Roles Reversed, Suns Felt Bomber Heat - By Junior Kenfua
On a chilly Tuesday night of October 17th, The Lady Bombers hosted the face-off with the Southridge Suns. With the Bombers being the favorites in this matchup, they knew Southridge wasn't some scrub of a team. Furthermore, Southridge was coming with the spirit of vengeance after a sour 3-2 defeat earlier in the season; thus, the Lady Bombers brought their ‘A’ game. After all, the Suns were not too far off from the Richland Bombers as only Kamiakin, Richland, and Chiawana were over them. In order for the lady Bombers to be top in the MCC, they would have to beat Southridge, and Chiawana would have to lose to Kamiakin. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. I would have to look forward to the next game if Chiawana lost to Hanford in an upset, giving the Lady Bombers the edge if they come out successful in their next matchup against Walla Walla.
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| Photo: Metcalf Media (@metclafmedia_) |
The Bombers had to be a terrifying opponent for the Suns, as the Lady Bombers were coming off a ten-game winning streak. They look impossible to beat, with an average of 3.5 goals a game. Southridge knew in order to steal a win over the Richland Bombers, they had to score at least three goals. The Lady Bombers approached the game with a lot of confidence as they had the higher ball possession of 58%-42% props to the Richland Bombers’ midfielders. Although this was the case, there were a lot of missed crosses and missed opportunities overall. One of them was an excellent cross into the box from Niyah Gallegos, which was intercepted by Southridge’s goalkeeper, Avery Garvey, caused by the lack of offensive presence in the box. In the forty-minute half, there were only three shots on target and four shots off target for the Lady Bombers. The Suns had even fewer opportunities to score, with two shots on target and two shots off target. Both defenses really showed up in the first half, so much so that there were zero corners for the Lady Bombers and Southridge Suns. The half ended with both offenses having areas to improve on. I got a chance to talk to Bella Bunnage, who is furthering her athletic journey at Eastern Washington University, about what they changed about their mindset in the second half. Bella said, “When we are in the locker room, it's all about fixing our mistakes and changing our mindset. Our coach talks to us about what tactics aren't working and how we can improve them”.
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| Photo: Metcalf Media (@metclafmedia_) |
As soon as the referee blew the whistle for the second half, all hell broke loose. Both teams brought the intensity. At the opening of the half, Lady Suns had control of the pitch with a 60%-40% ball possession. Eight minutes later, Richland broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute. It was a goal by Kylee Kukes from 5 feet. It was an incredible lob through ball by Mackenzie Thonney, the brilliant midfielder who got the assist. Avery Garvey, Southridge’s goalie, had no chance as the ball was well precise for the bottom left corner, well away from her. Although there was still plenty of game to be played, and as Lady Suns saw the clock run down, a sense of desperation was in the atmosphere. More corners were seen in the second half, and more shots were well-aimed. The defenses were tested, and attacks were more vicious, but the lack of physicality was the downfall of the Suns. The game as a whole wasn’t a dogfight, as there were no yellow or red cards for the entirety of the game. All the energy and efforts the Lady Suns put in to find an equalizer came to burn them later in the game as fatigue became a factor. More mistakes were made in the Lady Sun's defense. One mistake was detrimental because it decided the outcome of the game. Towards the end of the game, as the clock was getting closer to crunch time, a Suns' defender, Abigail Ferguson, received a pass from the keeper and pushed the ball too far from reach, which was intercepted by the junior Payton Anderson, who, without a thought and a shred of doubt took a shot at the goal on sight. The ball went like a missile over Avery Garvey into the net. All winning aspirations of the Lady Suns evaporated, and the joy the Lady Bombers felt was unrelenting. The referee blows the end of this exciting encounter, with the Richland Bombers taking the victory over the Southridge Suns in a 2-0 win.
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| Photo: Metcalf Media (@metclafmedia_) |
