Amyrah Hill (22) fights for control of the ball during a home game Thursday, Oct. 14 against Crook County.
Mike Weber photo
The Dalles High Riverhawks girls soccer team hasn’t qualified for the OSAA Class 5A state playoffs yet, but are hoping to do at the conclusion of the season Oct. 28. The Hawks’ 4:30 p.m. Intermountain Conference game Thursday versus the Ridgeview Ravens (3-1-2 IMC, 3-5-2 overall) at Ridgeview High in Redmond will feel like the playoffs for both teams.
The winner of the contest will more than likely qualify for a first-round state playoff game the first week in November. The top-three IMC teams earn a state playoff berth. The Dalles is currently in fourth place behind third place Ridgeview. A Hawks’ victory Thursday would vault them ahead of the Ravens into third place with two games left in the regular season.
The Riverhawks (3-2-1 IMC, 4-5-2 overall) guided by Coach Colby Tonn, are certainly peaking at the right time. The Rivehawks are unbeaten in three of their past four games, including a 3-0 home win Oct. 14 over the Crook County Cowgirls (0-6 IMC, 0-10 overall). The Dalles was seeking to win a third straight Intermountain Conference game Tuesday versus the Pendleton Buckaroos (result was after the printed edition deadline).
“It was a good job by the girls and we’ve really been emphasizing the play of our back line and defending the goal and different worst-case scenarios,” said Tonn. “In the last few games, our back line (Yoko Clack, Alexandria Clack, Marisa Rojas-Soto, Naomi Heredia) has been doing a great job of keeping people out of the goal area, along with goalkeepers Haylie Solberg and Katlyne Sorensen.”
The confident Riverhawks, who beat the Cowgirls 6-0 on Sept. 23, came out and played aggressively from start-to-finish while displaying a strong and relentless offensive attack for the entire 80 minutes. They got on the scoreboard early when sophomore forward Amyrah Hill blasted a shot from 25 yards into the net, putting them up 1-0 in the ninth minute. Junior midfielder Natasha Muzechenko assisted on the goal with her pass to Hill.
“It felt nice to help give our team an early lead, so I really enjoyed doing that,” said Hill. “It sure was a fun game and I’m very glad that we got the win.”
The Dalles’ offense was in high gear throughout the game, as they outshot and outplayed the Cowgirls, while having a decisive advantage in time of possession on offense. Jazmine DeLaCruz, Muzechenko, Kendall Webber and Alexia Otero-Bzezi all had good first half goal-scoring opportunities. However, Cowgirl sophomore goalkeeper Paige Stewart made many outstanding saves to help keep her team within striking distance and The Dalles led 1-0 at halftime.
“Whenever the opposing team doesn’t score, it sets you up for a good situation and we’ve been happy to see that in our last two games,” said Tonn. “The last three games are going to be really big for us. Ridgeview is going to be ready for us and both teams know that the outcome is very important. If we can beat them, it will shift the momentum in our favor. We’re hoping to recapture the magic that we had last year. We’re hoping to go there and get a win on Thursday. The girls are at full strength and we’re playing our best soccer right now, which is what we need to do the last two weeks.”
The Dalles quickly extended its advantage against Crook County when senior midfielder Emily Adams scored an unassisted goal two minutes into the second half. The Dalles continued its offensive pressure, with Adams, Muzechenko and senior midfielder Vivian Harrah having good scoring chances, but Stewart continued to make solid saves.
“I was pretty happy to score, but I was a little nervous, because the goalie came out to try and protect the goal, but I was able to get the ball past her,” said Adams. “Normally, against weaker teams like Crook County, we’ll try to score as much as we can so that we can gain some momentum.
“I’m hoping that we can reach the state playoffs. We’re playing really well right now and we feel pretty confident that we can do that.”
Harrah, who nearly scored in the 51st minute on a solid shot, got an assist from Adams on a pass and fired in a shot from 20 yards in the 55th minute to give The Dalles a 3-0 lead. The Dalles had some other good scoring chances late in the game by Muzechenko and senior midfielder Maria Eudave, but Stewart continued to shine in front of the net for Crook County.
“It felt pretty good to get a goal, because I haven’t scored much this season,” said Harrah, who scored her third goal this year. “I’m really hoping that we can reach the state playoffs. We’re really hoping to beat Ridgeview and we were really close in the last game, so hopefully we can get a win against them.”
The shutout by The Dalles was its fourth this year and sophomore goalkeeper Katlyne Sorensen was instrumental in helping hold the Cowgirls scoreless.
“We were feeling confident going into the game and we knew that if we just kept it tight in the back, then we would have scoring opportunities and that’s what happened,” said Tonn. “You always want to look to create opportunities and the more of those you create the more chances you have to score goals.”
The Riverhawks and Ridgeview played to a 0-0 tie in The Dalles Sept. 30. The Dalles has a more prolific offense with 21 goals scored, while the Ravens have scored 17. The Dalles has a more experienced squad with nine seniors vs. Ravens’ two.
The Riverhawks conclude the regular season with their final home game at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 26 versus the Redmond Panthers (4-1-1 IMC, 6-2-1 overall) at the Wahtonka campus. The season finale is a 6:30 p.m. match Oct. 28 versus the Hood River Valley Eagles (1-5 IMC, 2-8 overall) at Hood River Valley High School.
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