Sierra continued its sizzling start to the girls soccer season on Friday, winning their opening matches in group play with shutout victories in the Ervin Mendiola Memorial Classico.

The East Union-hosted, two-day tournament for boys and girls is held at Woodward Park.

The Timberwolves, now 5-0, kicked off the festivities with a 4-0 rout of Valley Oak League newcomer Patterson. They then blanked Downey 3-0 for their third straight clean sheet of the season.

Leslie Reyes bagged a brace against Patterson (0-1-2).

Hailey Cruz totaled two goals for the day, and Hannah Hint contributed a goal and an assist against Downey (2-3). Hannah Hint scored once. Anayla McDonald, Zoe Sutton and Jessica Miranda each had an assist.

Amaya Pacheco split time in goal with Mele Sanchez, securing four saves.

Sierra rounds out group play this morning against Tokay (1-0-2) starting at 8.

GIRLS SOCCER

Ripon Christian 3, Amador 1

The visiting Knights (3-0-1) trailed at halftime, but Alanna Blanco came alive to catapult them to the lead.

She scored five minutes into the second half with a nice assist from fellow junior captain Tatum Sonke. Blanco struck again for the go-ahead, and freshman Naomi Hendricks blasted in the insurance goal from distance.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Ripon Christian 70, River Islands 42

In Riverbank, River Islands looked to stun the reigning Sac-Joaquin Section Division V champion and jumped out to a 17-7 lead in the Ron Peterson Tip-Off Tournament semifinal.

The still-unbeaten Knights (4-0) responded with 17 unanswered points and continued their dominance after staking a 36-26 halftime lead.

Walker Postma led a balanced effort with 16 points, while Chase Bunnell and Amos Cady each had 14. Jake Vander Veen contributed eight points and 10 assists. E.J. Bruno and Luke Walton added season-highs of nine and seven points, respectively.

Ripon Christian tangles with Beyer (3-0) for the championship today starting at 5.

River Islands (3-2) was headed by Charles Mapanao, who made four 3s and scored 12 points. Idrees ElFarra scored 10 points, and Dylan Peter had nine.

Lathrop 54, Sierra 52

The Manteca Unified rivals squared off in a consolation final in the Rocklin Tournament.

Lathrop (1-3) collected its first win of the season and was led by Joseph Perkins’ 18 points. Nicolas Arceo chipped in 15 points, three rebounds and three steals. Justin Neal had 12 points.

BOYS SOCCER

Ripon Christian 1, Calaveras 0

Ricky Van Unen scored the lone tally in the 42nd minute of the Jerry Terpsma Classic opener. The Knights (4-0) face Wheatland (1-0-1) in the semifinal round today at 11 a.m.

Ripon Christian recorded its third shutout of the season, and goalkeeper Josh Crivello had two saves.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Merced 41, Ripon 33

Ripon (1-4) dropped the Golden Valley Tournament consolation semifinal in Merced.

Leila Sanchez led the Indians with eight points. Samantha Barragan had 14 for Merced (1-3).

Frosh boys basketball

Sierra 60 Stagg 25
Eleven different players scored for the Timberwolves, as they won the Edison Tournament contest in a landslide.

Billy Taylor paced them with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Kiral Tran added nine points, and Simran Bajwa had six.

Sierra (3-2) takes on Golden Valley today at 11:30 a.m.