Neither Summit nor McNary played a clean soccer game on Saturday afternoon at Summit High School. Sixty minutes into a haphazard contest, Storm forward Owen Adams scored the lone goal to lead his team to victory.

It was the continuation of a trend for Summit (8-1, 2-0 Mountain Valley Conference). On Wednesday, it beat crosstown rival Bend High by the same score, and Saturday’s victory marked the fourth 1-0 victory of the season for the Storm.

“With these 1-0 wins, there can be a bit of a letdown after because you’re on such an emotional high,” Summit coach Ron Kidder said. “Keeping the energy going is going to be important. Hopefully we can continue this streak.”

Saturday was also Summit’s seventh shutout in nine games so far, a testament to the strength of its defense and something Kidder called his program’s signature. Good opportunities to score were few and far between for McNary.

While Adams’ goal — tapped in on the assist by midfielder Jace Marshall — was opportunistic, the Storm want to create and capitalize on more of those chances. Kidder told his team at halftime that they cannot keep winning games in the final five minutes, so they won it with 20 minutes left.

“Today wasn’t our best soccer, but our players have a resiliency that is special,” Kidder said. “Defensively, they do great as both a team and as individuals. It’s often that in high school soccer, you concede goals by mistake, and we just haven’t done that this year.”

Summit is quickly asserting itself as one of the top teams in the state, slotted at No. 2 in the OSAA rankings entering Saturday. McNary was ranked No. 4 before the loss. Next week, the Storm have a chance to leapfrog Central Catholic at No. 1.

Regardless of where it is ranked, Summit is playing its best soccer of the season, according to Kidder, and is proving worthy of its 6A competition. Adams said the Storm has “insane” chemistry, which shows on the field. He also noted that the play of the back line has been “superb” in the close games Summit has played, and acknowledged that he and his teammates still have room to grow — especially on offense.

“We’re feeling really good,” Adams said. “On paper, this was our biggest game. We just have a super talented squad right now, and I feel like it’s going to be a good year.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0307, rclarke@bendbulletin.com