Last season, Hidden Valley's boys soccer team came tantalizingly close to ending a 21-year state championship drought.
The Mustangs held a one-goal lead in the waning minutes of the 4A final against Philomath, but couldn't close it out, falling to the Warriors 2-1 on penalty kicks.
Now Hidden Valley, with six starters back from that team, is ramping up to make another run. The Mustangs are off to a 4-0 start and are No. 3 in the OSAAtoday 4A coaches poll.
“They're definitely hungry,” second-year coach Alan Rojas said. “A lot of them feel like they should've had it. They definitely have a little bit of something to prove.”
Hidden Valley has outscored its opponents 13-2, led by junior midfielders Mason Klipfel (four goals), sophomore forward JoJo Saunders (three goals) and senior midfielder Brandon Queener (three goals).
The Mustangs, who had eight seniors on their roster last season, have only four seniors this season, and two of them are new to the team in Queener, a transfer from North Valley, and Mees DeBoer, an exchange student from the Netherlands.
“It's definitely a different dynamic, but they're growing really well together,” Rojas said. “I think they realized the level of skill and leadership that the seniors we had last year brought to the team. So they're looking at this as a year to set that tone themselves, and a year to develop the younger guys coming up. I don't think it's a championship-only focus.”
Among those lost to graduation were 4A first-team pick Theo Bergman (team-high 19 goals last season) and center midfielder Ronan Hodge, now playing for Rogue Community College and Linfield College, respectively. Last year's goalkeeper, Spencer Fiske, is a kicker for the College of Idaho football team.
The six returning starters are Klipfel, Saunders, sophomore defender Justyn Ingram, junior defender Aiden Fiske, senior defender Tristen Winkler and senior midfielder Joaquin Martinez, a third-year starter.
Rojas said the team has changed its approach after losing the “raw scoring power” of Bergman.
“He was just a physical, fast, competent forward that scared a lot of other defenders,” Rojas said. “We don't necessarily have that this year, but instead what we have is definitely a much more patient and possessive team.”
According to Rojas, the Mustangs possessed the ball about 50-55 percent of the time last season, but were able to produce on offense largely because of Bergman's prowess. This season, he estimates that the team controls the ball about 55-65 percent of the match.
“We're just doing a lot more deliberate, slow breakdown of the opponents,” Rojas said. “We're not necessarily looking for those through-balls right away, where we would just send Theo on and let him just turn and burn. This year we have a lot better midfield control.”
The addition of Queener and DeBoer has provided some punch. Queener scored twice in a 4-2 win over Marist Catholic on Tuesday.
“They bring us some offensive depth, and also some experience, which is something a young team needs,” Rojas said. “They give us some more offensive options.”
Junior Diego Sanchez, a defender last season, has replaced Spencer Fiske at goalkeeper. Sanchez, who had not played goalkeeper since middle school, opened the season with three shutouts.
“He dusted off the gloves,” Rojas said. “He's growing a lot. He played defender for us, so he reads the defense really well. He's getting some of the nuances of goalie down. He's definitely come a long way.”
Hidden Valley finished third in the Skyline Conference last year before getting hot in the playoffs. Rojas expects Henley (5-0) and Phoenix (0-4), ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in the coaches poll, to push the Mustangs in the Skyline.
Notes: Ridgeview, ranked No. 6 in 5A, completed its nonleague schedule with a 5-0 record on Tuesday with a 2-1 home win over No. 7 Hood River Valley (1-1-1). Tucker Johnson scored off an assist from Orlando Jaimes for a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute, and two minutes later, Skiler Ornelas scored to make it 2-0. Last season, Ridgeview finished runner-up in the Intermountain Conference to Hood River Valley, losing both matches to the Eagles, who have moved to the Northwest Oregon Conference. Ridgeview beat Hood River Valley despite playing without senior Kevin Ochoa (leg injury), the IMC player of the year last season. Through five matches, Ochoa has a team-high four goals and Jaimes has three goals and five assists. …
Grants Pass improved to 3-0 on Tuesday by defeating visiting South Medford 3-1. The Cavemen got two goals from Antonio Barrero de la Puerta and one goal from Pedro Gonzalez to take down the Panthers (2-2-1). … No. 6 Riverside (2-3) handed No. 3 Riverdale (4-1) its first loss of the season Saturday, dropping the visiting Mavericks 3-2 in a 3A/2A/1A nonleague match. Efrain Lopez and Wyatt Browne gave Riverside a 2-0 lead in the first half, and Hugo Ceron added a goal to make it 3-1 in the 70th minute. … Umpqua Valley Christian freshman Alex Howard erupted for four goals in an 8-0 home win over Glide in a 3A/2A/1A Special District 4 match Tuesday. He ended the match with his fourth goal in the 46th minute. The Monarchs (2-0) have outscored their first two opponents 16-0. …
West Albany (2-1-1), No. 10 in 5A, battled to a 1-1 draw against Central Catholic (3-0-1), No. 9 in 6A, on Monday at Delta Park in Portland. The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the 60th minute when Julian Romero converted off an assist by Johnathan Fiscal, but had to settle for a tie. … North Medford (2-3) ended a three-game skid with a 2-0 home win over Roseburg (0-2-1) on Tuesday in a 6A Southwest Conference match. Alec Winters and Jesus Duarte scored second-half goals for the Black Tornado, who had lost their previous three games by one goal. … Sophomore Keyvi Rocha-Alonzo scored with four minutes left to give Blanchet Catholic (4-1) a 3-2 win over De La Salle North Catholic (0-2) on Monday at Delta Park. … McLoughlin junior Angel Castillo had nine goals and seven assists in leading his team to a 4-0 start before the 3A/2A/1A Pioneers dropped a 1-0 decision at 4A Henley on Saturday. … Century is off to a 4-0 start, outscoring its foes 16-0. Renato Beltran scored goals in three of the wins.
jerryu@osaa.org
Subscribe
