THE DALLES — The No. 1-ranked, three-time Tri-Valley Conference champion The Dalles High Riverhawks (6-0 TVC, 9-0-1 overall) continued their success in OSAA Class 4A girls soccer - as they’re undefeated after 10 games.
The Riverhawks, guided by 14th-year Coach Colby Tonn, extended their unbeaten streak to 10 games following a 7-0 home win Oct. 13 over the No. 16-ranked Gladstone High Gladiators (3-4 TVC, 6-5-1 overall). The Dalles seniors Alondra Romero, Lilyana Gonzalez, Ariana Gonzalez, and juniors Leila Garcia and Willow Ziegenhagen scored goals.
The win was the ninth shutout of the season, led defensively by senior goalkeeper Olivia Prado with four saves.
Tonn said: “Gladstone is always a tough team, but the girls did a really good job of defending as one unit from top to bottom and they provided good defensive pressure throughout the game. We’re working on getting the ball out wide more often, but the effort is always there and that’s all I can ask for.
“The ranking are always interesting, but we have no control with that. It depends not only on how we play, but also on how our opponents are playing, too. We’re just looking to continue to play well and to improve to help us get ready for our last three regular season games.”
Prado has helped spearhead the Riverhawks defense, which has allowed one goal scored, the fewest of all 36 Class 4A squads. The Riverhawks’ offensive attack of 56 goals (5.6 goals per game average) is exceeded only by the defending state champion Marist Catholic High Spartans (96 goals scored). The Riverhawks lost 2-0 to the Spartans in last year’s state final.
“The thing about Olivia that is really great, is even if she doesn’t get a lot of saves, she always makes a couple of big saves,” said Tonn. “This year, two of our four back line defensive players our newcomers on the team. The leadership she provides along with defenders Bryce Newby and Kaiya Doty is even more important. Those three really help organize everything on defense and they help keep their teammates well focused with their positive attitude. Those are things that don’t often show up in the game statistics, other than the fact that we’re not allowing many goals.”
Continued improvement is important heading into the playoffs. “We still have a lot ahead of us before we get into the state playoffs.”
The 16-team state playoffs begin with first-round games on Nov. 4; the TVC champion will host a first-round game. “Making the playoffs is really a big deal, but hosting home playoff games is also very important, too,” said Tonn. “In the last three years, only one or two teams have won playoff road games in Class 4A girls soccer. Having home field advantage really helps your team in playoff games and it makes a very big difference for sure.”
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