Lady Bombers Prepare for Postseason - By Justus Thurman
The Richland Bombers Girls Soccer team lined up to play the Hermiston Bulldogs on Tuesday night. As the sun set and two rainbows appeared, it would be a perfect juxtaposition to the game at Bomber Field. The girls are nearing the end of the season, which means one opportunity is on their minds. Playoffs. The Lady Bombers have entered the playoffs 2 seasons in a row and, for the third time, look to make the most of it. The strong side has seen their incredible wins and hard losses, as they exited the postseason without making it to state last year. Captains Alyssa Marsh, GK, Tiffany Turner, CB, and Bella Bunnage, ST, and Lucy Howard, RB, look to lead their teams to a deep state race this season.
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| Photo: Lady Bomber Soccer (@ladybombersoccer) |
Tuesday night’s fixture was a showcase of the playoff-ready bombers and a hungry and gutsy Hermiston side. The game kicked off at & o’clock sharp, and we were underway for a quality match. Right out of the gate, the Bombers netted a goal in the third minute. Kylee Kukes was there to kick the chance in the back of the net, establishing a lead that would last all game. “Just making sure I did my part, playing the wing is pretty difficult, so when you know what you're supposed to be doing, you just gotta make it happen,” Kukes mentioned about her performance. Although the Bombers were off to a fast start, the rest of the game was a different story. Hermiston’s hardworking defense was the story of this game and they did a fantastic job at holding Richland’s attacking weapons to one goal all game. Bella Bunnage, Richland’s only D1 commit for soccer, had 0 goals, but she was knocking on the door almost the entirety of the game. As the sun set and the time trickled down, both teams jogged into halftime. Bombers, 1, Hermiston, 0.
There was not much of a difference in the second half. The Lady Bombers kept the ball in the Bulldog’s half for what felt as if it was an eternity, creating chance after chance. One of the best chances from the second half came from a set-piece taken by Tiffany Turner from the left side of the box in scoring position. Turner sent a curling ball into the middle of the Hermiston defense, and Kylee Kukes found it. Unfortunately, Kukes could not connect with it well and sent it over the crossbar. As the Bombers continued to pressure the Bulldogs, the game seemed to speed up. Chance after chance, shot after shot, the Richland 11 could not finish. The match ended with a Richland victory, but the Bulldogs did not look defeated at all. I asked the Hermiston head coach how he thought his side did, and this is what he had. “I think we played an incredible game. I think we were able to hold them pretty well. I mean, they are a tough team for sure, but I think we came out and surprised a few people”. Hermiston, being ranked number 7 in the MCC, was definitely satisfied with their performance against the #5 team in the state.
Looking ahead to playoffs, Richland looks to make it deep into the postseason and eventually end up playing for a chance at a top 3 position in the state tournament. However, for the first time in 3 seasons, the Richland Bombers are fighting hard for an MCC title. With an emerging Chiawana team that has scored up 76 goals this season, Richland finds themselves in a title race with the Riverhawks. Kylee Kukes had thoughts about the Richland postseason. “Well, we want to go into it expecting to play Chiawana. If we end up playing them, we want to beat them right off the bat. We have some losses from last year that will push us forward this year. And we would really like to beat G-Prep”. Gonzaga Prep, a private catholic school out of Spokane, was recently ranked number 2 in the state by WIAA. As for Hermiston’s plan for the rest of the season, their Head Coach was able to give a few words on that. “I expect to come out and play just as hard as we did tonight. IF we’re able to hold and almost score a couple times on the number 5 team in the state, I think we could beat just about anybody. We have four games left, and I want some W’s”. We look forward to seeing how both teams perform this postseason.
