While scoring a goal “definitely pumps me up,” she said setting up teammates is equally enjoyable.
“Seeing other people score great goals and knowing you helped with that is a great feeling,” she said.
From a coach’s standpoint, there is a lot to love about having Ries on the field — and not only because her talent has helped the Spudders finish third and second in the past two Class 2A state tournaments.
“It’s been awesome as a coach,” Ridgefield coach Robby Trimbo said. “She’s been a very good professional challenge. In many ways the best player I have ever coached.”
Trimbo said the opportunity to coach Ries was a major reason he pursued and earned his A-level coaching license. He figured it would be unfair to demand more of Ries without pushing himself to improve.
Ries now has 72 goals and 58 assists in three high school seasons. When she scored 20 goals two seasons ago as a freshmen, it was clear she’d be getting plenty of attention from fans and opposing teams. Dealing with expectations is one area Ries has most improved according to Trimbo.
“I honestly think she would be happiest if she could play high level soccer with no one watching,” Trimbo said.
Ries gets plenty of high-level soccer with FC Portland, the club soccer program she joined three years ago. Her team plays in the Elite Clubs National League and travels to ECNL events around the country. She has also twice participated in U.S. Women’s National Team age-group training camps.
Spending time in the intense national team camps “definitely helped my mental focus and training habits,” Ries said.
One of her teammates at F.C. Portland is Hockinson senior Rylee Seekins, who like Ries is verbally committed to play soccer for the University of Portland. Hockinson and Ridgefield are soccer rivals, but playing against her friend has been a highlight over the past few seasons.
“Off the field and on the club team we’re best friends,” Ries said.
During high school matches, Ries said, “we’ll sometimes look at each other across the field and laugh. It’s a good relationship.
We always talk about beating each other, of course.”
At Ridgefield, Trimbo uses Ries both as a midfielder who can start the attack and as a forward who can finish it, something she did six times in the first round of the state tournament, a 7-0 win over Fife.
“I didn’t feel like I was even scoring that many.,” Ries said. “They just kept coming and I just took my opportunities.
That win over Fife was part of the program’s second-consecutive run to the final four in Class 2A — an outcome that Ries didn’t expect at the start of this season.
“This year we thought it would be a building season, but a lot of people actually stepped up and it turned out a lot better than I expected,” she said.
With one more year of high school left, Ries is not finished making her mark on the Spudders’ program. Losing in the state championship match this season will add fuel for Ries and her Class of 2017 teammates next season.
“We have a strong class and I think we’ll step up,” she said. “We’ll want it even more.
