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GIRLS SOCCER: Unbeaten Ripon stifles Chavez’s attack
Chavez-Ripon girls soccer
Ripon's Olivia Maragos (20) chases Chavez's Mayra Maciel (7) to the ball. - photo by Dave Campbell

STOCKTON – Plug and play.

Such is how Ripon girls soccer coach is blessed this season with the ability to move his players around without missing a beat. On Wednesday night, he did just that and not only shut out host Chavez 5-0 in non-league action, the Indians did not allow the Titans a shot, on goal or otherwise.

“This was one of the best defensive performances I have seen,” Perkins said. “If you notice, we used about six different people back there, which shows how interchangeable all of our athletes are. We can use them up front, we can use them in the middle, we can use them in back. They are absolutely the most interchangeable group I have ever coached.

“There are a few of them I can play anywhere on the field I want, and that has really been helpful. We went down two injuries tonight, and I am not even worried. We have so much coming off the bench, and our JV is absolutely outstanding.”

Unfortunately, one of those injuries was to leading scorer Maddie Winter. Before being forced to leave the game with an apparent knee injury, Winter started off the scoring with a 25-yard line-drive direct kick across and over the Chavez goalie into the upper-right corner of the net and then assisted Olivia Maragos’ first of two goals.

“I definitely can’t score those goals without the team,” Maragos said. “The girls definitely set me up and I am just there to finish it.”

In the 36th minute, Maragos assisted Makenna Pokorny and two minutes later Maraagos got her second goal of the night on an assist from Kati Rhodes to pit Ripon (7-0) ahead 4-0 at halftime.

The only goal after halftime was late in the second half when Grace Garza deftly tapped in a goal on an assist from Ariana Daniels.

Center back Gabbi Ilardi anchored the defense that baffled Chavez (0-5) all evening.

“We hold a really strong line in the back,” Ilardi said. “We kind of try to build out of the back. We are working a lot with good passes connecting from the back and we step to a lot of stuff and we don’t let anything get past us.

“That goes hand in hand with them getting no shots off.”