SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2017
1B
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PENDLETON
Prep Roundup
Bucks stun Bulldogs with draw
Pendleton snaps
long losing streak
to Hermiston
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The Pendleton
boys soccer team walked off the
fi eld on Tuesday evening with big
smiles on their faces, something
that’s been a rarity for the struggling
Buckaroos program.
The
Buck-
aroos
played
Boys Soccer
perhaps
their
best game of
the season and
it came against
Hermiston
their rival Herm-
iston, a team that
has beat up on
them over the
past seven-plus
years, and earned
Pendleton
a 1-1 draw. The
game snapped a
15-game losing
streak to the
Bulldogs, dating back to a 4-3 win
over Hermiston on Sept. 15, 2009.
“This feels really good,” said
Pendleton senior Nick Oja, who
scored the Buckaroos’ lone goal.
“I just feel grateful for my team,
my coach and the crowd out here
cheering tonight, it just feels good.”
Pendleton (1-7-1 overall, 0-2-1
CRC) went after Hermiston (6-3-2,
1-0-2) with a physical defensive
approach to try and slow down
the fast-paced Bulldogs offense. It
worked for much of the game, as the
Bulldogs could rarely work into a
quality scoring opportunity without
a Buckaroo defender stealing the
ball or getting a body on a pass.
“We defi nitely wanted to slow
them down because we know
they’re an oustanding team in the
state,” Pendleton coach Jeremy
Talbot said. “Our focus was defi -
nitely defense fi rst, because defense
can lead to some good offense.”
The Buckaroos’ defense held
tight throughout the entirety of the
fi rst half and for most of the second,
until Hermiston fi nally broke the
scoreless draw with 17 minutes
remaining in the game with a
controversial goal.
Hermiston’s Mark Mejia lined
Dawgs
rally for
a fi ve-set
victory
Hermiston
volleyball earns
fi rst league win
East Oregonian
1
HERMISTON — The
young Hermiston volleyball
team has been put through the
ringer for most of its season.
The Bulldogs were on a
12-game
Volleyball l o s i n g
skid,
and
currently
sit in last
The Dalles
place in the
Columbia
R i v e r
Conference
standings.
Match
Hermiston
after match,
Hermiston
would put
in the effort
but it just wouldn’t pay off.
That is until Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs won their
fi rst league game in a long
fi ve-set match. They defeated
The Dalles Riverhawks 3-2
in a match where their hard
work came to fruition.
Hermiston took the fi rst
set in a nail bitter, 27-25.
“We came out strong,”
Dyck said. “We won the fi rst
set, and they hung in there.
It was our classic style of
getting up and coming back
down, but when push came to
shove they battled through.”
The Bulldogs (3-13
overall, 1-6 CRC) then
dropped their next two sets,
11-25, 23-25. But Dyck knew
the girls had it in them, as
they faced a similar situation
a week ago against Pendleton
and have been catching up to
the Riverhawks (6-10, 2-5)
each meeting.
“The last couple of times
See PREP ROUNDUP/3B
2
1
3
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston’s Mark Mejia fi ghts for position with Pendleton’s Drew Lunny in the Bulldogs’ 1-1 draw
against the Bucks on Tuesday in Pendleton.
up near the corner left of Pendle-
ton’s goal for a throw-in, fi nding
Joel Mendez just in front of him. As
Mendez settled the ball, his left hand
appeared to make contact with the
ball prior to sending a cross in front
of the net which Noe Silva buried in
the net for a 1-0 lead.
At the time, it seemed like the
goal was a game-sealer. However,
Pendleton was not ready to quit this
time, something that has plagued the
team for awhile.
“In the past when we’ve had
that kind of adversity, we’ve
folded,” Talbot said. “But with the
experience they’re getting lately,
they’re learning to fi ght trhough the
adversity and trust that we’re going
to have an opportunity if we stick to
the plan.”
And Pendleton fought back, and
just seven minutes later, senior Nick
Oja sent a booming kick from just
outside the top, left corner of the box
and beat Hermiston goalkeeper Juan
Navarrete to the far corner to tie the
game at 1-1.
“I was playing possession and I
think I was covered on the left and
right,” Oja recalled, “but not the
center. I saw the goalie was a little
See BOYS SOCCER/3B
PENDLETON
Hermiston shuts out Pendleton, picks up fi rst league win on road
Bulldogs hang onto
bragging rights
over Buckaroos
By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — In
a last minute change, the
Hermiston girl’s soccer
team hit the road to face
their cross-town rival the
Pendleton
Buckaroos.
With a shortage of referees
effecting previously sched-
uled game times, the Bull-
dogs made the choice to
join the boys in Pendleton
for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff.
