Roundup: Ripon Christian girls soccer falls in semifinals; three basketball teams advance
The Ripon Christian girls soccer team couldn’t come out on top in Wednesday’s Division VI Semifinals matchup with Mariposa County, but it didn’t go down without a fight.
The Knights fell behind by one goal twice in the game and answered both times, forcing overtime, but fell in the second overtime period, 3-2.
“There’s a ton of heart on this team,” said Knights first-year head coach David Morris. “We have a bunch of athletes and a bunch of competitors and they didn’t quit.”
After going into halftime trailing 1-0, the Knights tied the game on a free kick. The Grizzlies then took a 2-1 lead on a penalty kick with nine minutes to go in the second half.
Late in the half, the Knights’ leading scorer, Addison deJong, sent in a corner kick to Helia Vander Meulen, who scored right in front of the goal to tie the game at 2-2, forcing overtime.
“That corner kick is something we have practiced over and over and over.” Morris said.
After ending the first overtime period still tied, the Grizzlies took the final lead on a breakaway goal with 5 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the second overtime.
Morris had nothing but high praise for his team after the game.
“This is the most coachable group of girls I’ve ever seen,” he said. “We only have four seniors and it’s a young team that has really over-performed maybe what we even thought of (at the) beginning of the season.”
Pitman 1, Vacaville 0: The Central California Athletic League champion and Division II second seed Pride kept its season alive on Wednesday. A first-half goal by Valeria Arroyo was all the girls needed to win their sixth straight game. They will host third seed Whitney in the Division II semifinals Friday.
Vista del Lago 6, Beyer 1: The Patriots’ eight-game win streak came to an end in the quarterfinals of the Division III playoffs. They gave up six goals to the Capital Athletic League’s first-place team and the top seed in Division III. Vista del Lago will play fourth seed El Capitan in the semifinals.
Christian Brothers 5, Patterson 1: The Central California Conference’s second-place team fell to the Falcons in the Division III quarterfinals. The Tigers allowed one goal from five different players in the loss.
West Park 4, Ripon 2: After being named the top team in its division and earning a first-round bye, the Indians were upset in the quarterfinals of the Division V playoffs by the Panthers. Erica Grilione had a hat trick for West Park, which will advance to play Kimball in the semifinals.
Boys Basketball Play-In
Downey 69, Bear Creek 49: After finishing third in the CCAL, the Knights won their first playoff game since 2008 in convincing fashion Wednesday night. Jahmaree Gonder scored a team-high 24 points and Lloyd French added 11. They will play Inderkum, the top seed in Division I, on Friday, Feb. 18.
Gregori 94, Chavez 59: The Jaguars set a record for points scored in a game on Wednesday night. With the win, they earned the 14 seed in Division I and will play third seed Modesto Christian on Friday, Feb. 18.
Sacramento 61, Patterson 54: The Tigers traveled to take on Sacramento High in their Division II play-in game. After leading by three after the first, they surrendered 23 points in the second quarter and 18 in fourth, leading to a seven-point loss. The loss ends a four-game win streak.
Girls Basketball Play-In
Pitman 49, Stagg 45: The Pride continued their late-season success, winning at home against the Delta Kings. Pitman will put its five-game win streak on the line on Thursday in its first-round game at first overall seeded Oak Ridge in El Dorado Hills.
Inderkum 72, Downey 25: The Knights’ season ended Wednesday with a loss to the No. 15 Tigers, which finished second in the Capital Valley Conference. Downey will look to build on this season next year as they will only be losing three seniors.
Bear Creek 49, Johansen 41: The Vikings’ best season in more than 10 years came to an end Wednesday against the Bruins, who finished second in the San Joaquin Athletic Association. After finishing third in the Western Athletic Conference, Johansen will return all but three seniors.
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 11:03 AM.
