By Mike Weber
For Columbia Gorge News
THE DALLES — The defending Tri-Valley Conference champion The Dalles High Riverhawks OSAA Class 4A boys soccer team extended its unbeaten streak to five games after getting a win and a tie last week.
The Riverhawks are seeking to reach the state playoffs for a fifth consecutive year. They are atop the TVC standings, and the top two squads earn an automatic berth in the 16-team state playoffs that begin Nov. 3 with first-round games. The TVC champion will host a first-round playoff contest.
The No. 7-ranked Riverhawks (5-1-1 TVC, 9-2-1 overall) and the Gladstone High Gladiators, two 2025 state playoff squads, played to a 3-3 tie on Oct. 13. Junior forward Ronin DeMott scored a goal and sophomore midfielder Maximiliano Sedano scored two goals for the Riverhawks. Junior forward Julian Rodriguez, who leads the Riverhawks in assists (nine) and goals (11), had two assists.
The Riverhawks, guided by first-year Coach Shudi Datta, then faced the No. 17-ranked Madras High White Buffaloes in a key Oct. 15 home game between teams that were tied atop the six-team league standings. In this rematch of an earlier contest (a 2-1 Madras win Sept. 29), the Riverhawks got some revenge with a 2-0 win over the White Buffaloes (4-2-1 TVC, 7-4-1 overall). The win gave The Dalles sole possession of first place and marked the team’s sixth shutout of the season.
“I felt very proud of the boys for getting a big win that helped put us in first place in the standings,” said Datta. “It was a good win, especially considering that the tie with Gladstone in our previous game was not a good performance for us. I’m much happier with the way we played against Madras.”
The Riverhawks built a 1-0 halftime advantage on a goal scored by Rodriguez. Senior midfielder Gilberto Gallegos scored a second half goal off an assist by Rodriguez.
“We were wanting revenge for sure against Madras, because in the previous game with them, they were just doing a lot of trash talking and so we took it personally and we played one of our best games against them to get the win,” said Rodriguez. “It feels good to be in first place in the league, but we can’t just be satisfied with that. We have to continue playing well and we just have to focus on winning our last two league games and then get ready for the playoffs.”
The Riverhawks were seeking to extend their unbeaten streak to six in row in an Oct. 20 game at the No. 15-ranked Molalla High Indians (3-2-2 TVC, 6-4-2 overall).
Datta said: “We’re just trying to take things game by game and we have a lot of guys who have recently returned to the lineup after they recovered from injuries. To me, that’s the key for our team and we just want to make sure that everyone is healthy going into the playoffs.”
The Riverhawks host Estacada (0-7 TVC, 1-11 overall) in a 6 p.m. senior night contest Oct. 22 at the Wahtonka campus soccer field. The 10 Riverhawk seniors will play the final regular season home game of their careers and will be honored in a special pregame ceremony. The Riverhawks play their regular season finale Oct. 27 at No. 6-ranked North Marion (5-2 TVC, 7-4 overall) in Aurora.
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