RIDGEFIELD — When the Class 2A girls soccer state tournament bracket was released Sunday and Ridgefield earned the No. 1 seed, the Spudders’ evolution from David to Goliath was further solidified. Last season, the Spudders relished their status as a No.
7 seed on the way to winning the program’s first state title, ending with a penalty kick shootout win over top seed West Valley (Spokane). “We were the underdogs last year,” Ridgefield senior Baylee Bushnell said. “Now we have a huge target on our back.
There’s no hiding this year.” No longer with the luxury of flying under the radar at state, Ridgefield passed its opening round test with a 4-0 win over Nathan Hale on Tuesday at home. Tori Lasch paced the Spudders (19-1-1) with two goals, Bushnell scored near the end of the first half and Savvy Semlick added a goal in the 44th minute, helping the program reach its fifth consecutive appearance in the state quarterfinals.
Ridgefield will play host to the winner of No. 9 Fife and No. 8 Cedarcrest on Saturday at 1 p.
m., with a trip to the state final four on the line. “I think it was just good to come in with momentum.
We want to take that through the entire state playoffs,” Ridgefield senior Abigail Vance said. “Every team now is a good team, so (we’re) just taking it one game at a time. That’s our mentality.
” A fast start Tuesday helped Ridgefield settle in. Lasch scored a goal from straight on assisted by Ellie Wilson just two minutes into the game, .
