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Ripon kicks off TVL play with shutout of Hilmar
Hilmar-Ripon girls soccer
Ripon’s Kaiya Kroutil shoots in front of Hilmar’s Mikayla Arteaga (11) and Victoria Pinheiro (23). GARY JENSEN/GreatShots49@gmail.com

MODESTO — Ripon did not allow a shot in the first half and blanked Hilmar 4-0 with a journeyman-like performance in the Trans-Valley League opener for the Indians at the Mary Grogan Soccer Complex on Thursday.

Devon Denhart filled in for Ripon coach Bryce Perkins and was pleased with how well the team blends together.

“This was our first league game of the year,” Denhart said. “They are a pretty well-oiled machine at this point. They work really well with each other. They know their positions and they know their jobs.”

Olivia Maragos got the first two goals for the Indians — the first on a 1v1 with the goalie 17 minutes in on an assist from Kaiya Kroutil, and nine minutes later from the center on an assist from Jaydin Kroutil.

“The team set me up for those goals with the passing through the center up top to me and I was just there to finish,” Maragos said. “They were nice goals – I was glad to make them but the team is really what enabled me to do so.”

Just before halftime Jaydin Kroutil tallied her second assist on a dish to Kaiya Kroutil and midway through the second half Katie Martin found the net, assisted by Ariana Daniels.

Ripon center defender Makenna Pokorny anchored the Indians defense that kept the Yellowjackets (1-1, 9-4-1) from getting a shot off in the first half.

“Usually, I stay in the back without a man so I can get all of the balls that get by the defenders,” Pokorny said. “I am there just in case and they can always pass back to me because I am always open so I can get the best opportunity of getting the ball back out.”

In the second half Ripon goalie Ellena Parenti-Gomez had to get to work, making a pair of saves on shots just below the crossbar.

“It got a little nerve-wracking in the second half,” Parenti-Gomez said. “Since they were more of a 1v1-type situation.

“The shots were higher shots and we pulled it off in the end.”

Hilmar goalie Kayden Elston made five saves.

The Indians host Escalon at the Mary Grogan Soccer Complex next Tuesday at 2:45, while the Yellowjackets host Riverbank at 3:30.