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Riverview soccer team's 10-0 start provides 'whole lot of fun'

 
Berkeley Prep’s annual invitational soccer tournament begins Friday. Matches are also scheduled Saturday and Monday.
Berkeley Prep’s annual invitational soccer tournament begins Friday. Matches are also scheduled Saturday and Monday.
Published Dec. 18, 2014

RIVERVIEW — It's not like boys soccer coach Darik Olson hasn't enjoyed his stint at Riverview High School. There were back-to-back 12-win seasons the past two years and a pair of playoff appearances to start the century.

But this season?

"The best way I can describe this season is that it's just been a whole lot of fun," Olson said. "Winning will do that."

And Riverview has been collecting victories this season in spades. The Sharks are off to a 10-0 start (as of Wednesday) — the best in school history.

"We've had a nice couple of weeks to start the season," Olson said. "Right now the boys are playing together and we are firing on all cylinders."

And those wins haven't come against pushovers. Riverview has defeated Bloomingdale, Leto and Jenkins, and dispatched district foe Newsome in convincing 4-0 fashion.

"We're not only undefeated," Olson said. "But we've done it against some quality teams."

The shutout of the rival Wolves has been the early season feather in Riverview's cap.

"There's no love lost between us (and Newsome)," Olson said. "A lot of these kids play club together and against each other so there is a lot of pride at stake. And they took it to them."

Riverview has been paced offensively by the dazzling play of striker Marc Lozada. The four-year starter and captain has amassed 28 goals, a number that ranks him among the state leaders.

"He's got a great touch and can get it into another gear when he needs to," Olson said. "Even more important he makes everyone around him better. Marc's a true leader."

The combination of Lozada with speedy winger Tye Hendrix and midfielder Reed Service give the Sharks a potent attack

"Tye is very fast on the outside and presents a lot of problems," Olson said. "They all work well with each other."

As the likely No. 1 seed in the upcoming Class 5A, District 6 tournament, the Sharks have a chance to hone their competitive chops one more time at the King Soccer Invitational on Jan. 5-10. The tourney features King, Leto, Bloomingdale and Plant City.

Riverview isn't the only hot team as the season winds down:

Newsome still strong: The Wolves (8-3-1 as of Wednesday) return the core of their attack from last year's program and got off to a hot start, defeating Jesuit, Hillsborough and King to capture the early-season Wharton Invitational.

Twenty-goal scorers Eric Lint (26) and Austin Cobb (23) are back, in addition to a healthy Jake Van Der Luit, who missed more than two months last year due to injury. Despite the time missed, Van Der Luit still posted 15 goals and 12 assists as the Wolves reached the region finals.

"Jake is a quality, quality player and it's good to have him back for a full year," coach Allen Ware said. "The good thing about all those guys is they are very unselfish."

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After playing in the Berkeley Prep Invitational the past two seasons, Ware wanted to give his guys some time off around the holidays to recharge their batteries.

"I want them to get their legs back under them and get ready for districts," he said. "Hopefully we can get through until then without any major injuries."

Jesuit Picks up the pace: The 10-1-1 Tigers will face a very good Bishop Kenny team tonight at 7 in the Berkeley Prep Invitational. The field also includes St. Petersburg Catholic, Shorecrest, Bloomingdale, Hillsborough and the Bucs.

The Tigers returned a pair of key offensive weapons this year in Jacob Starnes and Connar Lufkin. The pair has tallied seven and eight strikes on the year, respectively, and have teamed with eight-goal scorer Jonathan Ruiz to help fuel the Tigers' attack.

"(Starnes) also strikes a very good ball and when he hits it, he hits it hard," coach Eric Sims said. "He also has the longest throw-in of any player I have ever coached which is a dangerous weapon."

Sims has also been pleased with a pair of young Tigers along the back line in freshman Noah Kurtz and sophomore Benny Ortiz.

"Noah has been a big surprise as we graduated our entire back line from last year," he said. "Benny has stepped in at right back and has brought an element of physicality to our team."

Although Jesuit got off to a sluggish start — the Tigers began the season 2-1-1 — Sims said his team has picked up its play during the Tigers' current eight-match win streak.

"I feel like we started slow and I was not happy with the players' preparation coming into the season," he said. "It took time for a lot of them to raise their fitness level to where it should be to play a full 80-minute game. Now that it has gotten there I have been very happy with our last few performances."