Riverview soccer's offense finds its footing

All season, Riverview High's boys soccer team has waited for its offense to consistently come alive. 

Its defense has been good enough to carry things while the team waited. More than good enough, actually. The Rams have allowed two goals all season, one on a penalty kick and one while playing a man down. That dominance has helped the Rams to an 11-0-4 record. 

As the postseason has arrived, so too, it appears, has Riverview's offense. 

The Rams scored three first-half goals and added another late Feb. 1 in a 4-0 home win against Venice High (8-7-3) in the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 7A, District 8 tournament. All four goals came from different players: senior midfielders Ryan Sims and Luke Spycher, senior defenseman Davi Stefenoni and freshman midfielder Filippo Testini. The goals were a result of aggressive play, something that pleased Rams coach Ed Stroop. 

"We played our style tonight," Stroop said. "We have focused on that the last two weeks. We had gotten away from that a little bit, but they brought it back. We possessed the ball 80% of the match and we finished when we had the opportunity." 

The four-goal performance — which could have been even a wider margin with slightly better luck — came just three weeks after Riverview tied Venice 0-0 on the road. Spycher said that previous performance bothered the Rams. They could have and should have earned a better result than they did, Spycher said. 

"Our chemistry at the beginning of the year was not great," Spycher said. "We were lucky to have such a strong defense behind us. We have been playing more as a team lately. The first half tonight, especially, was good. I think we wanted some revenge. But we tend to get a little out of control once things start going our way and that can bite us in the long run, so I think a bit more focus would be good. We have to keep working together."

As senior-laden as the Rams are, it's not only the veterans contributing. Testini, the freshman who scored against Venice, was a late-season call-up from junior varsity. Stroop said the team wanted to bring him aboard to give him a taste of the intensity of varsity soccer. He capitalized on his opportunity against Venice, making several strong runs to the net in the second half and eventually putting in an easy goal after putting a move on the Venice goalkeeper. Testini celebrated the moment by covering his mouth, which had dropped in shock, then pointing to the crowd and sprinting down the field, where his teammates mobbed him with hugs. The goal made no difference in the outcome, but it was evidence that the Rams are playing for each other — and that the Rams' future is just as bright as the present. 

While the Rams' offense takes off, the defense has remained as steady as ever. Venice put a few shots on net early in the second half, which Stroop said was the result of sloppy Rams substitutions, but only came close to scoring on a corner kick that was summarily scooped up. The Rams used three goalkeepers in the win: senior Israel Aguilar Valle, junior Josh Weisman and freshman Luca Stefenoni. All three goalkeepers have played at least 340 minutes of game time this season, according to MaxPreps; Stefenoni leads with the trio with 420 minutes. 

Asked if he's ever had a defensive corps like this, Stroop did not hesitate when he answered no.

"We have certainly had some good teams," Stroop said. "The first year I was here, we won 20 games and the district tournament. That was a solid team. But it didn't have a defense like this. Giving up two goals all season? That's crazy. That's pretty unheard of. Some of it is luck, of course, in a few instances, but it's mostly not. It's our back line and our number six (defensive midfielder) Alex Escobar. They are just so solid."

Stroop said the Rams, the No. 1 seed in the district tournament, will host Gulf Coast High (15-4-2) for the district championship at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Rams will advance to the FHSAA Class 7A regional tournament no matter the result, but the Rams don't plan on losing a game now. The Sharks are a tough opponent, though. The Sharks are ranked eighth in the class and 25th in Florida by MaxPreps; the Rams are ranked seventh and 24th, respectively. And while the Rams have a dominant defense, the Sharks have a strong one, too; Gulf Coast is allowing just over one goal a game.  

Stroop said the team has not felt any additional pressure from being the top seed. When you already expect to win every game against everyone's best shot, there's not much pressure that can be added. 

"I think we can go all the way if we keep our composure," Stroop said. "We have to play our style: possession and quick tempo. We do that and we'll go as far as they (the players) believe they can go. For now, it's one game at a time."