Riverhawks soar into playoffs

Senior midfielder Aldo Rivas scored a goal and added four assists, as the Riverhawks tallied three first-half goals and tacked on two more late to dispatch of Pendleton, 5-0 in Columbia River Conference action on senior night in The Dalles.

By beating Pendleton, TD finishes as the No. 3 team in the conference and qualifies for a state play-in road game next weekend against a Northwest Oregon Conference opponent.

It was the perfect sendoff for Rivas and his veteran teammates Angel Esiquio, Julio Manzo, Javier Marinez, Tony Morales and Sant Strassheim.

“I feel kind of sad because it is my last year. I am going to miss everybody,” Rivas said. “There have been some good times, some great times and even some sad times with some losses and some tears. Overall, I am very happy to be a part of this group, this team and this family that we have here right now.”

Once the ceremonies were complete, The Dalles got started on its offensive onslaught using the senior veterans to flip the switch.

Strassheim and Rivas were passing the ball on the outside before finding a crease in the penalty area.

Strassheim dished the ball off to Rivas, who then tapped a pass to Esiquio, who rifled his shot from 25-yards out over the Buckaroo goalkeepers head for the tally.

Just four minutes later, Morales found an open lane for a goal after retrieving a pass from Rivas to make it a 2-0 contest early on.

Another goal from 30 yards out at the 31-minute mark, on an assist by Rivas that gave The Dalles a comfortable 3-0 halftime cushion.

When the forwards and midfielders are working well together, it can pose issues for the opposition, so Rivas was happy to see his mates stick with the game plan.

“Communication and moving into space was the key. And also opening up to the wings,” Rivas said. “We played the ball to the sides and we were able to cross them in and get some good shots in. All of the plays we made, the passes and the corner kicks, we have been practicing those and we executed today.”

Ahead by three goals to begin the second stanza, the Riverhawks grabbed an insurance goal 11 minutes in.

Strassheim and Rivas, once again, were feeding each other the ball down the left side of the field until Strassheim lofted a soft pass to Rivas for highlight-reel goal and a 4-0 Hawks advantage.

Rivas was not done there and late in the game, he helped another teammate get a goal.

On a corner kick at the 35-minute mark, Rivas dropped a pass towards the front of the Pendleton goal when Omar Rodriguez flew in with the header to an open left side of the net for a the last dagger and a 5-0 score.

“I thought we played a great game. I am proud of this team. It feels good to be here to make the playoffs,” Rodriguez said.

With its full arsenal of athletes to start the year, The Dalles started this season hot with four wins in their first five matches to give off hopes of promise.

However, as the adversity bug reared its ugly head, the Riverhawks then went on a 0-3-1 skid to finish their preseason schedule.

Consecutive losses to Hood River Valley and Hermiston by a combined 10-0 margin put the onus on the leadership element of this squad to win Wednesday or the 2014 campaign would be cut short.

There are plenty of learning lessons to come out of everything this team has been through – Rivas is hopeful the underclassmen were taking mental notes.

“Unity is the biggest lesson. We stuck together and overachieved,” Rivas said. “We came out and overcame some obstacles. Some of these guys put their heads down and some others put their heads up, that’s how it is. We dealt the obstacles and found our way through. That’s what made the biggest difference for us.”

In looking at rankings and records in the playoff picture, all signs point to the Riverhawks being on the road for the duration, as long as it lasts.

Rivas said that the situation does not change the ultimate goal of winning some games and finishing strong.

“I think we are going to go into playoffs with the mentality that we want to take the win,” Rivas said. “Since this is our last year, we are going to give it our all or nothing. We have played and had some good times, but now that it is playoffs, we have to take every game seriously or we will lose. This is our last opportunity and our last shot. We want to make it count.”

The Dalles is scheduled to go up against one of the three seeds out of the Greater Northwest League, out of the Portland area.

Whoever it is, they will be skilled – all but three in the nine-team league has a winning record.

“We are just happy with the opportunity,” said Riverhawk head coach Greg Burkart. “Like you said, anything can happen. We’re probably playing our best right now, we got the right guys in the right positions, we’re playing well and they are excited. They have worked hard and we are looking forward to taking on whoever it is.”