RIDGEFIELD — A point of emphasis in recent years for coach Tony Ayala and the Hockinson boys soccer team is refining their corner kicks.
Turns out, having a player like 6-foot-3 striker Alonzo Flores to target in those situations goes a long way toward the Hawks’ set piece success.
Flores registered a hat trick in Hockinson’s 3-1 win over Ridgefield on Thursday, including the exclamation point late in the second half when the senior soared above the Spudders’ defense and headed in a perfectly-placed corner kick by Grant Cayton for a goal.
Just like they drew it up.
“I like how our set pieces are sometimes centered around me. It’s sometimes about getting me in the right places,” Flores said. “We have a great assistant coach, Josh Nichols. He kind of made up these set plays, and it worked out well — three set-piece goals.”
Hockinson (6-2, 6-1) had ample time to prepare for Thursday’s 2A Greater St. Helens League game with a two-week layoff from its last contest March 27 followed by spring break. The team dedicated plenty of time in practice to set pieces, and it paid off in a big way.
“That’s one thing I felt like we could do a better job of as a coaching staff, as players executing, we just haven’t got a lot out of corner kicks,” Ayala said. “We spent a lot of time this week, the coaching staff putting together some really good corner kick plays, we were just working on them and putting in the reps.”
The flip side of the Hawks’ long break was what they called a flat opening start against the Spudders (2-8, 2-6).
In the 17th minute after Flores drilled a free kick from just outside the 18-yard penalty area, a defensive lapse resulted in Ridgefield’s Eli Miller scoring a game-tying goal just a few minutes later.
Hockinson’s defense and goalkeeper Jasper Armstrong tightened in the second half.
Flores converted a penalty kick and completed the hat trick with his header on the corner kick in the 71st minute.
“The first 10 minutes were really rusty. You could see, we were just booting it everywhere,” Hockinson junior Ryder Cole-Vogler said. “We weren’t playing our game, but as we got settled in we played our game.”
Regardless of records, Hockinson and Ridgefield have had a penchant for back-and-forth battles in recent meetings, including a 2-1 Hockinson win decided on a PK shootout in March.
The Hawks made a strong statement by grabbing a convincing win in regulation.
“All my four years of playing (at Hockinson), Ridgefield has always been tough battle against us,” Flores said. “They’ve always brought out a good team against us (and) challenged us really well. I’m just glad that we handled it well today.”
The result also allowed Hockinson to keep pace with R.A. Long for second place in the 2A GSHL standings behind Columbia River.
The Hawks know how important a top-two finish is for seeding in the 2A District 4 playoffs after they fell to W.F. West one win short of reaching the 2A state tournament.
“Our goal is to be in the top in league, be relevant in the district tournament and make it to state,” said Ayala, who led the Hawks to a state appearance in 2023. “In order to do that, we feel we need to be in the top of this league, and Ridgefield wasn’t going to be an easy task. We put a lot of stock in one game at a time and just really evaluating our play.”
HOCKINSON 3, RIDGEFIELD 1
Hockinson
Goals (assists) — Alonzo Flores (unassisted), Flores (PK), Flores (Grant Cayton). Goalkeeper saves —Jasper Armstrong 14.
Ridgefield
Goals (assists) — Eli Miller (Noah Swenson). Match standout — Eli Miller.
Halftime — 1-1.
