THE DALLES senior Sant Strassheim, right, follows a clearing pass during the first half of Tuesday’s soccer match in Pendleton. The No. 15 Riverhawks ended a four-match winless streak with a 4-2 victory. In the match, newcomer Tony Morales, broke open a 2-1 halftime lead with a pair of second-half goals. Contributed photo
THE DALLES senior Sant Strassheim, right, follows a clearing pass during the first half of Tuesday’s soccer match in Pendleton. The No. 15 Riverhawks ended a four-match winless streak with a 4-2 victory. In the match, newcomer Tony Morales, broke open a 2-1 halftime lead with a pair of second-half goals. Contributed photo
With a revamped roster and new goalkeeper in place, The Dalles boy’s varsity soccer team ended a four-match winless streak with a 4-2 victory Tuesday in Columbia River Conference play at Pendleton High School.
The new faces included Luis Diaz, who made several stops to keep his Riverhawk squad in control.
Tony Morales also played in his first game of the season and rattled off a two-goal effort, both in the second half, to break the contest open.
First-year head coach Greg Burkart and assistant coach Jonathan Garrett were impressed by the inspired road effort and the improved play as a whole.
“It was nice to see the tactics we practiced turned into play in a successful way,” Burkart said. “The attitude of the team was positive as was the style of play. The defense was solid, while the midfield and strike force were in sync for the attack.”
From the opening whistle, TD executed a plan to start the game strong, using quicker ball movement and runs into space to rock the Buckaroos on their heels.
After threatening with early chances, it was Pendleton who got on the board first with a penalty kick.
The Dalles responded quickly with a goal from Ali Gutiérrez, who took a pass down the right wing and blasted the ball past the Pendleton keeper to even the count at 1-apiece.
With sustained pressure, senior standout Aldo Rivas blasted a shot to the back of the net to give the Riverhawks a lead they would never relinquish.
“We just stuck to our gameplan and executed it well,” said senior Sant Strassheim.
“We had to make sure we made short, sure passes and move the ball up that way. We were able to use that plan and get a few goals out of it,” Strassheim added.
The Dalles set the pace in the opening stanza, and their speed and athleticism showed through against the Buckaroos.
The Dalles had good ball movement and made good use of open spaces on the field.
After numerous attacks, with the final shots deflecting off the Pendleton keeper and a couple of shots off the woodwork, The Dalles broke through with a second-half goal from Morales to make for a 3-1 tally.
The speedy forward was not done there, however, as he busted through the Buckaroo defense and fired home a shot to tickle the twine for a 4-1 lead.
“It was nice to see Tony back in action after a long absence from the team,” Burkart said.
Down by three, the Buckaroos did not throw in the towel.
Pendleton worked the perimeter and found a seam to punch in a late goal, but that was as close as they would get.
With the win, The Dalles (5-4-1 overall, 1-1 league record) remains in contention for a league crown and an all-important playoff berth.
The task gets tougher at 4 p.m. Tuesday, as the No. 15 Riverhawks hit the field against No. 2-ranked and undefeated Hood River Valley (10-0, 2-0).
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