Senior star glad he came back for his senior season at Camas
By Paul Danzer, Columbian
Soccer, hockey and Community Sports Reporter
Published: June 14, 2016, 11:04pm
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Camas High School soccer star Bennett Lehner scored 59 goals over four seasons. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)
Of the 59 goals Bennett Lehner scored over four seasons for the Camas High soccer team, perhaps the most memorable came during his freshman season.
Late in the 2013 Class 4A District 4 championship match against Union, Lehner intercepted the ball near midfield to create a two-on-one opportunity that he finished with a well-placed 18-yard shot that sealed a 3-1 win over the rival Titans.
“Thats when I knew I was going to have a great four years with Camas,” Lehner said.
His fourth year with the Papermakers ended with his second All-Region player-of-the-year honor for boys soccer.
It was an honor that almost didn’t happen as it wasn’t until the Papermakers began training for this season that Lehner decided to play his senior season at Camas.
He spent seven months with the Portland Timbers Academy, the youth development program for the Major League Soccer team. But the pull of playing one more season with friends led Lehner back to high school soccer.
“I just enjoyed being with the guys and being able to play in front of Camas. I love Doc Harris (Stadium),” Lehner said.
Though the Papermakers lost in overtime at Doc Harris in the first roun of state, the decision was the right one for Lehner. He contributed to 34 of the 54 goals Camas scored this season, scoring 22 and assisting on 12. He was the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League’s offensive player of the year. And was honored as the Washington Gatorade Player of the Year, joining Brent Richards and Nick Palodichuk as Papermakers who won that honor.
“Before the season started that was definitely one of my goals and I was able to do it so that felt really good,” Lehner said.
As the statistics indicate, Lehner is a goal scorer. It is that skill that earned him the opportunity to play college soccer, which he will do at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Part of the reason he chose the Flyers was their style of soccer. In 2015 they led the country in offense, averaging 2.52 goals per game.
“They scored the most goals in the country and I like to score goals, obviously,” Lehner said.
He said Camas coach Roland Minder turned him into a consistent goal-scorer
“He’s taught me how to have a nose for the goal,” Lehner said. “If you see net shoot — that’s what he says.”
Minder calls Lehner one of the best pure finishers he has seen in high school soccer, one with the needed determination to score,
“Bennett can lower his center of gravity and elongate his stride very quickly. That, along with his ball control, allows him to gain quick separation from his marker,” Minder said.
Lehner took 78 shots this season, 50 of them were on target.
He said his seven months with the Timbers Academy — he scored three goals in 17 appearances — was valuable training for college. But the challenge of being the Papermaker player opponents focused on stopping will also prepare him for the next level, Lehner said.
“I knew I would have a lot of attention and that was good for me,” Lehner said. “When there are two and three guys on you it’s a whole lot better challenge than one. I knew that would make me a better player, both physically and mentally.”
Rest of the All-Region team
Spencer Baird, Columbia River
The senior was the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League defender of the year for the league champion Chieftains.
Max Bilsborough, Camas
The junior defender helped the Papermakers post 12 shutouts and was a 4A GSHL first-team selection.
Ryan Connop, Columbia River
The sophomore forward was a first-team Class 3A Greater St. Helens League selection for league champs.
Killian Burris, Evergreen
The junior midfielder was a first-team Class 4A GSHL selection as the Plainsmen reached the district semis.
Jonathan Granados, Union
The senior midfielder had eight goals and six assists and was first-team 4A GSHL selection.
Toby Pizot, Camas
The junior midfielder was a first-team 4A GSHL selection who led the Papermakers with 59 tackles.
Christian Thyron, Prairie
The senior forward was the Class 3A GSHL offensive player of the year, helping the Falcons to the district playoffs.
Max Hauser, Ridgefield
The senior forward/midfielder was 2A GSHL co-player of the year; helped the Spuds reach state quarterfinals.
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