By JONAMAR JACINTO

Sports editor of the

Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin

RIPON — Dan Vander Molen hit the right post on a penalty kick. Then he nailed the left post on a breakaway.

And a third would-be goal was taken away when a teammate was wrongfully called offsides after Vander Molen had deftly lofted the ball over the keeper and into the net from an odd angle.

It started out to be a frustrating varsity debut for the Ripon Christian freshman, as his Knights kicked off the 2011 season against Ripon at Ripon Elementary Monday.

“I was quite frustrated,” Vander Molen said. “I was thinking that I just had to get more opportunities.”

Luckily for both he and the Knights, he did.

Vander Molen struck in the 68th and 76th minutes, and Ripon Christian beat its neighboring rival for the first time in six years, 3-1.

Ripon Christian last defeated the Indians on Oct. 11, 2005 by the same score. Ripon would go on to claim the next 12 in succession, 11 coming in Trans Valley League play. Last year, RC moved to the Southern League and lost its season opener to Ripon, 7-1.

“I can’t remember the last time we started 1-0,” Ripon Christian coach Keith Terpsma said.

That also happened in 2005, when the Knights defeated Bret Harte, 3-1.

Defender Christian Manes broke the ice 3 minutes into the second half with a penalty kick. Vander Molen’s PK try came at the 10-minute mark, and after he missed fellow freshman Coleton Hilarides’ follow-up shot caromed off the crossbar.

“We’ve played five games and we’ve given up six PKs already,” said Ripon coach Jamie DeBruyn. “We’re shooting ourselves in the foot pretty badly right now.”

Andre DeDonatis ruined Ripon Christian’s shutout with a nice goal in the 79th minute. With his momentum going toward the right corner flag, DeDonatis was able to turn and shoot in one motion and hit the opposite panel.

Ripon is now 0-5 in its busy non-league schedule that started last Friday. On Saturday, the Indians struggled in three blowout losses at Stagg High’s Brown & Gold Jamboree in Stockton, and it doesn’t get any easier with Manteca visiting Wednesday.

Not helping matters is the absences of four key members of the defense — defensive midfielder Arik Anaya sweeper Cesar Nuno, stopper Ian McDonald and goalkeeper Henk Gaalswyk are out with ailments.

“We’re hurting. I don’t want to harp on the fact that we have guys out, but it’s killing us,” DeBruyn said.

Terpsma, meanwhile, is pleased with how his side performed in its first match of the season. Not having had any scrimmages this year, he said he wasn’t sure how his team would look in the opener.

“This is our first game, so this was our chance to see what we need (to work on) and they showed me something today,” said Terpsma, who has three sophomores and five freshmen on the team. “I’m really happy with how these guys played. I’ve really been pushing these guys to start thinking a few steps ahead, and it was nice to see the younger players doing that.”

Ripon Christian next hosts Modesto Christian on Friday.