The Dalles High Riverhawks girls soccer team concluded the season a year ago with a lot of momentum, including a 2-2 tie with Columbia Gorge rival Hood River Valley in the final contest of the year. Unbeaten in four of their final six games, they’re hoping the momentum will carry over into the 2022 season.
It will be a season that includes many changes, beginning with the season opener Aug. 27 versus the La Grande High Tigers at La Grande High School. The Dalles was 4-7-4 last year and La Grande had an 11-3-1 record and was ranked No. 5 in Class 4A. The Tigers lost just two seniors to graduation.
The Riverhawks, guided by ninth-year Coach Colby Tonn and Assistant Coach Darcey Hodges, opened preseason practice Aug. 15 with more than 30 players who will compete on their junior varsity and varsity squads. Most of the players have been participating in informal team workouts since Aug. 1. The team has a lot of new faces — The Dalles lost nine seniors from last year’s squad to graduation. The Dalles is also playing in the OSAA 4A classification after moving down from Class 5A.
“We had 10 to 12 mostly returning varsity players that have been showing up for summer practice and conditioning sessions and they’re focused on getting ready for the season,” said Tonn. “They know that it’s going to be a lot of hard work. If you wait until the 15th to start working out, then you know that things will just not go quite as well. You can really see how well the work that they’ve put in this summer has paid off, because it shows in how well they’re playing right now.”
The Dalles, which played in the Intermountain Conference a year ago, will now compete in the six-team Tri-Valley Conference.
“We have a strong core group of returning players coming back this season and they have multiple years of varsity experience,” said Tonn. “Since we lost nine seniors, we’ll also have some new faces that will be on the varsity team, too. Last year, there was always some things that made it difficult for our team with injuries and the COVID protocol issues, too. It seemed like every game, there were always three or four people that were unable to play.”
The Tri-Valley includes the Gladstone High Gladiators, who were 15-2 and ranked No. 1 last year. The other four teams are Estacada, Molalla, Madras and Crook County. Those four teams combined to win a total of just 12 games a year ago.
“We have a tough schedule and even though we’re in 4A now, we’re in a tough league,” said Tonn. “Our nonleague schedule is going to be tough, too. La Grande is usually ranked in the top-five every year. We’re playing Pendleton, which was ranked No. 7 last year in Class 5A. We’ll play Hood River, which is always a challenge, and we’ll play Reynolds, too, which is a strong Class 6A school. Our schedule will be as tough or tougher than last year’s schedule.”
The Riverhawks will rely on junior forward Amyray Hill, their scoring leader last year, to help lead the offense. Along with the talented Hill, an honorable mention all-IMC selection last year, eight returning varsity players will provide experience.
The Riverhawks will have leadership from seniors Lyris Voodre-Grover, Maisie Bandel-Ramirez, Ivy Wollam, Natasha Muzechenko, and Naomi Heredia. Muzechenko was an honorable mention all-IMC selection last year. Junior goalkeeper Katlyne Sorensen will help lead the Riverhawks’ defense. Tonn said Junior forward Jazmine DeLaCruz will also help lead the Riverhawks’ offensive attack with her goal-scoring ability.”
“Our goal is to always improve from the previous season,” said Tonn. “We just missed the state playoffs last year and all our returning players are working on trying to achieve their goal of going to state this year.”
The Riverhawks’ 14-game schedule includes a nonleague match-up versus Hood River Sept. 8 at 5 p.m. at Hood River Valley High School. The Riverhawks were undefeated against the Eagles, who had a 3-10-1 record last season. The Dalles recorded a 2-1 home win Oct. 7, in addition to the 2-2 tie in their season finale on Oct. 28, 2021, at Hood River.
The Dalles begins its 10-game TVC schedule Sept. 20 at home versus the Crook County High Cowgirls. Last season, The Dalles recorded Intermountain Conference wins of 6-0 and 3-0 over a Crook County team that was 0-14. Crook County also moved down to the 4A level this year — as did Pendleton High.
The Riverhawks last reached the OSAA state playoffs in 2019.
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