Hood River Valley girls soccer team starts 2-1-1

The Eagles won their second home game, 2-0, on Sept. 10 against the Liberty Falcons of the Class 6A Pacific Conference.

“I would say I’m happy with how we moved the ball together,” Coach Haspela said. “We came out super hot. That was one of our goals — to play with intensity right off the bat — and we scored two goals, almost three in the first few minutes, which was really exciting.

“Then I think we got a little complacent and backed off, so we talked about making better decisions with the ball at halftime, and I thought we played better. We had a lot of the ball in the second half, which always feels good.”

Within the first few minutes of the match, Hood River sophomore forward Keira Brennan sent a pass soaring from the right corner, which landed about five yards from the goal, where midfielder Magnolia Clermont knocked it in the net. Clermont, a senior captain, led the team in scoring in 2024 with eight goals.

Sophomore forward Josie Faaborg followed with a goal of her own a short time later. She split the Skyhawks’ defense on a solo run and found the back of the net. Faaborg is a young leader on the squad; she scored seven goals as a freshman.

“Josie got her first goal of the season; she’s been hungry for that,” said Haspela. “We’ve been working on trying to find our nine at center forward, and she was really dynamic. She made a lot of runs and was happy she got one in the back of the net. I’m proud of her.”

The Falcons had opportunities to convert late in the first half and early in the second half, but HRV senior goalkeeper Valeria Miramontes-Alvares stood tall, and the Eagles notched their second victory of the season.