ALVARO RAMIREZ (No. 17) goes in for a header between Pendleton’s keeper and a Pendleton defender during Thursday’s league matchup in Hood River which HRV won, 10-1.
Antonio Bustos (No. 11) gives a mischievous grin after faking out a Pendleton defender (left).
Ben Mitchell
GOALIE and captain Marco Cuevas scores a penalty kick in Thursday’s game against Pendleton.
Ben Mitchell
ALVARO RAMIREZ (No. 17) goes in for a header between Pendleton’s keeper and a Pendleton defender during Thursday’s league matchup in Hood River which HRV won, 10-1.
HRV (10-0-2, 4-0 league) swept the first round of Columbia River Conference play earlier this week shutting out its third league opponent in a row, The Dalles Riverhawks (2-10, 1-3 league), by a score of 7-0. It was the Eagles’ fifth consecutive shutout this season (eighth overall).
It was another dominant performance by HRV, as the team gets closer to taking the CRC title, dogged only by Hermiston (9-2-1, 3-1 league), who sits one game back on HRV in the conference. Despite the high winds present Tuesday afternoon in The Dalles, the Eagles had no problems scoring, with captain Joel Garcia and midfielder Noe Magana each scoring two, followed up by Antonio Bustos, Domingo Barragan, and Alvaro Ramirez with a goal apiece.
Once again, goalkeepers Marco Cuevas and Travis Running shared time in net and recorded clean sheets, with Cuevas tallying two saves in 60 minutes and Running recording four saves in 20. Though the two have often played in games that don’t allow them to show case their goalkeeping abilities — HRV coach Jaime Rivera said that The Dalles were only able to muster two shots on six scoring chances, both of which sailed wide of the net — they are nonetheless the least scored upon combo in 5A boys soccer, second in all of Oregon boys prep soccer, with just four goals let in this season. The team has the best goal differential as well at 46-4.
In a season where HRV has, for the most part, outclassed its opponents, it could be easy for the team and Rivera to rest on their laurels — something which Rivera refuses to do, noting in a previous interview this season that he’s the kind of coach who’s “never satisfied,” always finding ways for his squad to improve.
Still, Rivera couldn’t help but be pleased with Tuesday’s result.
“I felt that the result was fair considering the clear divide — in terms of talent, physical presence, and experience — between both teams,” he explained. “I was most proud of our team for following the game plan: one, build out of the back, look to overload one side of the field, with quick switches of point of attack to find one-v.-one or two-v.-one situations on the flanks; two, pressure defensively in certain areas; and three, mental toughness, in other words, focusing only on the things we can control — i.e. not the officials, nor the conditions.”
On Thursday, the boys hosted Pendleton and for the second time this season, unloaded on the Buckaroos, scoring 10 goals. However, HRV’s shutout streak came to an end, with Pendleton scoring a solitary goal in the second half (full results not available as of press time). In just four games, HRV has outscored its CRC opponents 30-1.
HRV will travel to Hermiston on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for a game that could decide the CRC title.
Commented