Lightning Can’t Hold Lady Bombers Down, Win 8-0 - by Justus Thurman

    The Richland High School girls' soccer team headed into Thursday night’s fixture against the Pasco Bulldogs ready to fight. Coming off a blowout win versus the Hermiston Bulldogs, these girls were filled with confidence as they took the field at 7:00 sharp. This year's Bomber team, which features five returning starters from the 2022/23 district-winning team, is in fantastic form to start the season. 

Brandon Bunnage @apertunistic

    Per usual, Richland’s team came out blazing hot with Kylee Kukes netting a goal in the first 17 seconds of the game. Bella Bunnage is on the assist, with many more to come. Dominating in the midfield, Naya Gallegos showed off her excellent vision and hard work ethic. The Bulldogs rarely progressed into the attacking third because of Naya and her discipline on defense. Predictably, Bella Bunnage finished the next chance the team provided, making it 2-0 in the first ten minutes of the match. From here on, the Lady Bombers showed true control and possession. 

    With 20 minutes remaining in the first half, Payton Anderson finished a bouncing ball in the box to send the Bombers up 3-0, but the crowd seemed to be focused on other attractions on the horizon. A giant storm had been in view from Bomber Field, and fans had pointed out lightning in the distance multiple times. With 15 minutes left in the first half, the game was delayed for lightning. Parents were instructed to head to their vehicles while the players were ordered to stay inside the locker rooms.

Brandon Bunnage @apertunistic

    The match was rescheduled to the next day at 4:00. The game was to be resumed from where it was delayed the night before, with 15 minutes remaining in the first half. The game seemed as if it was the same exact game from last night, as the home team took complete control over the tempo. Adding two more to the scoreboard, the girls were heading into halftime up five goals. 

    Coming out of halftime, the Bombers started a different-looking squad compared to the first half, but that did not hold them up when it came to scoring. Tiffany Turner bagged two consecutive headers within five minutes of each other, and Emily Rodgers concealed the game by sending one into the back of the net with a final lopsided score of 8-0.

Brandon Bunnage @apertunistic

    After the game, I was fortunate enough to get the chance to talk to a few of the players from the Lady Bombers. Tiffany Turner, starting center back, had many wonderful comments to say about the team. When asked how the game would impact the rest of their season, Turner stated “We have learned that we can't control what calls the ref makes, only how we play as a team and as individuals." I moved on to ask about the absence of Justin Almquist, their head coach, who was not present for the match. “It wasn't too terrible, it's definitely different without having our usual guidance on the sidelines. it was an easier game though, so it did not impact us much”

    Another player I was fortunate enough to talk to was Bella Bunnage. Bella is one key players in this team’s offense, and recently committed to play D1 soccer at Eastern Washington University. I asked her to reflect on the importance of this season after the massive decision to play collegiately. “It has changed for me because I'm using it to prepare me for the next level. Also going into this season as a senior has completely changed my perspective.” With a few hard games coming up in the Lady Bomber’s schedule, I asked Bella how the intensity at practice and in the locker room changes to prepare for challenging matches. “The intensity will change in the locker room because we can take what we learn in the prior games into tough games like Chiawana and Southridge”. 

Brandon Bunnage @apertunistic

    The girls look forward to continuing their season and possibly winning the league undefeated. But the Bombers are now heading into their fourth game of the season against an undefeated Chiawana who also shares the same goal. This will be a tough game for the Lady Bombers but green and gold looks to be the favorite after such a dominant win.