Keeper of the Team - By Stuart Allen

    Richland is sports. There have been many students who started their journey as a Bomber, moved on to the collegiate level, and ventured into the professional stage. With a long, rich history of state championships, Richland’s girl soccer has accumulated some of the greatest athletes to come through these doors. It’s not even a debate that the most famous and decorated athlete to etch her name in the history book is a soccer player. Hope Solo is famous on many different fronts for her various sports accomplishments, news events, and memoir. Alyssa Marsh very well knows this Bomber alumna before her. But make no mistake, Alyssa isn’t letting this tall shadow cast over her accomplishments.

At 5'11", Alyssa covers all corners of the goalie box.

    Alyssa Marsh is the junior goalkeeper for the Richland Bombers and a four-time state medalist in track and field. She is one of the fastest girls in the Tri-Cities, and it’s apparent in one of the stat lines: she has had only two goals scored against her (at the time this article was written, one coming in the late-garbage time of a huge lead against Hanford). She has faced three shootouts this year with a combined 16 shots against her. Alyssa has blocked eight of those shots and one has gone wide, making her ‘PK’ block average over 50%.

    It may come as a surprise that one of the team’s fastest players is confined to the goalie box. Alyssa was a medalist in three relays at the 4A state track meet last year and another medal in the 200, where she was first-team all-conference. However, Alyssa found out that the more she played goalie, that she was skilled at the position. “Coach Tracey (White) would switch me off and one person would be goalie for a half and then another person would switch in. I slowly found out that I was good with hand-eye coordination and she put me in more than a half and eventually played full time.” And at towering 5’11”, Alyssa has a wingspan that can make her presence known. Head coach Just Almquist sees her speed and size as a very equipped player, “Alyssa continues to improve as a goalkeeper in her overall game but ultimately, her best quality is that she is really, really difficult to score on. She is an amazing athlete to keep the ball out of the net.”

Communication with her teammates has set this team up for success.

    But the qualities that make Alyssa great are not found in the stat line. She credits her success to having a great team, especially defenders. When asked about her near-scoreless season, Alyssa points to her teammates in front of her, “Our defense is good. We have a good backline. Our midfield is really strong with Kelsey Fulton, Sorrel (Stratford), Riley Hedegger.” Marsh believes that much of her season and inspiration to do well come from the people she’s having the pleasure of being around. Coach Almquist also echoes this teamwork, saying, “The team used the first half of the season to grow that chemistry and communication between Alyssa and the defensive line, which really showed against a talented Kamiakin team where the defense gave them longer outside shots knowing that Alyssa can handle them well.” Almquist points to the trust being built between Alyssa and her team to the point that they are looking out for each other, “That trust takes time to build, so it’s great to see the defense doing their part to support Alyssa and vice versa when Alyssa comes up with a big save that very few other goalkeepers would make in the state.”

Alyssa and her teammates look to add more hardware to the Richland Hall of Fame.

    The people that helped her be the athlete she is today came from those closest to her and the people she would meet. Alyssa began her soccer story, like most youths, for fun and uncompetitive. “I think I was six,” she says about her earliest memories. But her love for the game grew and evolved. Alyssa also cherishes her mom’s high school stories for drawing her closer to the sport “...it was cool to hear about my mom playing in high school. …at about second grade, we switched to TCYSA and ASE”. Being on the road, traveling with a competitive team, and with her mother’s stories in her heart, Alyssa would find that fire inside that brews and molds a competitor. Alyssa also remembers the coaches and teammates that helped her hone her game inside the goalie box. “Coach Jamin Clark really helped that team (club) learn the basic skills that can be stacked on top of each other.” During COVID lockdown, Alyssa would also get some coaching help from one of Hope Solo’s former goalie coaches, Coach Dan Ollero. “(Dan Ollero) helped me during COVID because all the tournaments and games were canceled and we would have practice. We would go to a playground, set up a goal, and it was a lot of fun!”

Alyssa with a drop kick to her teammates against Walla Walla. Photo courtesy of Megan DeGraaf (RHS Yearbook).

    Alyssa has already begun writing her name in the history book for this team. Last year, the team had gone 16-0 in league with a final record of 21-1. Placing third in last year’s state tournament was a memory of a lifetime. But her most memorable moment came in the game against Puyallup to head into the semifinals. Down one goal to nil, her team had to get a last-minute goal to send the team into ‘PK’. Her teammates had made four goals and Alyssa would have her moment to give the team another chance to move forward. All eyes would be on Alyssa as she took on the penalty kicks. “I don’t think about anything. I look at their hips to see where they are facing and I just go. One of the keys is to not think about it too much.” She remembers being in this situation before, but this was to move onto hardware. “We all knew we could of won state and have the potential. The shootout was great because that moment was great. We are one of the few teams to make it that far.” The Bombers would go on to win and face Issaquah for their only season loss at 1-0. Issaquah would lose the state championship 0-0 in PKs. 

RHS has a combined record of 30-2 in the last two years, placing 3rd in state last year.

    Alyssa would only have seven goals scored against her last year and two this year. She has been a part of two teams with a collective record of 30-2. Alyssa is precisely the high standard RHS sets for their athletes. She is a team player who credits a collective unit in front of herself, a positive role model to the younger players, and a hard-working athlete. People around campus will remember sharing their stories of her greatness but more so the impact she has on others. UPDATE: RHS won their match against Chiawana in PKs late on 10/6.

Alyssa cheers with her team after beating Walla Walla in PKs. Photo courtesy of Megan DeGraaf (RHS Yearbook).