Rams Pack Emotion Into Victory, Finish Third
2A soccer
There was one last cheer to be hollered by the Riverside Rams before they shook hands with Steilacoom on Saturday after their 3-0 win for third place in the State 2A soccer tournament.
They huddled on the Kiggins Bowl turf, put their hands together, then yelled, “Guffin!”
Riverside had just matched its 1999 finish, and this win was for Adam Guffin. The team’s senior backup goalkeeper died in a car accident Jan. 5. Riverside dedicated its season to him.
“We got together as a group and decided this would be his game even if we didn’t get first,” said senior Kevin Hersom. “It meant a lot to us to play for him.”
It also meant a lot to Guffin’s family. Five of his family members made the trip to state, including his mother, Sandy Cobb, his 15-year-old sister, Maria, and his aunt, Denise Beardslee. Guffin had lived with Beardslee for two years. Cobb let go of a single white balloon before kickoff in a special pregame tribute to her son.
“There’s nothing that could have stopped us from coming,” Cobb said. “I don’t think (the players) know how much they help us.”
Junior Jake Moug scored a hat trick, including the game-winning goal on a header from close range at 60 minutes off Wink Hodgson’s corner kick. Moug’s second goal came in the 76th minute and he found the net again with 18 seconds left on a Hodgson assist. Moug scored 38 goals this season.
The Rams (17-1-2) were fired up from the start after losing for the first time all season, to South Whidbey in the semifinals 1-0.
“I thought we would struggle,” Rams coach Kevin Moon said. “They proved me wrong. They came out and wanted it. I think it had to do with having that little Adam thing. That pumped me up.”
Steilacoom’s Brian Ford noticed Riverside’s emotion.
“When they came out, they came out having fun,” Ford said. “We knew they were playing for him. They were playing hard and they came out with more intensity. We thought we would get past that wave of intensity and be all right. But they got a goal.”
The Sentinels, who ended the season 16-3, played without Ford’s younger brother, Nathan. Junior Nathan Ford received two yellow cards in Friday’s 2-1 semifinal loss to Wahluke and had to sit out.
They lost freshman Brandon Beeks in the second half Saturday. The match was delayed about 15 minutes with 18:45 left when Beeks went down after colliding with Riverside’s Shawn Hanna. Both players went up for a header and Hanna came down on top of Beeks, who landed hard on the turf. Beeks was taken away in an ambulance. He was said to be doing OK, according to an announcement at the stadium a couple hours later.
That wasn’t the only injury. With 15:54 on the clock, the game was held up another 5 minutes after Hersom went down. He and Steilacoom’s John Leal knocked heads in the air. Both had minor injuries.
The injuries didn’t take away from the victory and the joy of playing for Guffin.
“This was the last game for Adam and we knew he would have been with us and encouraging us,” said senior Nathaniel Calamia. “We put it on the line for him.”
Championship Wahluke defeated South Whidbey 2-1 in double overtime for the title.