The Ripon and Ripon Christian girls soccer teams both ended the regular season with blowout victories on the road.
Ripon, which already had its second straight Trans-Valley League title wrapped up, blasted Mountain House 7-0 with six different players scoring goals. Not to be out done, four-time Southern League champion Ripon Christian crushed Le Grand, 10-1.
The mission for both squads was to maintain their level of play and healthy going into the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.
“It was nice to be playing on an artificial field for our last (regular-season) game,” Ripon coach Jamie DeBruyn said. “We started the year off on turf fields and it was a little sketchy, but I liked the way we were passing today and the pace of the ball. We wanted to give the core group an opportunity on build-up and finishing.”
The Indians (11-1 TVL, 18-5 overall) led 3-0 by halftime. Sophomore Cindy Alvarez accounted for two goals. Alaina Cornilsen and Alyssa Thweatt both had a goal and an assist, and Haley Simmons finished with three assists. Megan Harlan, Lysette Gamboa and Isabella Helppie each contributed a goal.
Courtney Slamon and Devon Denhart shared time at goal for the shutout. Denhart kept the sheet clean with what DeBruyn called a “brilliant save” midway through the second half.
Ripon is hoping to return to the final round after losing in the SJS Division V championship match last year.
Ripon Christian (13-0-1 SL, 17-6-1 overall), meanwhile, is moving up to Division VI after capturing the last two Division VII banners.
Abby Buitrago and Rachel Faure netted two goals apiece in the first 28 minutes, and 10 different Knights factored into the scoring. Buitrago and Faure also had two assists each, while Alex Erdelatz led the team with three.
Cynthia Van Vliet and Hailey Van Laar both had a goal and an assist. Samantha Carvalho and Amy Kinser each had a goal. Julia Ray, Lauren DeVries and Jessica Van Vliet took turns protecting the goal.
“We used the last game of Southern League play to try some different combinations on the field in order to get ready for another playoff run,” Ripon Christian coach Kevin Tameling said.
Postseason brackets will be released by the section today.
