KHS, Crooked Oak split on the pitch

Two newcomers scored all five goals - including a hat trick by a freshman - as the Kingfisher girls soccer team grabbed its first win of the season.

Yesenia Rivera scored all three of her goals in the second half as KHS pulled away from Crooked Oak for a 5-0 win at home on Tuesday.

It was Kingfisher’s first district match of the season as the Lady Jackets improved to 1-2 overall.

The five goals more than doubled the production to the season thus far as the Lady Jackets were limited to one goal in each of their first two games.

Sophomore Kinlee East, who did not play last season, put Kingfisher on top 1-0 with 3:19 remaining in the first half.

The goal came after KHS had two scores negated by offsides penalties.

Not this time as Ariana Rivera sent a pass up the visitor’s sideline. Maya Haney ran it down and crossed it to East for her first career goal.

East then made it backto- back goals as KHS started to take command early in the second half.

She caught a rebound off the keeper and pushed it back into the net for a 2-0 lead just 2:19 into the second half.

KHS coach Aniessa Edsall spent a good portion of the softball season in the fall trying to coax East into being a goalkeeper for the soccer team in the spring.

“I actually was surprised when she came to practice on that first day,” Edsall said of East.

“It’s been a fun experience watching her learn a whole new sport and find success in a different position than I had anticipated her being in.”

A minute after East’s second goal is when Yesenia Rivera began her barrage.

Haney led the freshman with a pass and Rivera punched it in for a 3-0 lead.

She scored again with 14:45 left on a strike with her left foot from 10 yards out that was assisted by Jennings Broddle.

She made it 5-0 with just 2:33 remaining.

Kingfisher had its best offensive performance despite its top two returning goal scorers from last season - Ariana Rivera and Haney - contributing a goal.

“Having a variety of players that can score is very encouraging as we head into district play. It provides some freedom for us to have different starting 11’s depending on the match up,” Edsall said. “And we had a few seniors make the score sheet last year, so having younger players step into that role is big for us.”

In earning the shutout, Liliana Garramone, also new to that role, had four saves for Kingfisher.

Jennings was making her return from an injured ankle and is still not 100 percent. Tanisha Mercado, a starter last season, has also been nursing an injured ankle and is just now being cleared to play this weekend. Ariana Rivera won’t play this weekend in order to rest an injury she suffered against Crooked Oak.

“We’ve been battling a nagging injury bug,” Edsall said. “Hopefully we’ll be at full strength soon as we head into the bulk of our district schedule.

Perennially powerful Ruf-Nex down KHS boys

One of the best boys soccer programs in the state for the last five years paid Kingfi sher a visit on Tuesday.

Crooked Oak, which has played in the Class 3A state championship game in each of the last four seasons, dealt KHS a 6-0 defeat in the district opener for both teams.

KHS dropped to 2-1 on the season while Crooked Oak, which previously lost 4-3 to 5A’s Southeast, evened its mark at 1-1.

The Ruf-Next have been the state runners-up each of the last two seasons and also in 2021.

They defeated Heritage Hall for the 2022 title for the only state championship in the school’s history.

During each of those four seasons, the Ruf-Nex haven’t lost a district game.

They put that on display Tuesday, scoring three goals each half against KHS, which had surrendered a total of five goals in two games entering the night.

“We were really rusty. Coming back off of spring break and having to play them is really tough,” said coach Isaac Waltman.

The Jackets hadn’t played since March 13.

“I think it’s going to be a really good learning experience for the rest of the season and hopefully a turning point for what is to come,” Waltman said.

Among the teams Crooked Oak beat on the way to the 2022 title was KHS in the first round.

The next year, Kingfisher won a playoff game for the first time in the program’s history.

Waltman is hopeful the experience against Crooked Oak will give this team that same kind of “rub.”

“One of the biggest lessons that you can learn from a game like that is to know what it takes to be one of the best teams in the state,” Waltman said. “We definitely need to get in better shape and continue to work on our passing in the coming weeks in order to go through the rest of the regular season on a positive note.”

Both Kingfisher teams are playing this weekend in the Weatherford Tournament.