November 14 will mark the tenth anniversary of the Cardinal’s first—and only to date— 2015 Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) state championship in boys soccer.
According to OSAA records, it was dark and chilly for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Hillsboro Stadium the night of the final, where the #4 seed Lincoln Cardinals took on the #14 seed West Salem Titans.
Just three minutes into the match, Lincoln took the lead when junior Carson Graham took a corner kick and curled the ball into the back of the Titans’ net. The Cards’ second goal came in the 52nd minute when senior Ben Hardy scored a header from a ball played into the box by senior Max Rougier from the right wing.
“It was a great feeling,” recalled Rougier about assisting. “I remember the ball going in and then, you know, running in to celebrate with the boys.”
It was a rather uneventful match for West Salem, who, according to OSAA records, finished without a shot on target, leading to the Cards being crowned champions in a convincing 2-0 win.
As the final whistle blew, celebration broke out among the Lincoln players, many of whom also ran into the stands to celebrate with the fans.
“You’re just, real thrilled, obviously, but you’re not even thinking that much. You’re just excited. I remember I saw my friends run up into the crowd,” said Rougier. I did the same and was hugging everyone, all my friends. It’s a great feeling. Awesome, awesome experience.”
“It took a lot of togetherness. Most of us had been playing club soccer together since, you know, elementary school,” said then-senior William Liu about the team’s journey to the championship. “We all had each other’s backs and knew the collective goal of the team. That was really helpful getting through some tough games for us.”
Liu and Rougier now coach Lincoln’s JV2 boys soccer teams, helping lead and develop teams composed of mostly freshmen and sophomores.
“We like to try and help some of the younger generations have similar positive experiences with the sport and make great friendships as well that way,” says Rougier.