Top-seeded Ripon Christian took 13 first-half shots Wednesday night against visiting No. 5 Vacaville Christian and had just one goal to show for it.
Coach David Morris got the Knights headed in the right direction in the second half, with Kylie Koolhaas finding the goal in less than a minute after coming out of the locker room.
Ripon Christian didn’t looked back, defeating the Falcons 5-0 in semifinal action of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI girls soccer playoffs.
The two-time defending Knights will look to make it a three-peat Saturday morning at 9 against third-seeded Stone Ridge Christian in Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College.
“We didn’t know what was going on in that first half, because we felt like we had all the chances, and we were applying a lot of pressure, and we just couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net,” Morris said. “A lot of the things we normally put away we didn’t, and some of our first-time shots hit the goalie. We put some shots over the bar, and it was all uncharacteristic of us.
“I don’t know if it was semifinal nerves or what. At halftime, I told the ladies they could put the ball in the back of the net, and that the score shouldn’t be 1-0, and that they needed to come out in the second half and do what they needed to do. I told them they didn’t need to make a perfect shot, that it just needed to be on goal. They came out calm and poised in the second half so they did not let it in their heads that they gave up a lot of opportunities in the first half and then they did what they should in the second.”
Brooke Barnes scored the first and last goals for the Knights (16-7-1) when she took a pass from Paige Van Hofwegen and darted about 15 yards before scoring for the 1-0 lead late in the first half. Her second goal came midway through the second half on an assist from Koolhaas.
“I saw the ball rolling to Paige (Van Hofwegen), and she has an amazing foot, and she boomed it,” Barnes said of her first goal. “I just trusted that it would get through, so I ran and kicked it into the net.”
Koolhaas scored the first two goals of the second half, the first off of a rebound from a Barnes shot, and the second in the 48th minute on a loose ball in front of the net.
“Before the game, coach was telling us how before the game the goalie would bat the ball down,” Koolhaas said. “So, I saw the opportunity and the ball went through.
“That second goal was just luck. The ball was just bouncing through, and I got it in.”
In the 54th minute, Raegan Barnes made the score 4-0 on an assist from Lauren Mouw.
Ripon Christian outshot Vacaville Christian (11-4-3) 28-4 with Morgan Schenk needing just two saves to keep her clean sheet for the Knights.
