Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2009

Caldwell anchors Bombers' win

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

RICHLAND — There have been only a few slight changes with the Richland girls soccer program since Sara Elfering replaced Chris Smith as head coach in May.

The Bombers have taken a more offensive-minded approach and have altered their defensive formation a bit, both of which contributed to a 2-0 win over Southridge on Tuesday at Bomber Field.

One thing that hasn't changed, however, is the role of Bria Caldwell, a returning All-CBBN performer who continued to show why she is a 'must mark' player on offense. The junior forward scored a goal in the first half and assisted on another in the second half as the Bombers wrapped up their second big win in four days.

Richland (6-0, 4-0 CBBN Cascade) beat Kamiakin 4-1 on Saturday and is the only undefeated team left in the CBBN after Eisenhower's 3-2 shootout win over West Valley.

"We've just been working so hard," Caldwell said. "As a team, we didn't want anybody thinking that Kamiakin was a fluke."

Caldwell tallied the game's first goal in the 21st minute, controlling a pass from Hannah Breen on the left wing and chipping a 20-yard shot just under the crossbar and over the hands of Suns goalie Ingrid Stein for her sixth goal of the season.

"I love popping those from that spot. I take a lot of those in practice," Caldwell said.

Kirsten Calmus capped the scoring for the Bombers in the 54th minute, taking a pass from Caldwell just inside the 18 and punching a low roller past Stein into the right corner of the net to make it 2-0.

"It was a great pass," Calmus said. "It was right where it needed to be."

Elfering said that Calmus' goal was a nice change of pace for the hard-working freshman, who picked up her second varsity goal and first in-conference.

"Kirsten works harder than anybody, but she has a thing with (hitting) the crossbar. I think she was getting frustrated," Elfering said. "The funny thing is, she hit it with her right foot. She likes to go with her left, but that's something she's been working on."

In the end, it was Southridge (4-3, 3-2) which found itself on the losing end of a CBBN contest for the second time this season, leaving the Suns in a tie for fifth with Eisenhower and Moses Lake. But Southridge coach Greg Sambrano isn't as concerned about the loss itself as much as his team learning from the loss.

"This team is different than last year. This showed us what we need to work on," Sambrano said. "I don't think anybody is going to go undefeated (in conference) this year.

"Today we struggled. We lacked leadership, but Richland did a good job."

Stein did make several strong saves in goal for the Suns, including two diving stops to her right in the first half. It was a good sign for Southridge, which lost all-CBBN goalie Courtney Hancock for the year.

But mostly it was Richland which showed it belonged back in the CBBN's upper echelon after missing state last season for the first time since 1987.

"This was more about the girls playing two consistently hard games in a row," Elfering said. "We know we've only got one chance at each team."

Richland 2, Southridge 0

Scoring--1, R, Bria Caldwell (Hannah Breen), 21:00; 2, R, Kirsten Calmus (Caldwell), 54:00. Shots--S 5, R 18. Saves--S, Ingrid Stein 9. R, Olivia Diaz 2.