The Dalles High Riverhawks girls soccer team had an excellent opportunity to win its season opening contest Sept. 1, but visiting Pendleton scored with less than seven minutes remaining to earn a 2-2 tie.
The Dalles held a one-goal lead for a majority of the game at the Wahtonka campus field before Pendleton scored the equalizer on a 100-degree day.
The Dalles Coach Colby Tonn said: “As a team we did a good job of possessing and playing combos, which is something that we’ve really been working on, along with playing possession soccer and there were times during the game when we did a really good job of that.
“In that sense it was a good job. It was also a good response by the team after falling behind early and then coming back to tie it up a minute later. It showed that rather than feel sorry for themselves, the girls dug deep and fought back to tie up the game, which was a very positive thing to see in our first game.”
Pendleton (0-1-2) took a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute. The Riverhawks responded quickly as junior forward Amyrah Hill delivered a perfect pass to junior midfielder Jazmine Delacruz, who converted a 12-yard shot in the 10th minute. It was the first varsity goal for Delacruz.
“Things worked really good for us early in the game; we were communicating well, and I got a good pass from Amyrah and then I was able to just tap the ball in,” said Delacruz. “I was really excited to score my first goal and I’m thrilled about how well we fought hard all the way until the end. We came out here with confidence and high hopes.
“Unfortunately, they (Pendleton) got a goal near the end to get a tie and that’s what happens sometimes in soccer. For this being our first game, I honestly thought that we played great.”
Hill put the Riverhawks ahead 2-1 in the 38th minute, scoring off an assist from junior forward Lyris Voodre-Grover.
“We played really well and I’m very proud of our team, especially since we didn’t really do so good against Pendleton last year,” said Hill. “I felt pretty frustrated though after they (Buckaroos) tied the score near the end of the game. We had a lead for a long time during the game, but then our energy level kind of went down in the second half.
“I feel like we really brought our high energy level in the first half and then we just lost it, and I don’t know why.”
Hill, Voodre-Grover and Delacruz each had solid shots that nearly made it into the net, but were either close misses or were saved by Buckaroo junior goalkeeper Miranda Medrano (14 saves).
The Riverhawks had their chances to win the game, as Voodre-Grover booted a solid shot from 17-yards that just went a little to the right of the goal post with 6:38 left. She had a another shot one minute later that Medrano grabbed.
The Riverhawks outshot the Buckaroos, 23-6. Of those six shots by Pendleton, The Dalles junior goalkeeper Katlyne Sorensen only had to make two saves. The Riverhawks’ back-line defenders Maisie Bandel-Ramirez, Ivy Wollum, Yadhira Cruz-Torres and Naomi Heredia helped limit Pendleton’s sustained offensive maneuvers into The Dalles’ goal area.
Riverhawk senior Paola Elias kicked a hard shot toward the Pendleton goal in the closing seconds. “Paola has a good shot, especially from the distance and she has a good strong leg,” said Tonn. “When she hit that I thought that maybe it would go into the net. The keeper read it well and she had enough height, and that’s her job to keep the ball out and that’s what she did.”
Medrano made what turned out to be the play of the game, leaping high and deflecting the ball with both hands. She was unable to get control of the ball and it bounced off her hands and hit the crossbar and fell to the ground and almost rolled into the net before she was able to finally grab it as the buzzer sounded to end the game.
The Riverhawks will seek their first win when they travel to Hood River Valley to face the Eagles in a Gorge rivalry matchup Thursday at 5 p.m.
“It’s going to be another good test for us against Hood River,” said Tonn. “It’s going to be on their football field under the lights. Hood River started the season hot with a big win over North Salem. The last two years, we’ve had close games decided by just one goal and we also had two tie games. We’re expecting the same type of game on Thursday.”
The No. 4 ranked Eagles (1-0) opened their season Aug. 30 with an 8-1 win on the road over Class 6A North Salem.
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