Giving up early goals can be a killer.
The Dalles allowed an early goal, three minutes into play, and also gave up an insurance tally at the 34-minute mark, in their 2-0 shutout loss to 4A Madras Thursday at Discovery Field.
TD coach Matthew Dallman said his team has been prone to allowing early goals in all but one match so far this season, which hampers any momentum they have from the onset of the opening whistle.
“It’s a common theme that we are kind of struggling with at the moment,” Dallman said. “It doesn’t allow you to settle in. You immediately start chasing the game as soon as that happens. We have a game plan that allows us to settle into the game, so we can possess the ball, but when you go down 1-0 in the first three minutes, it kind of throws the whole team off and it kind of shakes them. It is a learning process and we are really trying to eliminate those mistakes right now.”
Kevin Goicochea gave the White Buffaloes a 1-0 lead on an assist from Alex Sangchez, and with six minutes remaining in the first half, Sangchez chased a loose ball down the right sideline, eluding TD defenders, before lofting a shot over goalkeeper Jonatan Urenda to give Madras a 2-0 cushion.
“We were able to find space and pass the ball efficiently,” said senior captain Obed Eriza. “We made good plays and our defense was really strong, so that’s what gave us the win.”
TD had four free kicks chances in the game, three in the first half, but could not take advantage, but Dallman said his team did a much better job of dictating the pace over the course of the final 60 minutes.
Dallman is going to work even harder with his team transitioning from defense to offense to create scoring opportunities.
In their last four matches, the Riverhawks have scored two goals.
“Essentially, probably a good 80 percent of the first half, we were defending,” Dallman said. “When we are defending that long, when you get the ball, you are so tired that you don’t have the energy to get forward and create shots. A big thing for us is, once we win it, we need to do a better job of keeping possession of the ball, so we have the energy to move forward on the attack.”
TD (1-4 overall) heads to Redmond for a non-league match Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against Ridgeview (3-1-1).
TD girls grab a 2-0 win over Madras
Victoria Barragan scored her first goal of the season, Giselle Manzo added a second-half tally and Addie Klindt made six saves for her third shutout of the season in The Dalles’ 2-0 victory Thursday on the road against Madras.
“We came out hard and hungry to play with speed up the field,” said TD head coach Oscar Nunez. “It was great to see Jordyn Hattenhauer and Emma Weir find their stride again and fly past defenders down the wing.”
Manzo had the only assist on Barragan’s goal in the second minute of the match, as she tapped a pass to Barragan, who placed her shot past the Madras keeper for the score.
The score remained 1-0 at halftime, but then Manzo and Alexia Tapia joined forces on a give-and-go, with Manzo hitting the back of the net for her ninth goal of the season.
Klindt was on top of her game between the pipes, but Nunez credited the play of his defenders, Molly Taylor, Madison Eby, Ivorie Taylor and Shaynie Watson.
“On defense, Madison had a great game marking up on their fast forward and Ivorie made an early adjustment moving back to a sweeper position, which she played perfectly,” Nunez said. “Molly is always a force to be reckoned with on the left side and Shaynie has been our consistent outside back, who takes the ball past forwards and midfielders with speed and ability.”
The Dalles (3-2 overall) hosts Ridgeview (2-2-1) at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
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