The Streak Stays Alive - by Jacob Rohrig

    Richland Girl’s soccer team has made a habit of nailbiting endings in this year’s schedule. In typical fashion, last night’s matchup against Chiawana was as close as it gets, with a win in penalty kicks moving the team to 10-1 on the season. They now have a ten-game win streak and are not showing any signs of slowing down as we near the end of the season and the start of playoffs. 

Richland’s Alyssa Marsh getting ready to boom the ball downfield. Photo Courtesy of Mason Metcalf 

    Leading up to this game, the team had a full week of soccer with a narrow win in penalty kicks against Walla Walla on Monday, October 4, and a big win against Pasco the day after. When asked if she thought three games in one week was too much, Sorrel Stratford, a senior midfielder for Richland, said, “having three games in one week can take a toll on the team’s health, but I think we did a good job pulling through.” 

    Both teams started off relatively slow while relearning how the other team played. The first time the ball even got close to a goalkeeper’s hands was in the 6’ minute of the game when Richland’s goalkeeper, Alyssa Marsh, had to stop a right-side breakaway. 

    From then on, the battle of the midfield ensued. With substantially more possession time, it seemed to be leaning in Richlands favor. This was until Chiawana had another breakaway, this time on the left side of the field. The attack didn’t last long against the lockdown defense of Savannah Crithfield (12), who quickly got it back to junior forward Bella Bunnage. Bunnage sent the ball 60 yards downfield for an excellent through ball that set up a counterattack at the 12’ mark. Just one minute later, Bunnage would get involved in the play again with a cross to freshman Kylie Kukes who stabbed her foot in the air to redirect the ball towards the near post and past the goalie and into the net, making the score 1-0.

Richland’s Bella Bunnage battling her way downfield. Photo Coursey of Mason Metcalf.

    Momentum for Richland quickly dissipated after the goal as Chiawana looked to equal the score. Time after time, Emma Haertling, a senior right wing for Chiawana, would make a break down the sideline to try and pressure the Lady Bombers’ defense. This forced senior center back Kendal Smith to make multiple stops to keep that 1-0 lead. The Riverhawks kept this pressure up with multiple close calls that made every fan in attendance ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’. One of which was a perfectly placed corner kick that ended with a header just over the crossbar. Another chance the Riverhawks had to even the score was when senior midfielder Sierra Larios passed it over the defensive line of the Lady Bombers to Haertling. A great shot on goal wasn’t enough to get passed Richland’s star goalie. Soon after, the whistle sounded, signaling the end of the first half with the score still 1-0. 

The Bombers talking over the first half of play during a halftime discussion. Photo courtesy of Mason Metcalf.

    The gameplay started out hot in the second half, with both teams increasing their physicality. In the 46’ minute of the game, Chiawana picked up a yellow card which was followed by a series of fouls for both teams, including one inside Richland’s 18-yard box. This gave Chiawana a chance to tie the game with a penalty kick. Senior forward Ava Suarez did exactly that with a hard-hit ball to the back of the net in the 55’ minute. 

Richland’s Kelsey Fulton taking a tumble after getting fouled. Photo courtesy of Mason Metcalf.

    The pressure of the Riverhawks was unrelenting for the rest of the second half, forcing save after save from Marsh. Many opportunities were not quite capitalized by the Riverhawk offense leading the game into extra time, making it the 4th game this season for Richland to go into extra time. 

    The game progressed slowly until the last minute of play when another penalty kick was given to Chiawana because of a foul on Haertling. Having a successful record of 1 for 1 on the day, the kick was given to Suarez. As she lined up and the whistle was blown, Marsh did what she needed to keep her team in the game and blocked the ball to send the game into penalty kicks. 

    Luckily for Richland, they have been in a shootout many times this season. Starting off with goals from Kelsey Fulton and Sorrel Stratford that seemed practically unsavable, the shootout was tied at two each after Emma Haertling and Sierra Larios both made their kicks. Tiffany Turner was able to guess which way the keeper was going and hit it to the right side as she went left. Danielle Horst, a sophomore from Chiawana, was next up to try and equal the score at 3-3. She struck the ball perfectly to the top right, but Marsh made the save of the game with a huge lunge to knock it away. Savannah Crithfield followed with a unique runup that confused the keeper, allowing her to have an uncontested shot to the left, putting the bombers up 4-2. A make from the side of Chiawana would not matter as Senior Riley Heidegger chipped the ball over the goalie’s head to seal the game for Richland with a penalty kick score of 5-4. 

Richland's Sorrel Stratford setting up her penalty kick. Photo courtesy of Mason Metcalf.

    Penalty kicks will always come with a lot of nerves. When asked about how she feels going into these high-pressure situations, Alyssa Marsh said, “I try not to think about it. I rely on my experience from scenarios just like this.” Combined with excellent finesse and a confident goalie, it was impossible to beat Richland last Thursday night. 

Richland celebrating their hard-fought victory. Photo courtesy of Mason Metcalf.