Rocklin survives scare against Rio Americano

Rocklin High School boys soccer's 2-1 triumph over Rio Americano Friday night wasn't pretty, but it was enough to live to fight another day. Behind two early goals from senior Donovan Kuwazaki and a gritty second-half defensive stand, the second-seeded Thunder held off an upset-minded No. 15 Rio Americano in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs. Rocklin coach Bart Paduveris had a simple message to his team after the game: "A win is a win." "We just like to fall into this thing where if we dictate the game and we play our normal soccer, we can beat anybody but when we fall into this fast break type of soccer and scrappy play, which is how Rio likes to play, we struggle," said Paduveris. "If teams take us out of our game, then everybody has a chance against us. Kuwazaki wasted little time putting the Thunder on the front foot. In the sixth minute, he calmly converted a penalty kick, retaking it after the first attempt was waved off, to give Rocklin a 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later, he delivered the highlight of the night as he unleashed a strike from just over 30 yards out in the 14th minute, a towering shot that found the back of the net and doubled Rocklin's advantage. "He's fantastic. He's done that all year," Paduveris said of Kuwazaki. "That was one of those situations where he just kind of threw the team on his back and decided, 'Hey, we're going.' Two beautiful goals. The PK and then the banger from 30 yards out was just beautiful." Rio Americano's Austin Nye answered in the 32nd minute to cut the deficit to 2-1 and shifted momentum with its scrappy, fast-paced style of play. Though the Raiders entered as the No. 15 seed, Paduveris noted their record was deceiving. "They've been in all their games, basically except for two this year, which showed tonight," he said. The second half turned into a defensive test for Rocklin, as Rio pushed numbers forward and created several counterattacking chances and set-piece opportunities. The Thunder back line responded. Paduveris credited a key adjustment, moving Jovan Radovic back to center back, with settling things down. "We needed someone on the line to just kind of be a coach on the back line," Paduveris said. "That really settled us. They were just giving effort, laying out, taking risks and succeeding with it. They played together as a unit." Rocklin also showed better discipline down the stretch. While they committed untimely fouls for the first 60 minutes of the match, the Thunder excelled in limiting dangerous free kicks and adjusting to the way the match was being officiated. "In the first half, I thought they were letting emotions get the best of them," Paduveris said. "They bottled that up in the second half, which prevented a lot of those mistakes that give them free kicks, especially with the striker they have. He's dangerous. But they calmed down and adjusted." Now, with the opening-round win secured, the Thunder turn their attention to the next challenge with a spot in the section final within reach. "We're a very talented team," Paduveris said. "We just need to play to our ability and dictate games. If we let other teams dictate, we don't come out on the winning end. But when we do, we can beat anybody." The Thunder bounced back with a 5-1 win over No. 7 Modesto-Johansen on Tuesday. Rocklin will face No. 3 Turlock-Pitman in the semifinals on Thursday.