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Silveira nets hat trick for Knights
GSOC--Waterford-Ripon Christian pic 1 for WEB
Ripon Christians Bethany Silveira works the ball between Waterfords Jaecelyn Romero (1) and Jacky Lopez (14). - photo by DAVE CAMPBELL/The Bulletin

RIPON — There is more than one way to skin a cat, or in the case of the Ripon Christian girls soccer team, there was more than one way to score a goal Thursday night with Bethany Silveira posting an unconventional hat trick in a 4-1 Southern League win over the visiting Waterford Wildcats. 

“We try and make sure we can vary the way that we attack and I love that we scored in multiple ways tonight,” Knights coach Kevin Tameling said. 

Ripon Christian (4-0-1 SL, 7-5-1 overall) is 2-0-1 in league games after Christmas break with a 1-1 tie at Orestimba and home wins of 2-0 over Mariposa and Thursday’s win over Waterford with off-the-pitch duties having created distractions that the Knights have taken in stride. 

“We knew coming into this three-game stretch that these were maybe the three toughest teams in the league,” Tameling said. “This was a tough stretch of games coming off of Christmas vacation and we talked about it before break.

“We have basketball homecoming this week and there have been distractions with some girls in the homecoming court. There have been a lot of distractions this week and I love the way the girls put those distractions aside for these games and we are really moving somewhere for the rest of the year in league.”

After an own goal gave the Wildcats (2-2-1, 2-3-1) a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute, Silveira tied the game a minute later with the game’s only conventional goal off of an assist from Rachel Oosterman. 

Silveira scored her second goal in as many minutes on a rebound from Brittany Bloomhof’s shot, and she tallied her hat trick midway through the second half when one of her corner kicks bounced in off of a Wildcats defender.   

“It was a really fun game,” Silveira said. “The whole front row was working together and trying to find ways to score. I happened to be in the right place at the right time on the first two goals and on the corner kick I was trying to get as high and as far in as I could and it happened to go off of one of their players into the net. 

“I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t know how to celebrate.”

Emma Cormier made the score 3-1 with a minute left in the first half when one of Silveira’s shots rebounded out and Cormier was there to tap it back in. 

“It was really chaotic on that goal,” Cormier said. “I didn’t think I had made it but the goalie kind of rolled into the goal and I scored, somehow.” 

Knights goalie Manaia Pio was lonely in the first half with the only action in her net coming on the Waterford own goal. In the second half Pio tallied four saves. 

 

Frosh-soph

Ripon Christian 3,

Waterford 0

Kendall Pounders tallied two goals and Annalise Welsh one for the Knights. Ripon Christian’s Charlotte Tevelde chipped in with an assist.