HOOD RIVER — The Hood River Valley High Eagles opened their Northwest Oregon Conference 10-game girls soccer schedule with a 2-2 tie versus the Putnam High Kingsmen on Sept. 26 in Hood River.
The Eagles, guided by third-year Coach Leonor Lopez-Agiurre and assistant Gio Magana-Rivera, trailed 1-0 at halftime. They nearly got a come-from-behind victory as junior midfielder Hazel Haspela and senior forward Julia Rowan each scored second-half goals to put HRV up 2-1. The No. 11-ranked Kingsmen (0-0-1 NWOC, 2-2-2 overall) managed to get a tie when they scored a goal in the final minute of the contest.
“This was a lot better game than what we had with them [Putnam] last year, so it really indicates how much we’ve improved,” said Magana-Rivera. “Going into the game, we were feeling pretty confident about our chance to win and then at one point we really felt like we would be able to do that. It was kind of a bittersweet draw though, because we had the 2-1 lead.”
It was an evenly played matchup as both teams had a nearly equal time of possession on offense and both had a similar number of shots. Rowan’s goal was spectacular as she scored an unassisted goal on a free kick from 50 yards after a Putnam foul. HRV junior goalkeeper Valeria Miramontes had a solid defensive performance with six saves. The game was much more competitive than a matchup between the two squads a year ago — a 9-1 Putnam win Oct. 26, 2023.
The undefeated No. 8-ranked Eagles (0-0-1 NWOC, 4-0-2 overall) were seeking to get their first NWOC victory in an Oct. 1, road game against the defending league/state champion Wilsonville High Wildcats (1-0 NWOC, 4-4 overall). The Eagles will play the Class 6A Sandy High Pioneers (2-2-2) in a 7 p.m. non-league road game Thursday. The Eagles are one of only four unbeaten squads out of the 32-team Class 5A classification.
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