Over the past several years, the boys soccer program at Hood River Valley High School has evolved from a good program into a great program under coach Jaime Rivera, but last Saturday, Rivera and his Eagles took the school’s program and officially turned it into a dynasty.
On paper, it looked like No. 1 HRV (8-0-2, 2-0 league) would have a tough matchup with No. 3 Hermiston on Tuesday, with the Bulldogs carrying a 7-1-1 record and a 1-0 league record to go along with the team’s top-three ranking.
In high school sports, disparity in talent and mismatches in skill levels between teams happens frequently enough, resulting in lopsided contests where it becomes clear fairly quickly which club is superior.
Typically, the games where HRV teams play a Columbia River Conference rival are the more exciting contests on the sports calendar for both players and fans — a time of year when the season is in full swing and every matchup can potentially have playoff implications.
The Hood River Valley Eagles hammered Mountain View Storm quickly into submission Saturday afternoon at Henderson Community Stadium, sending a clear statement to the remaining teams in the 5A bracket that they’re intent on earning the school’s first-ever state boys soccer title.
The Hood River Valley Eagles hammered Mountain View Storm quickly into submission Saturday afternoon at Henderson Community Stadium, sending a clear statement to the remaining teams in the 5A bracket that they’re intent on earning the school’s first-ever state boys soccer title. The 7-1 quarterfinal win advanced the No. 2 seeded Eagles to the semifinals Tuesday night (6 p.m. at Henderson Community Stadium) against No. 3 Wilsonville Wildcats, who defeated Hillsboro 2-1 Saturday to stay alive in the bracket. The winner advances to Saturday’s final and will take on the winner of Tuesday’s No. 1 Summit vs. No. 4 Woodburn game.
