A first-half goal by freshman AJ Tretheway was all the Ridgefield Spudders soccer squad needed to take down league foe Washougal High School on Thursday, Sept. 18.
Junior captain Savvy Semlick launched a goal in the second half to add a little cushion, but the Washougal Panthers never made an attacking effort in the final 40 minutes in the Spudders’ 2-0 win. Ridgefield was coming off of a tough loss in penalty kicks against Hockinson High School on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
The win over the Panthers marked the first victory for Ridgefield in the Mallory Hall coaching era, following the departure of the previous back-to-back 2A state champion head coach, Steven Evans, who moved up to head coach at Lower Columbia College.
“It’s hopefully the first of many,” Hall said of the win. “And we’re on the right stepping stones there and really looking forward to building off of this and getting ready for next week.”
As Hall steps into the head coaching role at the recently historic Ridgefield Spudders program, a 0-3 start has shown some growing pains and youth on the field, but Hall said this is a good sign. Hall said the quantity of freshmen and sophomores putting in a lot of minutes on the varsity level is creating a good learning curve that will benefit them in the long term.
Hall brings coaching experience from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest.
“I’m originally from Kansas, grew up there, played there, coached high school at a couple of different high schools there,” Hall said. “And then my wife was in the military, so I followed her around for a couple of years, and she’s from the area so we’re putting down roots, and I’m just very excited to be here.”
With Hall making the move to a 2A Greater St. Helens League that has had the upper hand in state competition pretty consistently, Hall said she is excited to start a new run here.
“It’s been a good opportunity to see soccer in a different part of the country and what that looks like in a different league,” Hall said. “I’m learning a little bit about the ins and outs of the relationships between teams, and it’s been a good ride, and I’m looking forward to it. Everybody’s been fantastic. All the coaches have been great about introducing themselves, and I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season.”
The Spudders will face their biggest rival in the Columbia River Rapids on Thursday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. on home turf. But first, Ridgefield takes on the Mark Morris Monarchs in Longview on Tuesday, Sept. 23; results were unavailable at press time.
