Riverhawk boys soccer splits two soccer matches

“It (win over Cowboys) was a good morale boost for the team and hopefully it’s a turning point of the season for the boys,” said Granados. “Even without our top goal scorer (injured Hulises Najera), we should’ve been playing better than what we were at the start of our league schedule. We relied a lot on Hulises, so it was a big hit when we lost him to an injury. The boys are learning how to play as a team now and they’re building good team chemistry.”

The victory over Crook County was the Riverhawks’ highest scoring home game this year and it equaled their highest score of the season (8-1 win at Pendleton Sept. 1). The Riverhawks had six players who scored in the game.

Freshman midfielder Juan Camarillo scored two goals and had one assist, and senior forward Kenny Martinez also scored two goals. Senior midfielder Alex Kjoelseth, senior midfielder Martin Romero Para, sophomore midfielder Abel Figueroa and junior defender Nolan Donivan each scored a goal. Junior midfielder Jaeden Bullard had one assist and junior goalkeeper Luciano Alvarado had three saves.

The Riverhawks have to win their last three games in order to qualify for an OSAA play-in game Oct. 29. The third-place team in the TVC qualifies for a play-in round contest. The Dalles is in fourth place behind Molalla (4-2-1 TVC, 6-4-1 overall).

The Riverhawks play 6 p.m. at home Thursday versus the Gladstone High Gladiators (2-4-1 TVC, 3-7-1 overall), followed by their final regular season game Oct. 25 on the road versus No. 13-ranked Molalla (2-1, 6-4-1).

The Riverhawks played 10 minutes of the first half and the entire second half with 10 players on the field after a red card was issued following a slide tackle.

“If that terrible call of the red card didn’t happen, then they (Rangers) wouldn’t have scored in the first half, so it would’ve been 0-0 at halftime and the game would’ve been a totally different outcome,” said Granados. “It wasn’t a foul and the tackle wasn’t dangerous either and we gained possession of the ball on that play, so we shouldn’t have got the red card.”

Estacada was given a free kick as a result of The Dalles foul and the Rangers converted on the scoring opportunity to put them ahead 1-0 at halftime.

The Dalles knotted it 1-1 in the second half, but Estacada responded by scoring two goals for a 3-1 lead. The Dalles answered by scoring another goal to get within striking distance. Martinez and freshman Angel Morales each scored a goal and Alvarado had eight saves.