Riverhawks, Crook County tie in girls soccer

The Riverhawks (5-0-1 TVC, 8-1-1 overall) trailed 1-0 after the Cowgirls (2-3-1 TVC, 4-3-3 overall) scored a goal in the 20th minute. The Riverhawks’ freshman midfielder Willow Ziegenhagen scored to tie the match 12 seconds before halftime.

“We created lots of scoring chances, but we just couldn’t finish them off. We battled back, which is what you always like to see especially after falling behind … Crook County did a good job of attacking. They’re a pretty athletic team and my hat’s off to them for getting the early goal to set the tone,” Coach Colby Tonn said.

The Dalles’ scoring play developed after a foul, giving the Riverhawks a free kick from 43 yards. Junior midfielder Natalia Elias quickly passed the ball toward the center of the 18-yard box. Riverhawk sophomore forward and leading scorer, Ariana Gonzalez, controlled the ball and passed to Ziegenhagen. She fired a shot into the net from 11 yards out past Cowgirl sophomore goalkeeper Taytum Bundy (12 saves).

“It was a close game, and we did have lots of good scoring chances, but a tie is better than a loss," Ziegenhagen said.

Elias had several chances to score, including a free kick following a Cowgirl foul in the 58th minute and a header from close range six minutes later. In the 65th minute, Gonzalez nearly scored the go-ahead goal, but her shot from 14 yards out hit the crossbar.

The Riverhawks relied on sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Prado (nine saves) to preserve the tie. The Cowgirls had a number of solid shots and some good chances to score, but Prado demonstrated her athleticism by making saves on each attempt.

“They [Cowgirls] were definitely putting a lot of offensive pressure on our defense in the second half,” said Prado. “I had to come out away from the goal to make several one-on-one saves. I felt really nervous though, because some of their shots scared me a little bit.

“We have a really great group of defenders in Abril Rincon, Bryce Newby, Kaiya Doty and Yaritza Torres-Escobedo, and they really hold things down for us defensively. We didn’t have a strong first half performance, but we came back in the second half and played better, and we could’ve won.”

The Riverhawks displayed their potent offensive attack in a 6-0 win at home Oct. 7 over Molalla (3-2-1 TVC, 5-3-6 overall). The Riverhawks scored all their goals in the first half. Ariana Gonzalez had two goals, and Ziegenhagen, Elias, Jaki Negrete and Lilyana Gonazlez also scored goals. Elias and Naima Dominguez each had one assist.