SISTERS — Within the first minute, Sisters had posted a goal, and in less than 20 minutes the Outlaws were up by two scores in their match against Philomath on Tuesday — a far cry from Saturday’s sudden-death affair against McLoughlin.

The Outlaws, the No. 7 seed in the 16-team bracket, finished with a 2-0 shutout over 11th-seeded Philomath in a Class 4A boys soccer state semifinal contest at Sisters High, a win that advances Sisters to its first state championship appearance ever.

“Getting the lead in the very beginning is always good because it gets us on a high and them on a low or starting to panic,” Sisters forward Jake McAllister said. “And I think the beginning made them panic a little bit.”

McAllister scored the first goal for the Outlaws within 30 seconds after kickoff.

“We ramped up the level of play,” Sisters coach Rob Jensen said. “Nobody wants to go home. Everybody wants to be in the championship game.”

Which is where the Outlaws will find themselves Saturday against No. 5 Henley of Klamath Falls at Liberty High School in Hillsboro at 3:30 p.m.

In last Saturday’s matchup with No. 2-seed McLoughlin, of Milton-Freewater, the visiting Outlaws were behind by one goal three different times. After two 10-minute overtime periods, a shootout and a sudden-death round, Sisters won the quarterfinal match, 4-3, to advance to the semifinals against Philomath.

“We were down a goal three times last game and we persevered and came back,” Jensen said. “So playing when you’re ahead in the first half and attacking gave us confidence. Our defense is also solid, so once we get some goals it’s going to be hard for them to beat us.”

The Warriors came into Tuesday’s semifinal match after besting sixth-seeded Phoenix in the first round and No. 3 Stayton in the quarterfinals.

“We pride ourselves in winning second halves,” Warriors coach Anton Grube said. “Unfortunately, we just couldn’t find the back of the net. The goalkeeper for Sisters, I have to give a lot of credit to for making good saves.”

In the 19th minute, Colton Mannhalter logged an unassisted goal from 35 yards out, putting Sisters up 2-0 by the end of the half.

After the break, Philomath was able to slow the Outlaws’ offense, restricting their shots on goal.

“In the second half we turned it on,” Grube said. “We wanted to get that goal. Obviously we weren’t able to do it but continued to play hard through the 80th minute.”

Sisters goalkeeper Keenan O’Hern was credited with nine saves for the game.

“My defense was just amazing,” O’Hern said. “They left their hearts on the field. I think we all played well together today and really connected.”

According to McAllister, the momentum from the Outlaws’ quarterfinal victory carried into the semifinal round.

“Our season has slowly progressed from easy to hard,” the senior said. “Going into playoffs, the games are getting harder. Last game was the peak, and it totally prepared us for this game.”

Jensen said his team has the talent to become the first soccer state champions ever from Sisters.

“We actually lost in the first round (of the 4A state playoffs) last year,” Jensen said. “So we’re going to focus on us this week. We just have to play our game. If we play our game I feel confident we’ll have a great shot at it.”