SACRAMENTO – For the second year in a row, the Ripon Christian girls soccer team claimed the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship, this time with a 1-0 win over Big Valley Christian at Cosumnes River College on Saturday.
“Winning back-to-back is a special treat for our program,” Knights coach David Morris said. “Eleven years ago, we won a D-VII title, but we had never won a D-VI title until last year, so to go back-to-back is fantastic.
“That was much tighter than we wanted it to be. We played a really nervy first half, and we just weren’t ourselves, we weren’t possessing and we weren’t moving the ball. I was happy to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead, because we just weren’t doing good.”
In the 34th minute, the goalie for the Lions (13-5-2) of Modesto grabbed a ball just outside the box on the far wing, setting up a free kick for Ripon Christian (15-8-1). Alanna Blanco set up the ball and arced it to the far post for Brooke Barnes to head in for the only score of the game.
“We got that free kick and honestly I felt like we were going to get something on it,” Barnes said. “Alanna (Blanco) kicked the perfect ball, and I ran up and tried to get something on it, and it worked out.”
Blanco knew that if she got the ball in the right place, her team would score.
“All I wanted to do was put it in play, because I knew that is what would get us the goal,” Blanco said. “I knew I had to go far post, and I trusted my players to put something on it and knock it in, and that’s what they did.”
Knights goalie Morgan Schenk was tested in the first half with five saves, but her workload was greatly diminished in the second half with just one save.
“I really trust my defense a lot,” Schenk said. “They are great defenders and honestly it gives me comfort knowing they have my back if I make a mistake.
“In the first half, I had a couple of saves but again, I trusted them. In the second half, I think the defense got their energy up, and they were amazing.”
The majority of the second half was played on the Big Valley Christian side of the field. In the first half, Ripon Christian managed just two shots, but in the second, the Knights blasted six shots with three on goal to just one shot on goal for the Lions.
“We had multiple opportunities in the second half,” Morris said. “You just hope for one more to put the game away, and they kept fighting hard. It was hot today and this is a huge field, and they played their hearts out.”
The Knights finished with eight shots, two on goal, and the Lions tallied seven shots, five on goal. Big Valley Christian goalie Cassi Meems posted four saves.
The two teams will now compete in the NorCal championships beginning Tuesday, March 4. The brackets will be made available on the afternoon of Sunday, March 2.
