RIDGEFIELD — And then, there were four.
And for the first time since 2015, the Ridgefield girls’ soccer team is one of them.
The Spudders chalked up their second straight dominating performance in a 5-1 win over the Port Angeles Roughriders in a 2A state quarterfinal match Saturday at Ridgefield High School.
Ridgefield will face league foe Hockinson in the state semifinals. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on Friday at Shoreline Stadium in Shorecrest.
The Spudders won both matches against the Hawks in the regular season, and of the four teams in the state semis, three are from the 2A GSHL league as Columbia River is in the other semifinal going up against Selah.
“It’s been the same thing all year — just worry about us,” Ridgefield head coach Robby Trimbo said. “Tonight we were fortunate that we were on the good end of most of the 50-50 balls and we wanted to stay true to the game plan and keep attacking and keep the ball in their end of the field.”
The Spudders did just that and put the Roughriders in a state of worry with constant pressure, mostly by freshman Ella Krause, who scored two goals and had an assist, and sophomore Paytn Barnette who added an assist and gave Port Angeles fits with her speed.
“We communicate really well,” Krause said. “As a freshman it’s all kind of new to me but my teammates do a great job of telling me where to go.”
Added Barnette: “We’ve been working on the timing of our runs in practice. One of us will run through and then another person will and the defense has a hard time tracking us.”
Bailee Larson recorded Port Angeles’ only goal on the night, scoring off a rebound in the 66th minute.
RIDGEFIELD 5, PORT ANGELES 1
Port Angeles
Goals (assists) — Bailee Larson (unassisted). Goalkeeper saves — Madi Roening 7.
Ridgefield
Goals (assists) — Own goal (ball deflected off Port Angeles defender), Ella Krause (Emily Johnson), Brooke Weese (Krause), Annika Farley (Paytn Barnette), Krause (Weese). Goalkeeper saves — Paige Jones 3, Kayleigh Gates 2.
