It had been three years since the Bend High girls soccer program had reached the postseason. And junior forward Charlotte Martin was ready to take advantage of her team’s first playoff game since 2021 Wednesday afternoon at Bend's 15th Street Field. “I’ve been dreaming about this,” Martin said.
“We’ve been working at this since July. We deserved it as a family and a team who have been working their butts off. I really think that we deserved that today.
” Two overtime periods and 100 minutes of playing time was needed in the first round of the Class 5A girls soccer playoffs between No. 7 Bend High and No. 10 La Salle.
Behind two goals, including the overtime-winner, from Martin and a match-sealing diving save from freshman goalkeeper Brooklyn Mettler, the Lava Bears outlasted the Falcons 3-2 to advance to the 5A quarterfinals at No. 2 North Eugene on Saturday. “La Salle is a quality side and they came out fast, aggressive and determined,” said Bend coach Scott Sagar.
“And we had to weather that storm, then put our own game together. At the end of the day, it was patience that won the game for us.” La Salle (6-7-2 overall) and Bend (10-4-1) had starkly different seasons a year ago.
The Falcons advanced all the way to the semifinals, while the Lava Bears won just five matches and missed the playoffs. But this postseason moment was not too large for the Lava Bears, who started four freshmen in the match. “I felt confident from the first whistle,” Martin s.