Having already faced Waterford twice, Ripon Christian prepared for Wednesday to be another competitive showdown between Southern League rivals.

Anyone expecting that to be the case may have walked away disappointed. Not Ripon Christian, which netted three goals in the opening 20 minutes en route to a surprising 4-1 rout in Ripon.

The Knights (8-0 SL, 12-5-1 overall) opened league with a 1-0 win at Waterford on March 8, and a day later they played to a scoreless draw in Big Valley Christian’s Lions Cup. In the third go-around, they landed the decisive blows early.

“We spent a lot of time over the last few days talking about starting the game strong, and the girls worked hard to accomplish that goal,” RC coach Kevin Tameling said.

Kaylie Colyn broke the ice in the seventh minute, cashing in on Adri Van Groningen’s corner-kick cross. Ten minutes later, Colyn got the favorable deflection when her attempt from 25 yards out caromed off the crossbar. She completed a hat-trick effort in the waning moments of the first half, making it 4-1.

Kaylin Groen accounted for RC’s third goal. Griselda Alvarez scored for Waterford (5-2-1, 7-3-2), which came in as the second-placed team in league.

Goalie Bryanna Heida picked up three saves. The defense, led by Kamryn Bylsma in the middle, bent but did not break in the second half as Waterford attackers Brooke Hill and Alvarez put together some threatening runs.