Ripon Christian showed little signs of rust after a nine-day layoff on Tuesday, jumping on visiting Live Oak early on en route to a 3-0 victory in the opening round of the CIF State Division V Northern Regional Championships at Memorial Stadium.
“You never really know how you’re going to come out after a break like that,” Ripon Christian head coach David Morris said. “It felt good to get on the board early and play with the lead.”
The Knights (18-7-1) came into the matchup as the three seed after finishing off their third straight Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship with a 3-1 win over Stone Ridge Christian.
They looked every bit like a team that should be seeded high in the state tournament, taking just 90 seconds to get on the board against the six seed Live Oak (17-7-1), runner-up in the Northern Section Division II bracket.
After heavy pressure won the Knights possession in the attacking half, sophomore forward Kylie Koolhaas found senior Alanna Blanco in space down the right side. A great ball back to Koolhaas from Blanco would be slotted home.
“I think we came out with a lot of energy tonight,” Koolhaas said. “The break had us a little amped up, and we were anxious to prove we can compete with the teams in this tournament. Alanna made a great pass, and I was just happy to be able to beat the goalkeeper.”
Playing with the lead is no strange feeling for Ripon Christian, which came in to the state playoff winners of seven straight and 13 of 14 overall.
“Our group of girls, for the most part, don’t play year-round soccer,” Morris said. “So, what ends up happening is we start slow, get our legs under us and a really tough Trans Valley League schedule puts us in the position to make the runs we have now three years in a row.”
The high press from Ripon Christian gave the Lions trouble for much of the game, with the pressure directly contributing to a key second goal from the Knights 17 minutes in to the first half.
After a Ripon Christian shot sailed just wide of the frame, Live Oak goalkeeper Ferrah Gomez took a goal kick that went directly to the feet of Koolhaas standing just outside the box. Koolhaas stopped the attempt with one foot, composed herself, and fired a shot over Gomez’s head to double the Knights’ lead.
“Coach told us coming into the game that we could make things happen putting pressure on their goal kicks,” Koolhaas said. “I was honestly just shocked I was able to make a touch as good as I did to keep it at my feet so that the shot was possible.”
Less than a minute later, Koolhaas would contribute to a third goal for Ripon Christian, this time finding junior forward Brooke Barnes on a through ball in a two-on-one situation. Barnes elected to shoot and beat the Live Oak keeper far post to put the Knights up 3-0 with 22 minutes left in the first half.
Strong defense from Ripon Christian would be a theme throughout the rest of the contest for the Knights. Defenders Paige Van Hofwegen, Reece Drost, and Alyssa Hofman kept goalkeeper Morgan Schenk clean, for the most part. Schenk was forced to make just three saves in the game.
Chances for Ripon Christian were a plenty in the second half, but Live Oak was able to stay in the match with some timely blocks and stops from Gomez.
The final whistle would blow, sending the Knights to the NorCal semifinals. They’ll take on the two seed Watsonville Thursday night at 5 p.m.
“We’ll watch some film and try to pick up on some things we can do to make things tough on them on Thursday,” Morris said. “But I cant stress enough just how proud I am of this group of girls for what they’ve done already, and hopefully we can keep this thing moving on the road.”
