Lady Bombers escape with a win in PK’s - By Colson Mackey
As the season progressed through the first couple of games, the Lady Bombers Soccer Squad faced off in another thrilling game where they defeated a fresh look Southridge Suns team at home with a final score of 0-0(2-1 PK), after coming off a heart-breaking loss to the Chiawana Riverhawks also in PKs. With that win, the Lady Bombers improved to 2-1. Richland and Southridge have had some interesting games between them in the past, although the Lady Bombers have not fallen to the Suns in 8 years, they certainly have not been blowing out Southridge, with multiple games being won by one goal or in PK’s; Including this game, where the Bombers came out with a bounce back win in another match ending in PKs after a 0-0 score after the regular time and overtime, the bombers win 3-1 in PKs.
Both Southridge’s Soccer team and Richland’s Soccer team lost many key seniors. Firstly, Richland’s side lost forward Bella Bunnage, goalie Alyssa Marsh, striker Tiffany Turner, and defender Hailey Summers. These are some big roles that needed to be replaced by some of the Richland soccer girls. This was a highly successful team that made its way to the state playoffs before falling short to Puyallup in the first round.
The Suns of last year is a similar story to the Bombers, despite being a 7-loss team, they made their way to the state playoffs as well, falling short to Bonney Lake in the first round. They lost four of their five all-state players, including Defenders Chloe Bond and Bailey Bloxham. Southridge had many holes to fill in their new-look squad, but their girls were willing to face the task at hand tonight.
Both teams are also coming off losses, Richland to Chiawna and the Suns coming off a 3-0 loss to Kamiakin at Kamiakin. Before the game, the Lady Bombers shared a motivation that they would not forget what had happened just two nights prior. I asked Senior Goalkeeper Kenzie Christian questions about this game and what it means for the season moving forward. When I asked her about how she was looking to bounce back after that tough loss to Chiawna, she told me, “After that tough loss, our team is putting what we learned and ready to put it into the next because it was a non-conference game, so a trial run in the season against them. So the next game, we are going to be coming out strong and more competitive for the win in any challenge we come across, ready to show we were meant to get a win no matter the situation.” The Lady Bombers certainly came out with a fire in their hearts because tonight's match was no easier than the one they competed in on Tuesday. Kenzie has set some goals for herself this season, when I asked her to explain some of them, she told me that she wanted to be named first-team all-conference goalkeeper, and she also wanted to take a leadership role among the underclass girls filling in roles on their roster, she wishes to help push them when they face more challenging games, it’s safe to say that leadership showed tonight.
Now the game begins, and this match could be best described as a defensive battle between Senior Goalkeepers Kenzie Christain of Richland and Avery Garvey of Southridge. Throughout this game, the bombers struggled to get anything going offensively, with key players like Kylee Kukes and Niyah Gallegos having difficulty finding looks for quality shots on goal. The Bombers had around 20 shots on goal during the game; however, Southridge’s defensive scheme allowed them to keep the Lady Bombers scoreless. On the other side of the ball, the bomber defenders also did a fantastic job protecting the net. With 29 minutes left in the second half, Kylee Kukes managed to get past Garvey and tap one in off an assist from Payton Anderson, but it was called back for offsides. Junior defender Kiristen Griggs, Senior defender Syndey Olson, and Senior Goalkeeper Kenzie Christain did an excellent job all night, protecting the net, a common theme throughout the year.
Because of the excellent defense, it was no surprise that this game went into two overtime periods where we saw a couple of shots on goal from Richland’s Kylee Kukes; however, Avery Garvey continued to shut down the Bomber offense which led to another night where the game would be decided on PKs.
After regulation and two OTs, the Lady Bombers faced off in a highly anticipated PK showdown against the Suns. After losing so heartbreakingly the last game in PKs, the Lady Bombers came into this one with their heads high and a mentality to come out of this game with a win. They started out the PKs with the two Goalkeepers who were the show's stars tonight. Kenzie Christain lined up against Avery Garvey, and with the full moon glowing in the background the team captain of the Lady Bombers scored the goal and gave the Bombers the advantage of defending first in PKs. First off for the Southridge Suns, Sophomore Genesis Mendoza lined up to take the first shot of the showdown, as she jogged up to launch the ball, Kenzie read it perfectly and blocked the first PK of the night. This was a huge momentum shift for the Bombers. Next, Senior Midfielder Niyah Gallegos lined up and drained her PK, which gave the Bombers all the energy they needed to pull this one through. After one miss and one made by Southridge, as well as one miss and one made by Richland, Sophomore Kaylee Folk of Southridge lined up with the game in her hands against Kenzie Christain, who had a fire in her eyes, knowing she would not let anything get past her tonight. As she lined up to kick the ball, Folk missed wide left and the Bombers were victorious against the Suns, keeping their win streak over the last 8 years alive.
The Lady Bombers rushed to the field and hugged each other while celebrating the big win with their coaches. I asked fellow Bomber Hayden Galloway his thoughts on how the Lady Bombers played tonight, and he told me that he was impressed by their defense throughout the night, explaining that it is not an easy task to come off such a tough loss and continue to play the competition so well. He was particularly impressed with Junior Kylee Kukes and Senior Kenzie Christian on the hard work they showed all night, telling me that their hustle was something he could appreciate. Overall, the Lady Bombers still have that motivation pushing them each night, their mentality and hustle will win them many games, they were very impressive tonight in their win against the Southridge Suns.
