Saturday will feature a soccer state championship doubleheader for two teams from Bend for the first time since 2013.

The Summit boys will attempt to repeat as state champions and win the program’s fourth state title, while the Bend High girls will try to put the finishing touch on a magical run through the playoffs with their first state championship since 2009 and fourth overall. Both matches will be played at Hillsboro Stadium.

“We’ve had all these great upsets and we know that we can take it to any team in the state,” said Bend junior defender Clara McDonald after the semifinal win over Caldera on Tuesday. “I’m thrilled, the game is going to be amazing.”

The action starts at 10:30 a.m. with No. 1 Summit taking on No. 2 La Salle in a rare championship matchup between the top two seeds. Saturday will mark just the third time since 2013 that both the No. 1- and No. 2-seeded teams have made their way through the postseason to reach the 5A boys title match. And only two times (La Salle in 2019 and 2021) has the bracket’s top seed gone on to win the blue first-place trophy.

The matchup between the Storm and the Falcons, in a rematch of last year’s semifinal match that Summit won 2-1, is not a shock. The OSAAtoday preseason coaches poll released in late August had Summit and La Salle well ahead of the rest of the teams in the polls.

Both teams went through a challenging nonleague schedule. Notably, both Summit and La Salle faced last year’s 6A champion Lakeridge, and both faced Jesuit, who will play Saturday against McMinnville for the 6A title. Oddly enough, Summit lost to Lakeridge (2-1) and beat Jesuit (4-1), while La Salle beat Lakeridge (3-0) and lost to Jesuit (4-1).

Upstart Bend High girls eyeing state title

The 5A girls championship game (1 p.m. Saturday) will be a matchup between the establishment and the upstart.

No. 5 Wilsonville is playing in its fifth consecutive state title match and will try to become the fifth team in state history to win four-consecutive girls soccer state titles. Despite their seed, the Wildcats entered the season as the clear-cut top team in the coaches poll.

Meanwhile No. 7 Bend, which is making its first playoff appearance since 2021 (first since returning to the 5A ranks), has caught fire in the postseason. The Lava Bears, who start four freshman (including savvy goalkeeper Brooklyn Mettler), won in overtime in the first round against La Salle, on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals at No. 2 North Eugene, then upset No. 3 Caldera in the semifinals on Tuesday.

After finishing third in the Intermountain Conference with just two wins in their final six regular-season matches, the Lava Bears hit their stride in the state playoffs and have attributed it to staying composed though the rollercoaster that is the postseason.

“We’ve been able to get off of cloud nine pretty quickly and get back down to earth and get ready to battle again,” said Bend junior forward Charlotte Martin. “That has been the biggest contributing factor so far. We’ve learned to come down quick and not ride the highs too long.”