Hood River girls soccer stumbles in season opener

Hood River is led by second-year Head Coach Leonor Lopez Agiurre and first-year assistant Gio Magana-Rivera. Lopez Agiurre said the team’s opening strategy was to put more emphasis on defense and read how Catlin Gabel preferred to play. On top of that, players were asked to play in different positions than they played in previous seasons. Lopez Agiurre asked Julia Rowan — last year’s leading scorer — to play defense, and Rowan shined. Despite the lopsided score line, she stopped three shots on goal. Rowan played nearly all 80 minutes, with a momentary breather in the second half.

Catlin Gabel opened the scoring early when a corner kick in the seventh minute bounced around the goalie box and found its way past sophomore goalkeeper Valeria Miramontes. Hood River would stand strong for the rest of the first half and head into the break down 1-0.

“At halftime, it was more of a pep talk to make them aware that this team tends to boot the ball upfield, and their strikers are really fast,” Lopez Agiurre said. “So, our defensive line had to keep the communication open. We really tried to play our offsides because of how fast these girls were.” 

Lopez Agiurre added that she designated sophomore Izabella Galvez as the “sweeper.” This meant Galvez was responsible for keeping teammates on a tight defensive line, trying to draw Catlin Gabel strikers offsides.

“Her key role was checking over her shoulders to make sure that everybody was pushing up where she was wanting them,” Lopez Agiurre explained.

Hood River’s midfield was a strong point as junior Ocean Rivera and sophomore Magnolia Clermont showcased their flair for dribbling. The two playmakers found teammates making runs down the sidelines, but their attacks never found the back of the net.

Hood River struggled on offense and Lopez Agiurre chalked that up to poor weather, first-game jitters, and a new system.

“The rain played a huge role as far as how much the girls actually controlled the power that they were passing the ball with,” she said. “It took them a little bit to adapt, but they got the hang of it. We just we tried our best to just stay on the ball as much as we could.”

Hood River had more than a week to prepare for its next non-league match-up against Gorge-rival The Dalles on Sept. 7 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wahtonka campus.

“Between now and then it’s basically just reinforcing our defensive line and making sure that they’re communicating what they need to be communicating,” Lopez Agiurre said. “Because when it comes down to it, we know what we’re supposed to do, and we know how to play the game.”