Staff report
Columbia Gorge News
HOOD RIVER — Stingy Corvallis recorded its eighth shutout Nov. 4, when the Spartans ended Hood River Valley’s 2026 girls soccer season with a 1-0 OSAA Class 5A first-round state playoff win.
Corvallis sophomore Zia Wolfgramm scored on a 30-yard shot from right of center with less than six minutes remaining for the lone goal of the match.
Coach Kevin Haspela’s Hood River Valley team entered the playoffs as the fifth seed after finishing second in the Northwest Oregon Conference. Corvallis (11-3-1 after the win) finished third in the Mid-Willamette Conference and was seeded 12th in the playoffs.
The Spartans and Eagles (9-5-2) attacked and counterattacked the entire 80 minutes of the game — much of it played in the midfield. Both teams had moments of angled, controlled buildups that are reminiscent of skilled, well-coached players. Hood River outshot Corvallis 6-2 in the first half, including two attempts — less than 10 minutes after the opening whistle — from 10 yards away that glanced off the side of the net.
The second half shot differential was greater, with HRV getting off 10 attempts. Eight were on goal, leading to four saves by Karah Chapman, the Spartan keeper. Corvallis was on target with three of its five second-half shots — two of them saved by HRV keeper Uma Carosella.
The scoring play started innocuously, like many of the buildups throughout the game. Corvallis’ Liza Cochran controlled a deflected pass near midfield and centered the ball ahead on an angle to Wolfgramm.
Wolfgramm, who was the focal point of many Spartan attacks, controlled the ball about 30 yards away from the goal. She took a dribble to her right, hesitated, took another dribble and got a slight advantage on her defender. She struck a right-footed shot that arced toward the left portion of the goal. The ball bounced about five yards in front of the goal and slipped past the diving save attempt by Carosella and inside the left corner of the net.
Hood River wasn’t done. The Eagles earned a free kick two minutes later and freshman Nellie Lara toed the ball from about 22 yards out just inside the left hash marks. Lara’s shot hit the side of a Corvallis player who was part of the Spartans’ five-player wall 10 yards away.
The ball careened back to Lara who alertly blasted another shot. This one made it through the Corvallis defenders but veered a yard to the left of the goal post. Hood River’s Ellie Kinsfogel was a few yards outside the goal mouth and instinctively tried to redirect the shot with her left foot but missed doing so by inches.
The game was the last for HRV senior co-captains Keira Brennan and Ainsley Chown. They were both four-year varsity players who endured a 2-10-2 season as freshmen before helping build the Eagles into a three-time state playoff team. HRV averaged nine wins after that 2023 season when the Eagles were 1-7 in conference play.
Bruins one game shy of state
The Columbia High girls soccer team lost 2-0 to Evergreen Conference champion and ninth-ranked Tenino (16-3-1) in a state play-in game Nov. 7 at King’s Way Christian in Vancouver, which ended the Bruins’ season.
Columbia (9-9-1) had earned a place in the play-in match with a 3-0 win Nov. 3 at King’s Way Christian. King’s Way (9-6-2) had beaten Columbia twice in Trico League matches earlier this fall (by 5-3 and 1-0 scores), but the Bruins wouldn’t be denied in the “charm” game. Anya Romero scored from outside the 18-yard line and leading scorer Willow Cohen added two more goals for the winners.
Columbia had advanced to the eight-team playoffs with a 5-1 play-in win over visiting Elma (Evergreen) on Oct. 27. Cohen scored four goals and assisted on a fifth to lead the Bruins against Elma (8-8-1).
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