DeForest boys soccer defeats Oregon

DeForest broke a scoreless tie in the second half of its boys soccer matchup with Oregon and emerged with a victory.

At the 64-minute mark, DeForest senior forward/midfielder Landon Adams dashed down the field and sent a hard-hitting cross near the end line.

The cross deflected off an Oregon defender. The ball sailed into the goal. Goal.

It was the only goal DeForest needed to defeat the Oregon Panthers 1-0 on Thursday, Sept. 29, at DMB Community Bank Stadium in Badger-Large play.

Senior forward/midfielder Landon Adams (second to left) celebrates with his team after DeForest scored an own-goal at the 64-minute mark during their 1-0 win over the Oregon Panthers on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at DMB Community Bank Stadium.

Match recap

DeForest, ranked No. 4 in the latest Division Wisconsin Boys Soccer Coaches Association (WSCA) poll, remains unbeaten against conference opponents at 5-0. DeForest haven’t lost a league game since the 2022 season, according to MaxPreps. Their last tie against a Badger-Large opponent came in 2023.

However, that streak was tested on Tuesday, as offense was hard to come by against a stubborn Panther defense. DeForest coach Josh Howard said DeForest struggled to get into their attack throughout the first half.

But midway through the second, they put themselves in the right position at the right time — something Howard liked to see.

And for Landon Adams, his goal was more than finding the right bounce.

“It’s trusting his ability, trusting his speed, trusting how he reads the game and how the defense is, and finding that gap to get around that edge, and then slamming that ball across,” Howard said.

DeForest, which suffered its first loss of the season at top-ranked Arrowhead 2-0 on Saturday, Sept. 26, is dealing with injuries as the season moves quickly into October.

Despite this, Howard said his team is making sure each player steps up when they get their opportunity.

“At the end of the day, we need to score one more goal than they do, and that happened tonight,” Howard said. “Was it pretty? No. Am I proud of my boys for digging deep and making sure that we walk out of here with a win? Yes. And we did.”

With the victory, DeForest improves its overall record to 12-1-0. Up next, another challenging slate of games awaits.

They’ll travel north to face Eau Claire Memorial on Friday, Sept. 2, before facing a state-ranked matchup on Saturday, Sept. 2, at second-ranked Hudson.

“We turn around and get back to work and push forward and look at those games ahead,” Howard said.