Eagle defender Michelle Graves, center, does her best to match up with La Salle No. 16 Mia Middendorff. The Eagles allowed five goals to La Salle, who is the second in the OSAA 5A womens soccer rankings.
From left to right, Sutton LeFevre, Ava Kitt and Julia Rowan comfort each other after the Eagles loss to No. 2 La Salle. Rowan recorded an assist to True Becker who scored Hood River’s only goal in the second half.Noah Noteboom Photos
From left to right, Sutton LeFevre, Ava Kitt and Julia Rowan comfort each other after the Eagles loss to No. 2 La Salle. Rowan recorded an assist to True Becker who scored Hood River’s only goal in the second half.Noah Noteboom Photos
Eagle defender Michelle Graves, center, does her best to match up with La Salle No. 16 Mia Middendorff. The Eagles allowed five goals to La Salle, who is the second in the OSAA 5A womens soccer rankings.
The Hood River Valley girls soccer team won its first game 6-0 against St. Helens, but it has been unable to find the back of the net much since.
On Sept. 21, facing their toughest challenge yet, the Eagles welcomed No. 2 La Salle Prep to Henderson Stadium for their final nonleague match. Hood River failed to bounce back from a two-game stretch where it gave up a combined seven goals and lost its third straight, 5-1.
Unbeaten La Salle (6-0) showed why it is one of the top teams in the state when it scored in the first five minutes. Goalkeeper Aly Martinez was able to get a hand on the shot, but she couldn’t keep the ball out of the goal. Faced with bigger deficits before, Hood River remained physical and aggressive on offense. The only thing holding them back from equalizing was keeping possession. Hood River could only string together two or three consecutive passes before La Salle intercepted the ball. Shortly after La Salle’s first goal, the Falcons converted again when a shot sailed past the defense and over the outstretched arms of Martinez.
Going into halftime down a pair of goals, Hood River gathered for a second-half push to try and keep the game competitive. A surprise counterattack early in the second half from the Eagles put pressure on the Falcon’s back line. Eagle Coach Amanda Oran prompted her team to step higher up the pitch. Her plan worked. A through ball from center midfielder Julia Rowan bounced to forward True Becker and she directed a shot toward the La Salle goal. Becker’s header took a kind bounce over the Falcon goalkeeper and into the side netting.
Down just 2-1, the idea of winning instantly became a possibility for the Eagles. Players on the sideline loudly encouraged their teammates to keep playing hard.
Hood River’s defense had a solid performance despite the final score. Martinez made some great saves and defender Ximena Santillan stood strong and blocked passing lanes.
“(Martinez) was on it tonight,” said Orand. “She brought leadership to our back line.”
Martinez’s communication and dependability are why her teammates picked her to be a captain, said Orand. Junior defender Santillan also was one of the Eagle’s bright spots in the loss. Unafraid to challenge the La Salle attackers, she applied pressure when they had the ball and caused turnovers which resulted in Eagle counterattacks. Unfortunately, those counter attacks did not materialize, and Hood River finished with just one goal. That goal by Becker was enough to raise the spirit of a team that hadn’t scored since the beginning of September.
Two days after the loss to La Salle, Hood River opened Intermountain Conference play at Redmond’s Ridgeview High, which winless on the season. Orand said the Ravens’ preseason schedule is often tougher than most teams.
“I know their record does not reflect the quality of team that they are,” Orand said prior to the match.
She was right. The Eagles lost a close match to the Ravens, 2-1, to drop to 1-4 overall. HRV returned to IMC action Sept. 28 at home against Crook County and plays at Redmond on Thursday.
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