By Zach Thummel
Columbia Gorge News
THE DALLES – The Dalles girls soccer’s magical run continues as they took care of Scappoose 2-1 in the 4A OSAA state semifinal match on Nov. 11 at The Dalles High School.
The Riverhawks (17-0) didn’t beat the Indians (15-2-1) in a dominant fashion like its 8-0 win over Rainier/Clatskanie/Knappa and its 3-0 win against Klamath Union in the opening and quarterfinal rounds, but this win resulted in the opportunity to play for a state title for the first time in school history.
“The main thing is the girls just play the whole game,” Riverhawks head coach Colby Tonn told the Columbia Gorge News after the match. “They've done this now at least twice, where it looks like the tables are turned and they pull something out with less than 30 seconds to go. Hats off to Scappoose. They played great, but I just cannot appreciate this team enough and thank them enough. I'm so happy for them that they just stick together and grind it out.”
“This school's never made it to the semi-finals before, so this was a first. Even when these seniors were sophomores and the juniors were freshmen, we had never made it to the quarterfinals. So, this is now three years in a row we've gone as far as anyone in school history. It's great for the community. It's great for the younger girls and the fans who are looking up to these players, just knowing that they can do it if they just work hard, stick together, and play for their community.”
4A Semifinal match recap:
Senior midfielder Natalia Elias got on the board first with a goal that dropped right over the top of the Scappoose goalie with 30:57 left to make it 1-0 Riverhawks.
Scappoose responded later in the half as senior forward Amalie Anderson chipped in a goal for the Indians with 15:33 left to make it a 1-1 match.
Both squads showed their defensive prowess the rest of the half, as things went scoreless, and were knotted up 1-1 at halftime.
The second half featured another scoring drought similar to the first half. The game was scoreless the entire second half, and the officials started to prepare for overtime as time dwindled.
However, junior forward Ariana Gonzalez had different plans.
With four seconds left in the match, Gonzalez nailed one of the timelier goals you’ll ever see to give the Riverhawks the edge 2-1.
“We really had to push through in the last seconds,” said Gonzalez. “I was even thinking when I scored, I just knew we had to get it in. We had to.”
“This (opportunity) means so much. I feel like we've been wanting it for so long and pushing every year all through summertime, and now we're here. We just have to push and give it our all.”
4A State championship match preview:
The Dalles is set to face top-seeded Marist Catholic of the 4A Sky Em League for all the marbles at 4 p.m. on Nov. 15 at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.
The Spartans (16-1-1), led by head coach Stefan Schroffner, got the 4-0 victory over Henley on Nov. 11.
With the win, the Spartans have now made their fourth straight 4A state title match.
Junior forward Libby McLaughlin leads the attack for Marist, coming off a two-goal, one-assist outing to help the Spartans get to the state title match.
Stay tuned for updates on the state title match from the Columbia Gorge News on Nov. 15.
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