By ANNIE FOWLER, The CUJ
LA GRANDE — Rowan Evans had two goals, and La Grande won its 14th consecutive Greater Oregon League title Tuesday, Oct. 29, with a 2-0 win over Pendleton at Community Stadium.
“Kiana (Rickman) and Pendleton came with different tactics than the first time we played them,” La Grande coach Chris Gianandrea said. “Good to have a game like that going into the playoffs.”
The second-ranked Tigers finished GOL play with a 6-0 record and are 11-1-1 overall. Their 4A state playoff opponent won’t be known until later this week.
The Bucks (6-6-2 overall, 2-2-2 GOL) will also wait to see who they will play in the playoffs.
“We knew this game would come down to a couple of key moments,” Rickman said. “We held them until the 62nd minute, which against the No. 2-ranked team showed how strong we can play. Late in the season, it’s cool to see the progress.”
After a scoreless first half, Evans scored twice for the Tigers to bring her goal total to 24 for the season.
“She had a good season last year with about 12 goals,” Gianandrea said. “We made a goal for her for double digit goals and assists. She almost got there. She has 24 goals and nine assists.”
Evans scored unassisted on her first goal, while freshman Ava Mendoza assisted on the second.
Lyndie Isaacson had three saves for the Tigers.
“She made the most of them,” Gianandrea said. “They were good saves.”
Citlalli Garcia had five saves for the Bucks.
Gianandrea was looking to have a full stadium for the game, and was somewhat successful.
“It’s a pretty big stadium to fill, but our side was full, from what I could tell,” he said.
Boys soccer
LA GRANDE 2, PENDLETON 1 — Eric Villagomez scored the game-winning goal as the Tigers picked up a Greater Oregon League road win over the Bucks to close out the regular season.
“This was a big win for us as it secured second place in the GOL for the team,” La Grande coach Kaleb Rainsberry said.
Kason Carlson scored the first goal for the Tigers (6-7 overall, 3-3 GOL) off a free kick, and Pendleton’s Ann Dressler evened the score at 1-1.
Jared Pace finished with five saves for the Bucks (1-13, 0-6), while Justus Pollandt had four saves for the Tigers.
The Tigers will wait for 4A state playoff pairings.
