Coming from a dominant season with only a single loss to Bartow (0-1) toward the end of their rein, Ridge went into the District tournament “not at their best,” as supporters described it.
Defeating Spoto in the first round (7-1) the Bolts only had to win one more game to qualify for Regional’s. The opponent, Kathleen, ended the Bolts season with a 2-0 victory on January 28 just as they did the previous season. “Kathleen showed better resolve,” said Coach Micheal Blethen, “We just didn’t score, we were always just a step too slow”
The game kicked off rough with a yellow card given to Javier Zorro 10 minutes into the game for a direct hit on Kathleen’s goalie. Just minutes after the call, Kathleen’s Lupe Hernandez managed to score the first point of the game. Ridge was struck with disappointment and looked weak in play. Kathleen was prepared strong on the defensive, triple teaming Ridge’s season lead scorer Carlos Ariza. Ridges best play was when Ariza managed to get down the field with a cross to Gustavo Jaimes, but they just couldn’t get the ball in the net. Many other attempts followed with no success.
Unexpectedly, the majority of the game was played on Ridge’s half of the field. Kathleen had multiple shots on goal in the first half. During a free kick for the Red Devils, Senior Shane Scrivner picked up the team’s second yellow card for encroachment. Goalie, Jose Martinez, did a good job blocking shots, but couldn’t block them all, Kathleen’s Felix Pastones managed to slip the ball just barely across the goal line making the score 2 to 0 at the end of the first half.
Coming into the second half of the game the Bolts looked much stronger moving down the field and taking shots but just couldn’t finish. Halfway through, Miguel Lamothe received an ankle injury while attacking the ball and was taken off the field for a short time. In replacement Scrivner was in for a small period of time before receiving a second individual yellow card for a foul which resulted in a red.
During the last 15 minutes Ridge really picked up the pace but it just was not good enough. The final whistle at the end of the game was a time of tears and disappointment for the Bolt seniors who had been playing for Ridge since its start in 2005 when they held a record of 2 wins 17 losses and 1 tie. This year’s record was 14-2-3.