Princeton girls soccer tops Oregon, advances to face Mendota in regional final

MENDOTA - As the dust storm warnings were ringing on everyone’s phones, the wind was a factor in the Class 1A Mendota Regional semifinal Friday.

No. 4 Princeton was the aggressive team for the good part of the match and came away with a 3-1 victory over No. 5 Oregon to advance to Tuesday’s regional championship against No. 1 Mendota.

“The wind was an issue tonight for both teams, “ Princeton coach David Gray said. “In terms of affecting the game and it made executing cleanly difficult.”

Princeton was the aggressor in the first half as the Tigresses controlled the ball in their offensive half most of the first 20 minutes.

And when the Hawks did get across midfield, the Tigresses’ defense was there to stop any threats immediately.

With just under 26 minutes left in the first half, Olivia Sandoval passed ahead to Bella Clevenger, who just missed putting Princeton on the board first.

Two minutes later, Ava Hobson had a good look as her shot sailed just high above the crossbar.

After a couple near misses, Princeton finally cracked the scoring column as Keighley Davis settled the ball down then kicked across the field to Clevenger, who tracked the ball down and shot across her body to find the back of the net for a 1-0 lead with 10:04 left in the half.

As Princeton continued to put the pressure on the Hawks’ defense, Ava Kyle pooch kicked the ball from 20 yards out and it sailed it over Mili Zavala’s head to make it 2-0 Tigresses.

Oregon was much more aggressive to start the second half and it paid off as Sarah Eckardt found a loose ball in front of the Princeton goal and cut the lead in half at 2-1.

“I was happy with the way we played, especially to start the second half,” Oregon coach Seger Larson said. “Those first two Princeton goals were definitely wind aided and I felt the wind was the equalizer tonight.”

With just under 25 minutes left, it looked as it Princeton began to find its way as it did in the first half. Princeton had two great shots to increase the lead, but Zavala was up to the challenge.

With 15 minutes to go, Zavala again made a nice save as the wind was pushing the ball all over the place.

With 9:06 left, Princeton got a loose ball after Davis and Maddie Gibson were initially denied, Clevenger cleaned up and picked up her second goal of the game to give the Tigresses a two-goal lead at 3-1.

“Bella (Clevenger) is one of those players that has the most competitive experience on the team and you can see that with how she gets after it and scores,” Gray said. “She had an outstanding night and if there was a man of the match, she probably would’ve got it.”

From there, the Princeton defense stepped up and continued to shut down the Hawks’ offense.

Princeton advances to the championship against Mendota at 5 p.m. Tuesday in a rematch of a game earlier this season where the Trojans won 2-1.

Mendota 8, DePue-Hall 0: Crystal Garcia and Noemi Arteaga each scored four goals as the top-seeded Trojans cruised past the No. 8 Little Giants.