It’s early in the season, but the No. 1-ranked The Dalles High’s girls soccer team is distinguishing itself as a legitimate state title contender.
The Riverhawks, guided by 11th-year Coach Colby Tonn, recorded nonleague wins last week over 2023 state playoff teams to improve their record to 3-0. The Riverhawks won, 1-0, over North Bend on Sept. 3 at Summit High in Bend. The Riverhawks followed with another, 1-0, win Sept. 7 over defending Skyline Conference champion Henley, in a match also at Summit.
“The last two teams we played were very good and they’re both top 10-ranked teams,” said Tonn. “The games both felt like they had the same high intensity level that is common in the playoffs, and they were both highly physical, too.
“We did a good job of grinding out a win over Henley on Saturday on a very hot, humid day with poor air quality and lots of smoke there while also playing in the higher elevation of Central Oregon. The girls are playing very well, and things are going just great for us right now.”
Against North Bend, sophomore midfielder Lilyana Gonzalez scored off an assist from freshman midfielder Willow Ziegenhagen in the third minute for the lone goal. North Bend and The Dalles both reached the Class 4A state quarterfinals last year.
In the matchup versus Henley, The Dalles scored in the eighth minute when junior midfielder Natalia Elias converted a 35-yard shot just below the crossbar.
“We’re scoring early and we’re playing solid team defense to grind out the wins,” said Tonn. “Our goalkeepers Olivia Prado and Yadhira Cruz-Torres have both only been needed to make one or two saves in each half and they’re both doing a great job. Our back line of defenders - Kaiya Doty, Bryce Newby, Abril Rincon, Yaritza Torres-Escobedo, Rowena Benjamin and Jamie Bastian Palacios - are playing great back there on defense, too.”
The first four games on the Riverhawks’ schedule are against playoff teams from a year ago, including their next nonleague contest Sept. 17 at defending Greater Oregon League champion La Grande.
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