Rams' stout defense has them in prime position

Getting anything past the Riverview High boys soccer team’s defense is difficult.

Just ask Port Charlotte, Booker and Venice high schools, all of which the Rams shut out over the past eight days. Only Venice, on Jan. 15, was able to match the Rams’ feat, forcing the game to end 0-0. On the season, the Rams (10-3-2) have allowed 13 goals in 15 games, and only allowed more than one goal in a match twice, giving up two to North Port High and four to district rival Lakewood Ranch High, the 44th-best team in the nation, per MaxPreps.

The game against Venice should not have resulted in a tie, on the surface. The Indians are 3-12-1, and the match was at Riverview. But the Rams were missing leading goal-scorer Paul Kurpiewski (12 goals), a senior, who is nursing an ankle injury, and the Indians are coached by former Rams player and junior varsity coach Greg Atkin, whom Rams coach Ed Stroop said knows their system well and how to shut it down.

Despite that knowledge, the Indians still could not crack the Rams' defense, which is led by senior Michael Forbes, junior Kris Selberg and sophomore Joey St. Onge.

“We play in a 3-5-2, sometimes a 4-5-1,” Stroop said. “3-5-2 is our go-to, because it is more attacking. We work a lot on positioning on defense. Our CDMs (center defensive midfielders) know how to help on the back line, and they are quick at getting the ball back. They win 50/50 balls, and we work on that. We work on formation and how we switch players on the back line. We have players back there that are good with technique.”

It does not get noticed as much as scoring goals, but things like quickly receiving and passing the ball in your own end are keys to winning, keys that the Rams have mastered under Stroop. On the rare occasions the defense gives up a juicy scoring chance, they turn to sophomore Anthony Sumoza to make a save, and he often does, in spectacular fashion. He made seven saves against Venice, and made nine in the Rams’ second match against Lakewood Ranch on Dec. 6, a 1-0 loss.

“He’s special,” Stroop said of Sumoza. “I can’t tell you how many huge saves he has made in our wins. He’s a big part of our success.”

Sumoza said it is equally important for his defenders to trust he will make a save, and for him to trust they will clear balls out of the box and make opponents’ looks as difficult as possible.

Lakewood Ranch has won Class 5A District 8 every year since joining it in 2015-2016. The Rams last won the district championship in 2013-2014. The two programs are yearly the best teams in it, and seem destined to meet in the district title game once again on Jan. 31. To get past the Mustangs, Stroop knows what his team has to do.

“They are strong in the box,” Stroop said. “When they get in our third and get in the box, whether it is a corner (kick) or a crossing play, that is where they have hurt us. They have some big, strong guys who are physical. We have to match that physicality on defense. We have some things we are working on for that.”

The Rams have a few games to go before that matchup (potentially) happens. But if it does, Riverview will be ready, and it might have the defensive prowess to finally knock the Mustangs off their throne.