The Ripon Christian Knights capitalized on great defensive play and strong finishing around the net Wednesday night in a 3-0 shutout victory over the Ripon Indians in the Trans Valley League opener for both squads.
“We mixed up some formations going into tonight’s match, and I was really happy with how the guys came out and attacked them,” Ripon Christian coach Danny Koolhaas said. “We were able to create some chances and limit theirs, which is always a good recipe.”
Koolhaas’ Knights (1-0-0, 2-4-1) find themselves still getting to full strength after missing a large portion of the team during the school’s run in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs for football. They’re still without two all-league defenders in Lushen Sanders and Aaron Van Hofwegen, both of whom missed Wednesday’s TVL opener due to injury.
“Having those guys out has really given us a chance to see how deep we are,” Koolhaas said. “It’s given guys opportunities to show they can compete at this level and will only make us better as we get to full strength.”
Ripon (0-1-0, 2-9-2) has not started the season like coach Jose Montes would have liked, but the Indians competed from the opening whistle, creating chances of their own throughout.
“Tonight came down to 50-50 balls,” Montes said. “They won them, and we didn’t. We created some chances, got behind them a few times, but in those spots where the ball could go either way, we just did not win enough.”
The first half of the rivalry match saw both teams feeling each other out. Strong defensive play from seniors Daniel Lambdin and Reagan Sauer kept Ripon Christian goalkeeper Wesley Vander Woude (six saves) largely unscathed early on.
The Knights would draw first blood with 21 minutes left in the first half. After a long throw-in, junior Ian Brown laid the ball off to midfielder Jack Dooley, who beat Ripon keeper Gurtej Lalli (10 saves).
It would not take long for Ripon Christian to find its second goal in the match. Buildup wide from Dooley saw him cross the ball into the box perfectly timed to sophomore midfielder Collin Lecain who beat Lalli for one of the nicer goals the fans at Memorial Stadium will see all season long.
“That was a good run of play by Jack,” Lecain said. “He made a great pass and put it right where it needed to be. I was just glad to be there to finish it off and get us that important second goal in the match.”
The Indians kept creating chances after going down two goals. Senior forward Brian Machado was able to get behind the defense, but a save from Vander Woude and a Ripon Christian clearance off its own line late in the half would ensure the hosts went into the intermission up 2-0.
The Knights capitalized on momentum built in the first half early in the second. Consistent pressure from Lecain brought through the Ripon defense just five minutes into the first half as he fired a shot from just inside the box that hit the post, bounced directly to senior midfielder Blake Stuit, who slotted home the rebound to help Ripon Christian build on its lead.
“Collin is a very dynamic player,” Koolhaas said. “Our team knows that when the ball is at his feet, good things can happen, so you see us try to get him the ball as much as possible, and when we can do that, good things usually happen for us.”
Vander Woude would keep the Indians off of the board for the remainder of the match with the help of his defense, recording the first shutout of the season for the Knights. They’ll look to build on Wednesday’s complete performance Friday when Sonora comes to town.
