West Salem's Paige Alexander is back playing high school soccer and loving it

It was time for Paige Alexander to make her return to high school soccer. 

After missing the past two seasons while training with the Portland Thorns Academy, Alexander decided to join West Salem’s girls soccer team for her senior season, and she has helped the Titans make noise statewide.

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“I did leave the Thorns,” said Alexander, a forward who is committed to playing soccer at the University of Oregon. “Driving three times to Portland a week is hard.”

West Salem is unbeaten at 5-0-2 and ranked No. 4 among Class 6A programs in the latest Coaches Poll. The Titans also are No. 1 in the OSAA rankings.

Playing well against top teams

The record alone is impressive, but it’s even more so when considering their opponents so far early this season.

The Titans beat No. 1 Mountainside 4-0, and they have ties against No. 2 Jesuit (0-0) and No. 3 Sherwood (2-2).

That means West Salem already has faced the top three 6A teams in the Coaches Poll.

“We talk about a league championship, and we talk about a state championship. For us, that’s very important,” West Salem coach Whitney Pitalo said. “I think at the beginning, not everyone knows if that’s possible. But I think now that we’ve performed well, I think everybody is on board and excited.”

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Alexander has been a huge part of the Titans’ success this season, with 12 goals and six assists, meaning she has been involved in 18 of West Salem’s 22 goals this season.

“I think I’ve been most impressed by her leadership skills,” Pitalo said. “She’s really wrapped her arms around a lot of different players in the program, and she’s been very encouraging.”

Alexander's path to the Titans

Alexander has had a long path to where she is this season with the Titans.

As a freshman, Alexander played soccer for Silverton, and she helped the Foxes reach the 2016 OSAA Class 5A state championship match. Silverton fell 3-2 to La Salle in the title match.

During her sophomore year at Silverton, she did not play for the Foxes because she was training with the Portland Thorns Academy, and they do not let their players compete for high school teams.

Alexander had moved to West Salem when she was about 14 years old, but she chose to stay with the friends she grew up with and commute to Silverton High School.

But midway through her sophomore year, she was ready to transfer to West Salem High School.

“It was probably one of the hardest decisions of my life. I had to leave my childhood best friends,” Alexander said.

“I realized, I didn’t want to get up at 5:30 in the morning," she said. "I need to make the transition for school, and to be mentally healthy — I need my sleep.”

During her junior year at West Salem, Alexander was still with the Thorns, so she did not play soccer for the Titans. She did, however, play basketball.

After her junior year, she was ready to jump back into high school soccer for one last season, and she said she couldn’t be happier about the decision.

“This is my dream, this team is my dream. It’s so much fun being a part of a team like this,” Alexander said. “Silverton was great. I love Silverton. They set the bar really high. And then I came into this team, and they matched that bar.”

Joining her new team

It was an easy transition for Alexander as she joined a West Salem team that made it to the state quarterfinals last season.

Her teammates have been impressed with what she adds to the team.

“I think Paige is a really good attacking offensive threat for us,” senior defender Sarah Rice said. “She’s always working hard, so it encourages other people on the field to work hard with her.”

The match for West Salem that drew statewide interest was the 0-0 tie against two-time defending state champion Jesuit on Sept. 16.

Jesuit had won 43 matches in a row heading into that match against West Salem, and the Titans’ season ended last year with a 10-0 loss to Jesuit in the state quarterfinals.

“It was a huge accomplishment for us because going into the game we knew they were probably one of the best teams we’re going to play,” Rice said. “Knowing the result we got last year, it felt really good to solidify, ‘oh, we can play with the best teams.’”

Alexander said she still thinks about the state title match loss her freshman year with Silverton.

She would love another shot at a title before moving on to play college soccer, and she said the Titans are good enough to do it.

“Oh, you have no idea. I dream about it,” Alexander said. “We are a special team. I have no doubt in my mind that we can make it all the way.”

Pete Martini covers high school and college sports for the Statesman Journal. You can contact Pete at pmartini@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6730 and follow @PeteMartiniSJ