Bench Comes Up Big in 4-0 Win - By Ben Lehman
The Richland Girls Soccer team is now 4-1 after their 4-0 win against Hermiston on Thursday, 9/15.
The Lady Bombers are coming off a huge win against Chiawana the day before. After coming off no days of rest, they hoped to perform well against Hermiston. The Richland Bombers were forced to play on Wednesday night due to the smoky conditions.
Smoky conditions made sports all across the Pacific Northwest struggle to be outside earlier this week. The source of the struggle would be forest fires in Oregon, Washington, and Northern Idaho. These fires made it impossible for teams to practice outside. The Bombers and all teams in the MCC had games pushed to Wednesday in hopes of healthier conditions outside. Richland had to practice inside at times which caused them to lose repetitions and valuable practice time.
The Lady Bombers were going into this game facing some adversity. The biggest hurdle for the Bombers was that they are coming into the game with no days of rest. Coach Justin Almquist wanted to get fresh feet on the pitch. He didn't want to risk the injury of his players. Almquist would start the game with three of his original starters, senior Savannah Crithfield, senior Kendal Smith, and junior Tiffany Turner. However, there was a lot of young talent on the pitch as well last night.
Alex Billings, a junior forward for the Bombers, had an amazing game. She scored two goals, one early in the game at the tenth-minute mark and another at the forty-fourth-minute mark, assisted by sophomore Payton Anderson. After being asked about how they dealt with no days rest, Billings said “I know a lot of our players were really tired going into today but I think we played it out and played well.” She also expressed her feelings about a double-score game “It felt really good, it was a confidence boost.” Billings would be the second Bomber this season to score double goals in a single game.
Sophomore Emry Law also scored for the Bombers. Law’s goal came at the twenty-seventh minute assisted by senior Kelsey Fulton assisted Law in her goal. Maja Scholdberg, new to the team and country as a visiting foreign exchange student from Sweden, also had a goal at the sixty-seventh minute. The Bombers offense was working. The dominant Bomber soccer team had the ball on Hermiston’s side for over thirty minutes in the first half. When the ball did get on Richland’s side, their defense was equally working.
A big part of winning games for the Bombers is being aggressive with their shots. The Bombers took the ‘Dawgs’ by storm because of how they work their offense. Richland’s offense is one of the best in the state because of how they move and how many shots they get off. Most people say defense wins championships. But with the Bombers, it’s their aggressive offense that makes them such a threat to other teams' defenses.
The Bombers are continuing to perform well and bring in wins. The Bombers have been dominant in the MCC for the past three years, currently the first seed in the district. The biggest difference this year from the past is that they are not playing with Hayden Crowley. Crowley received Washington's ‘Gatorade Player of the Year’ in 2021. This is awarded to the most elite players in the country. Not only for their performance on the field but their performance in the classroom and their involvement in their community. Crowley also won player of the year for the MCC. But it’s the bringing up of future stars that makes the Bombers so successful.
Head coach Justin Almquist has led the Bombers to win three MCC Championships in the last three years. He led the team last year to place third in the state in the ‘21 season. Almquist expects a lot out of these girls and is very proud of them. When asked how he prepared them, he said “It's gonna be the second game in two nights, so we gotta use the whole roster, gave some kids the opportunity to start.” Almquist gave some of the starters a rest by playing mostly second-string players. Coach is helping the next generation of quality Bomber players by giving some experience on what it's like to play varsity. This can help the players gain trust from their coach and build the program they have today.
