Not our Night for the Lady Bombers - By Colby Whitby
Tuesday’s match between the Richland Bombers and Chiawana Riverhawks was a large attraction in the MCC this week. Last season, a Lady Bombers team led by two-time Mid-Columbia Conference coach of the year Justin Almquist, coached a team that swept the Riverhawks in both of their matchups last season. With Chiawana wanting revenge and the Bombers wanting to keep a winning streak alive, both teams took the field ready to fight. The game started off hot and did not cool down once. Both teams were looking at the goal like it was their last game. It was not until around the 25th minute that the Riverhawks were heavily controlling the game. Passing on point, and creating attacking opportunities that the Chiawana players will lose sleep over. However, the Bombers always seem to get back and turn the momentum the other way. In the 32nd minute, Bella Bunnage exploded down the sideline with speed and control, crossing the ball back onto the opponent’s 18-yard line, where Mackenzie Thonney missed the shot left by a few feet. This change was a sign that the Bombers were pushing hard against the control that Chiawana had at the time.
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Although Richland has gathered tons of attention from alumni and people around the Tri-cities, one player on Chiawana has also been talked about. After back-to-back knee injuries, Bella Hoag is finally starting a season healthy and on a clean slate. It clearly showed during the game that Bella was excited and ready to play, especially during the second half of the game. The Lady Bombers came out with the same lineup as the first whistle and instantly started putting pressure on Chiawana’s back four. Pressing hard and fast, Kylee Kukes created many great chances during the second half. With Richland being one of the only teams in the MCC with a grass field, sometimes it can have a negative impact when playing on a harder surface like Chiawana turf. The ball rolls faster and bounces more. This showed during the match, and it was clear that the Girl Riverhawks were prepared and comfortable with the field conditions. After dominating for a good amount of the second half, Bella Hoag emerges from the midfield on a dangerous run. She took on defenders with speed and good control, pushing the ball to her favored right foot and netting a top right corner shot to put the Riverhawks up one to nothing with 27 minutes left in the half.
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Any other team would lose confidence in that moment, watching the Riverhawks celebrate the leading goal on their own half. But the Lady Bombers kept their heads up, and a new burst of energy flowed as the girls pressured harder than ever. Bella Bunnage, the starting forward and D1 commit to Eastern Washington University, was working hard to fire shots at the Chiawana goal. Creating confidence and moving momentum, the Bombers were looking at goal hungry for an answer to Hoag’s leading shot. Inevitably, the girls started to run low on energy as the half closed out. Taking advantage of this, the Chiawana girls started to put pressure on the Lady Bomber’s defensive third. Emry Law, a Junior, was a lifeline in the back and made a huge play with a goal-line save to keep the game tight. In the final seconds of the hard-fought match, Alyssa Marsh drop-kicked the ball all the way to the final third of the field, where it was flicked on to Kylee Kukes. Kylee drove down the left side of the pitch, before passing the ball on to Bella Bunnage who had been given the best chance the Bombers had in that half. Bella pushed the ball out to her right foot, but the Riverhawk defenders worked hard to block the shot and secure the win over the Bombers.
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Although both teams have popular star players like Bella Hoag and Bella Bunnage, one player for the Lady Bombers was the reason it was kept so close. Alyssa Marsh, senior captain and returning goalie from the district-winning team last season, had an excellent game. I was fortunate enough to interview her after the game. I asked her how does this game affect her season going forward? She replied with, “I think this was a great game looking into what we need to fix… we fought hard out there, I don’t see this game as a negative outcome.” I also had the opportunity to speak to Bella Hoag, I asked did anything had changed this week at practice preparing for the bombers? Hoag replied with, “We knew the lady bombers are a really strong team, so if we wanted to stay strong in the beginning we would have to warm up well.”