The switch didn’t seen
to hurt the visitors, as
Hermiston picked up a 3-0
Girls Soccer
Hermiston
Pendleton
3
0
shutout victory for its fi rst
league win.
Both teams entered
the match winless in the
Columbia River Confer-
ence (CRC), but it was the
Bulldogs (4-5-2 overall,
1-0-2 CRC) who came out
victorious.
When asked about the
girl’s win after the game,
head
coach
Danielle
MacBride was glad the girls
were able to grind it out.
“It was okay,” she said.
“It was Pendleton. It’s
always a battle for us, so
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston’s McKayla Pacheco shoots a penalty shot
on goal guarded by Pendleton keeper Ashlyn Madril in
the Bulldogs’ 3-0 win against the Bucks on Tuesday in
Pendleton.
we’ll take the win.”
Both teams were held
scoreless for much of the
fi rst half, until Hermiston
fi nally found the back of the
net with seven minutes left
until the break. Freshman
Amanda Nygard got the
Bulldogs on the board, and
led her team into the half
with a 1-0 lead over the
Buckaroos (1-7-1, 0-3-0).
Hermiston picked up
two more insurance goals
in the second half and from
the efforts of sophomore
goalkeeper Lanie Gomez,
the Bulldogs were able to
hold the Bucks at bay.
It was a big win for
Hermiston, as only one
team from the CRC will
earn a playoff birth. Right
now, Hood River Valley
holds the top spot with a
2-0-1 league record. The
Bulldogs will be able to
work out some kinks before
they face the Eagles when
they host The Dalles on
Thursday for Senior Night.
“Every day is a new day
with this group,” MacBride
said. “You know what they
are cable of. We’re still just
trying to keep up the consis-
tency, and with every win
you carry the momentum
with you so hopefully we
can keep it up for Thursday
when we have home fi eld
advantage.”
In the two team’s
previous match up Sept.
26, they ended the game
in a 0-0 draw. It was the
fi rst league game for both
teams.
Pendleton will try for
its fi rst league win again
on Thursday when it hosts
Hood River Valley at 6 p.m.
———
Contact Alexis at aman-
sanarez@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4542.
Follow her on Twitter @
almansanarez.
Sports shorts
Heppner native name Frontier
Conference Golfer of the Week
LEWISTON, Id. — Heppner native and
current-Lewis-Clark State golfer Blake Greenup
was honored by the Frontier Conference on
Monday as the Golfer of the Week.
Greenup, now a senior,
garnered the honor after winning
the Warrior Invitational at the
Lewiston Golf & Country Club
last week. In the tournament, she
shot a 36-hole score of 151 and
won by two strokes over teammate
Greenup
Marissa Louder. The Warriors also
brought home the team title with
the help of Greenup as well.
This week, Greenup and the Warriors are
competing in Gleneden Beach at the Coastal
Collegiate Challenge. On Tuesday, Greenup
fi nished off a fi fth place fi nish with a nine-over
151 and the Warriors fi nished in second place.
“I told the group that
Messi does not owe
Argentina a World
Cup, but rather football
owes the world to him.
Argentina took a step
forward, and in time we
can be competitive.”
— Jorge Sampaoli
Argentine head coach said after
Lionel Messi’s three goals sent
Argentina into the World Cup on
the last day of South American
qualifying.
Vegas Golden Knights win
home opener 5-2 over Arizona
LAS VEGAS (AP) — James Neal scored twice
during a thrilling four-goal fi rst period, and the
Vegas Golden Knights remained
unbeaten three games into their
inaugural season with a 5-2 victory
over the Arizona Coyotes in their
home opener on Tuesday night.
Tomas Nosek scored the fi rst
home goal in franchise history just
2:31 into the fi rst period, and Deryk
Engelland added his fi rst goal for his adopted
hometown’s new team moments later.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for the
Golden Knights, who became the fi rst team in
NHL history to begin their debut season with three
straight wins.
Just nine days after the Las Vegas Strip shooting
massacre, the Golden Knights honored the victims
and heroes before the long-awaited home debut of
the city’s fi rst major professional sports franchise.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1890 — The fi rst 100-yard
dash under 10 seconds is run
by John Owens at 9.8 in an
AAU track and fi eld meet in
Washington.
1992 — Dave Krieg
becomes the 15th quarter-
back in history with 200
touchdown passes, throwing
three in the Kansas City
Chiefs’ 24-17 win over the
Philadelphia Eagles.
2011 — The U.S. women
roll to their third title at the
world gymnastics cham-
pionships held in Tokyo.
The Americans fi nish with
179.411 points, a whopping
4 points ahead of Russia, last
year’s champion.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com