TOLEDO — The Toledo soccer team, fresh off a tough loss to Okanogan on Friday, came in determined to get back on track and send the seniors off with a win on senior night on Monday. The Riverhawks did just that — and then some — as they beat Winlock 15-0 in a 2B Central match.
“Usually on senior night, the girls always try to go twice as hard because they want to make sure the seniors have their last home game as meaningful as it can be and make sure that we give them every opportunity to win,” Toledo coach Noel Vasquez said. “So they were very energetic coming out of the gate like that.”
The 4-0 loss on Friday was also still fresh in the Riverhawks’ minds.
“I know that they were a little bit upset because of that and they were just trying to figure out how we can get back to the standard that we know,” Vasquez said. “I think today they showed up and they put it all out there.”
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The Riverhawks started strong as Briza Gallegos slotted the first goal just three minutes into the match. Ryah Stanley added another in the sixth minute, and then Toledo went silent for a while before exploding to close out the first half.
Over the final 20 minutes of the half, the Riverhawks scored eight goals to take a massive 10-0 lead at halftime. Gallegos and Marina Smith led the way with hat tricks as they each scored three in the half.
Rose Dillon added two first-half scores of her own while Maritz Salmeron and Vanesa Rodriguez each found the net once.
In the second half, the Riverhawks mixed things up. Smith was moved back into the goal and other bench players continued to get extra playing time with the big cushion.
“It was really nice to see them go out there and try to perform to the best of their abilities,” Vasquez said of his reserves that got extra minutes.”
One of those reserves, Hope Gould, find the net twice in the second half while Jazzy Zarate, Heather Fenison and Greenlee Clark all added to the score sheet.
Smith and Gallegos’ hat tricks brought their goal totals for the year up to 20 and 15, respectively, as they’ve led the scoring charge for the Riverhawks the majority of the way.
Although they were the ones finishing the goals, they aren’t the only ones responsible for creating offensive opportunites.
“I think the biggest factor that a lot of people forget is how the ball gets there,” Vasquez said.
Rose Dillon has played a big factor in setting the duo of Smith and Gallegos up for success as she’s now up to 20 assists on the season, breaking the Toledo regular season record which used to stand at 17. Dillon is just one assist shy of the record for assists in a season including the playoffs, so she could be remaking the record books yet again before the playoffs even begin.
Vasquez said he doesn’t necessarily advocate for or expect 15 goals in a game, but his players continued to score even with restrictions in place like only allowing his players to score on crosses in the second half or after they’ve linked 10 passes together.
Toledo (10-2) will be back on the pitch for a tough Central 2B showdown at Kalama on Wednesday.
Winlock (0-9-1) will continue to search for its first win against Onalaska at home on Wednesday.