THE DALLES — The two-time Tri-Valley Conference champion The Dalles High Riverhawks (12-2-2) enjoyed a tremendous amount of success this year, as they reached the Class 4A girls soccer state quarterfinals once again.
A 5-0 first-round playoff win over Pendleton propelled the Riverhawks into a Nov. 9 home quarterfinal matchup at nemesis North Marion, the defending state champs. The Oregon West Conference champion Huskies (12-3-1) ended The Dalles’ season with a 4-2 overtime win — the second year in a row North Marion has eliminated the Riverhawks from postseason play.
The highly confident, No. 3-ranked Riverhawks, guided by 11th-year Coach Colby Tonn, started the 16-team state playoffs with their Nov. 6 first-round home win matchup versus the Pendleton High Buckaroos. It was a rematch of a nonleague contest of The Dalles’ season opening, 7-1, home win Aug. 29.
“The team came out and played well, which is kind of the same thing that they’ve been doing all year,” said Tonn. “They came out well focused, everyone played great team defense, and we were maintaining possession offensively and our shots were going into the net. It was a good first step for us to get the win.”
Junior midfielder Natalia Elias (assist) and freshman midfielder Willow Ziegenhagen each scored first-half goals for the Riverhawks. Junior midfielder Jaki Negrete scored on a shot from 17 yards in the 59th minute. Five minutes later, Ariana Gonzalez delivered a pass for an assist to twin sister Liyana Gonzalez, who fired in a shot from 22 yards. Freshman defender Bryce Newby scored the final goal off an assist from sophomore Yaritza Torres-Escobedo.
“It felt so amazing, and I was very excited to score the first goal of my career,” said Newby, who has been playing soccer since she was age seven. “We came out at the beginning of the game feeling confident that we would win, but you just never know, because anything can happen.”
The win propelled the Riverhawks into the quarterfinals against North Marion (12-3-1). Both the No. 6-ranked Huskies and the Riverhawks were unbeaten in 11 consecutive games. The contest was a rematch of last year’s quarterfinals, which the Huskies won, 5-1, at Woodburn High School.
“It was a tough loss, but I thought the girls played well and we stuck together even when adversity struck and we never quit,” said Tonn. “I thought we created more scoring chances in overtime, but then they [Huskies] got one in the second overtime period. Overall, we had a great season.”
The Riverhawks had a great start as Ariana Gonzalez scored twice early in the game to help them build what seemed like a comfortable 2-0 halftime lead. The Huskies scored twice in the second half to force overtime.
Following a scoreless 10-minute overtime session, the teams switched sides for another 10-minute span. Husky junior forward Bethany Dunn scored a goal with five minutes left before Lilyana Gonzalaz nearly tied the match a few minutes later only to be thwarted by goalkeeper Riley Patzer. The Huskies scored a goal with one second left on a free kick following a Riverhawk foul.
The quarterfinal contest marked the conclusion of The Dalles High School soccer career of seniors Jamie Bastian Palacios, Yadhira Cruz Torres, Madison Grant and Rowena Benjamin.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.