RIDGEFIELD — The home field that the Ridgefield boys soccer team enjoyed playing on this spring wasn’t the launching pad the Spudders hoped it would be on Tuesday.
The Lynden Lions used their size, form and aggressiveness to make themselves at home on the Spudders turf on their way to a 3-1 win in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament.
“It felt like they outnumbered us, played well, and there was nothing we could do,” said Ridgefield junior Travis Heim, who scored the Spudders’ goal.
The visitors made the trip from north of Bellingham worth it by scoring twice in the second half to put an end to Ridgefield’s season. This is the second yuear in a row that the Spudders have lost in the first round of the state tournament.
The Class 2A Greater St. Helens League and District 4 champions, Ridgefield finished with 13 wins, three losses and one tie, including a 10-0 league record.
On Tuesday, the Lions consistently won battles for the ball, expecially in the air. They scored twice on plays that started with well-place throws into the box from Briley Benner, and knocked home a free kick that was taken from the midfield stripe.
“We weren’t the first to the ball in the air, and I think that was the biggest thing,” Ridgefield coach Jason Staley said.
Lynden took a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute as Jesse Gonzalez finished a play that started with a throw in from deep on the left wing.
Heim scored from almost 30 yards on a beautiful free kick three minutes before halftime to give the Spudders life. A strong run up the left sideline by freshman Tanner Konkright drew the foul that set up the free kick.
But, except for occasional individual runs like that, the Spudders struggled to possess the ball, and therefore could not generate scoring chances.
“Definitely not the kind of possession that we’re used to having,” Staley said. “We didn’t bring it down and possess it like we like to. onsequently, we didn’t get a lot of shots.”
The Lions played with three defenders and five midfielders, helping them dictate play by consistently winning contested balls and taking away room for Ridgefield to create.
“It was tough. They played aggressive, and the 50-50 balls they kept winning them,” Ridgefield senior midfielder Kevin Roberts said. “Our teams down here aren’t nearly as aggressive.”
Lynden coach Drew Smiley said his team comes from a league that features physical contests for loose balls. He added that the Lions play on a grass field similar to Ridgefield’s, so the surface wasn’t an advantage for the home team.
Lynden (15-5) re-established control of the game early in the second half and went ahead 2-1 five minutes after halftime when Andrew Blair scored at the end of a free kick looped to the right post from the center stripe by Matt Keiper.
Any hope of evening the score with second-half heroics ended when Hicks beat the Ridgefield defense to a Benner throw-in for a close-range third Lynden goal with 16:47 left in the match.
“It’s been a fun season,” Staley said. “ We were the district champs and league champs. It’s a fun group and a talented group and a hard-working group.
“It was definitely a successful season. It ended just a little bit shy of what we’d like it to.”
