half, before senior Luke Hardin one-touched a through ball from Yuan on the left side and bounced it over the Eagle keeper. Damascus senior Zach Nelson gave his team the lead once again, when he snuck a direct free kick, straight on just outside the penalty area to the right of Horizon’s three-player wall and just beyond Rogers’ reach.