Riverdale girls play well, Elida even better
in 2-1 girls soccer win

By SEAN BLEVINS

Times sports editor

MOUNT BLANCHARD — The Riverdale girls soccer team played a good game, but Elida was even better as they came away with a 2-1 nonconference win Wednesday at Riverdale. 

Riverdale (0-1-1) is still seeking its first win coming off of a district title winning season. Elida (2-0) capitalized on more mistakes than the Lady Falcons did and held on after retaking the lead with 31 minutes to play.

“We were able to get it to 1-1 and were in a pretty good position at halftime,” Riverdale coach Scott Bash said. “We kept battling with them. It was nice to be back on our home field. We will fix a couple things and be ready for the next one.”

If there’s one thing Bash wants out of this loss, he said he hopes that the pain of losing drives them to be better. 

“It wasn’t a bad game. Sometimes soccer is low-scoring. We had some opportunities that could’ve made this a 2-2 game. They just capitalized a little bit more on their opportunities. Anytime you play a Western Buckeye League team, you know it’s going to be a good game,” Bash said. 

Elida sophomore forward Briana Patrick scored the game’s first goal on a shot from an odd angle near in between the edge of the box and the corner flag with 35:11 left in the first half. She created a lot of chances by beating Riverdale defenders off the dribble. 

Riverdale senior Atleigh Vent played in goal and saved a breakaway shot from freshman forward Lexie Good with 33:50 remaining in the first half. Vent finished with two saves as Elida had four shots on goal in the contest and five corner kicks. 

Riverdale freshman forward Marissa Bonham and senior forward Kendel Rall both showed what they were capable of in this one with their elite speed up top. Rall was ninth in the 300-meter hurdles at state in June. Bonham had an accomplished middle school running career.

Several Lady Falcons had solid performances, but junior midfielder Mariah Bonham was often the one kick-starting their offense. 

Mariah played a ball over the top to her younger sister, Marissa, who ran up on it and tapped it past Elida senior goalkeeper Leah Ramirez to tie it at 1-1 with 21:08 left in the first half. Mariah gets Kenton Times Woman Of The Match honors for her playmaking prowess. 

Elida got off to a quick start, then cooled off midway through before picking it back up in the second half. 

Senior forward Jojo Knight gave Elida a 2-1 edge on a laser from just outside the box with 31:58 on the clock. 

It was a very physical game that turned a bit chippy in the second half. Riverdale was short-handed as a few players were missing and Bash said if they had a couple more substitutes, it could have made a big difference.

“We are still finding ourselves as a team. We worked the ball around and played solid defense. We settle in and then we find our own,” Bash said. 

Ramirez saved a header from Rall on the goal line with 10:35 left in what was Riverdale’s best chance at an equalizer. Rall ripped a shot 20 seconds later that was also stopped.

Ramirez closed with eight saves as the Lady Falcons fired nine shots on goal and had three corner kicks.

“You never want a loss, but you just have to move onto the next game. We hope to pick up our first win on Saturday,” Bash said. 

Riverdale hosts Continental Saturday at 4 p.m.

Score by halves

Elida                  1                                  1                                  — 2

Riverdale1         0                                  — 1

First half

E — Patrick 35:11.

R — Marissa Bonham (assisted by Mariah Bonham) 21:08.

Second half

E — Knight 31:58.

Statistics

Shots: Riverdale 12, Elida 9.

Shots on goal: Riverdale 9, Elida 4.

Saves: Ramirez (E) 8, Vent (R) 2.

Corner kicks: Elida 5, Riverdale 3.