HRV girls soccer shuts out The Dalles

HRV took possession of first place in the Columbia River Conference with a 5-0 win vs. The Dalles on Oct. 10.

The Eagles were clicking on all cylinders defensively and offensively against the Riverhawks.

Defensively in the first half, the Eagles were stingy.

The Riverhawks attack rarely crossed into the Eagles’ side of the field, and if they did, Eagle defenders Yahaira Chavarria, Erin Sutherland, Abby Bergemann and Lauren Trumbull were there to halt any hope The Dalles had of a shot on goal.

The Eagles, on the other hand, had themselves a target practice.

After a few shots on goal in the opening minutes, forward Makena Zorza would begin the scoring outburst for the Eagles in the 12th minute.

Avrie VanTilburg, a senior midfielder for HRV, won the ball back in the middle of the field and a Riverhawk attack quickly turned into an Eagle counter attack.

VanTilburg gave up the ball to Claire Davies in stride, who found Zorza slashing to the goal on the left side of the field. Zorza handled the through ball from Davies and would finish the play off.

The Dalles’ goalie came out of the box to meet the ball before a shot could get off, but Zorza was not fooled and quickly put the ball up and over the opposing goalie for the first score of the game.

The girls were once again back on the attack not long after their first goal.

In the 20th minute, the Eagles would convert off a corner kick.

VanTilburg sent the ball into a threating position where The Dalles goalie had to come out and make a play on the ball.

The opposing goalie had a hand on the ball, but mishandled full control and Eagle forward Jovanna DeLaTorre was at the right place at the right time.

The ball bounced off the hands of The Dalles goalie and found its way to DeLaTorre’s foot.

DeLaTorre finished the play, quickly tapping the ball into the back of the net making it 2-0 Eagles.

HRV wasn’t done just yet though.

In the 38th minute, Zorza would find the back of the net once again for her second goal of the day.

Again, the Eagles would finish the play following a corner kick.

Sutherland sent the ball to the backside of the goal and Zorza, who attempted to settle the ball, ended up hitting it hard enough with her chest that it rolled past the defense into the goal, putting the Eagles up 3-0 at halftime.

In the second half, HRV would tack two more scores on the board, one in the 61st minute the other in the 78th.

Davies scored the first goal, booting one from about 25 yards out. Leah Ralph scored the last goal; Kiki Hosaka assisted on both second half goals.

The girls’ dominanting performance on Tuesday is an outcome that compliments their previous hard-fought games.

Before HRV’s game against The Dalles, they beat Woodburn 1-0, tied Hermiston 0-0 and tied Franklin 1-1.

“The last three games before Tuesday have been intense and the team has dealt with the pressure of playing in close physical games very well,” Head Coach Kevin Haspela said. “These are the games where you don't want to make a mistake as it could lead to a loss.”

And the team showed not only in those games, but also against The Dalles, that when they don’t make too many mistakes they’re hard to beat.

“This team has showed exceptional self-awareness and a great sense of calm and composure this season,” said Haspela.

Nearing the 5A State playoff tournament, “the key to making a post season run is staying healthy, executing the little things with good technique and pace, being sure everyone knows their role, and having the awareness to know that we can change the game at any moment,” said Hapela. “We don't want to end our season regretting that we could have played better.”

The next league match for the girls is a rematch against the second-place team in the CRC, Hermiston. The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at Henderson Stadium.