Hood River Valley overwhelmed Milwaukie on Friday, 5-1, in Northwest Oregon League boys soccer, enabling the Eagles to remain in the hunt for a Class 5A state playoff berth.
The route to the postseason took a detour four days earlier, when HRV lost at Parkrose, 6-0. But Friday’s win — in a match delayed a day because of poor air quality in the Portland-metro area — means there’s a slim chance the Eagles could qualify for state for the 16th successive season the playoffs have been held. The last time HRV did not qualify for the boys state soccer playoffs was in 2005, when there were four enrollment classifications in Oregon. (No OSAA playoffs were held in 2020 because of COVID.)
Hood River has matches remaining on Tuesday at home against Hillsboro and Thursday at home against Putnam. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
The top four NWOC teams automatically qualify for the state playoffs. There also will be two at-large berths into the Class 5A 16-team bracket based on OSAA rankings.
The Eagles can’t earn one of the top four berths based on league standings, but there is a chance they could nab one of two at-large berths. To do so, HRV would have to win its remaining NWOC matches and move up in the OSAA rankings.
The Eagles took some positive strides in doing that last week against Milwaukie. The Mustangs had no answer for HRV’s offensive output, led by junior Edgar Lachino’s two goals. Sophomore Aran Garcia, junior Oscar Avalos and junior Jordan McDoal each added a goal apiece for the Eagles.
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