Columbia River didn’t allow its halftime deficit to faze them, nor did they panic when a last-minute goal sent the game to extra time.
With a postseason home game on the line, Shalece Easley scored the golden goal as Chieftains put away Ridgefield 3-2 in extra time to secure second place in the 2A Greater St. Helens League on Tuesday night at Chieftain Stadium.
The goal, a two-touch volley to the upper-right corner of the net on a corner kick from Yaneisy Rodriguez, set in motion a leap in the standings over the Spudders and Mark Morris — and a bench-clearing celebration by River.
Easley said practice paid off when the ball came to her on the final play.
“We’ve kind of been working on a whole bunch of finishing, so I’m glad we did that,” the junior forward said. “I’m usually full of excitement when I shoot. So I’ve been working on that. It was a good shot.”
Ridgefield led 1-0 at half thanks to a 36th minute goal by Annika Farley. The Chieftains gathered themselves at halftime and, according to Easley, vowed to relax and play together.
The Chieftains did just that. Alex Greer netted a goal off a cross four minutes into the second half, then River scored the go-ahead in the 67th, courtesy of Grace Russell on a counter attack.
Ridgefield built its attack steadily, and owned possession for much of the last 15 minutes of the game.
They didn’t find the net until the last minute of regulation.
Freshman Payton Barnette scored a header on the end of a cross that was delivered on the right goal line by Farley, who won a foot race with the River defender to get to a long through-ball.
The goal sent the game to extras, and provided enough drama on the field to reflect the league standings.
Easley added that the win, which guarantees the Chieftains another home game, was dedicated to the seniors, who now get to play on their home field one more time.
Hockinson had clinched the league title for the second time in program history going into Tuesday night. In second through fourth, much was yet to be determined.
River gained three points by beating Ridgefield to leap-frog Mark Morris, who lost to R.A. Long in penalties.
In the 2A GSHL, however, the losing team in a PK shootout still gets a point so Mark Morris finishes in third, one point ahead of Ridgefield. Both open district play Saturday on the road.
Columbia River earns a home game to open the postseason, which will be against W.F. West on Saturday.
Stars of the day
• Sean Ball, Seton Catholic boys golf, shot a 3-under-par 69 at Tumwater Valley GC on the second day of the 1A district tournament to win by 9 strokes over King’s Way Christian’s Cole Sherertz. Both clinched berths to the state tournament in May.
• Alicia Wallingford, Columbia River volleyball, had seven kills, three blocks and four aces as the Chieftains swept Mark Morris.
• Delaney Nicoll, Ridgefield volleyball, had 13 kills, 12 assists, 6 blocks, 7 aces and two digs for Spudders, who clinched outright 2A Greater St. Helens League with a win over R.A. Long.
• Elyse Booker, Woodland volleyball, had 36 digs in a 3-1 win over Washougal.
• Keiana Bonawitz, Mountain View volleyball, had 33 assists, 12 digs and two aces as the Thunder beat Prairie in three sets to tie the Falcons atop the 3A Greater St. Helens League standings at 8-1.
• Dana Snider, King’s Way Christian volleyball, had 24 kills, 15 digs and four aces as the Knights lost a five-set thriller to Castle Rock.
• Caysen Pressley, Hudson’s Bay girls soccer, had two goals and an assists in Bay’s 5-0 win over Fort Vancouver.
• Fiona Andrews, Mountain View girls soccer, scored the Thunder’s first goal in a 2-0 win over Kelso.
• Savanna Eliot, Hockinson girls soccer, scored the Hawks’ first goal in a 3-0 win over Woodland as the 2A GSHL champions completed the regular season.
• Maddie Kemp, Camas girls soccer, had four goals in a 7-0 win over Union.
• Natalie Marshall, Skyview volleyball, had 19 assists and eight digs as Skyview beat Union 3-1 to finish the league season tied atop the 4A GSHL standings with Camas at 7-1.
