Blue Waves boys soccer still searching for success on the pitch

Following the Riverhead boys 4-1 soccer loss on Saturday against Sachem East at the Pulaski Street Sports Complex, instead of addressing his team right away, head coach Evan Philcox took a slow walk over to the other side of the field to start dismantling the video equipment, seemingly gathering his thoughts. The team sat around and waited for Philcox to return. Not much was said among the players in that 15 minutes. The ensuing talk was fiery, heartfelt and lasted over 30 minutes.

Riverhead soccer has been historically bad but the last few years showed glimpses of a potential turnaround. A team that has rarely won at all since its inception, started to slowly gather some wins. From 0-14 three years ago, they improved to 2-13-1 two years ago and ended last season at 5-9-1. It’s not a night-and-day turnaround, but it’s progress. When Philcox took that long walk,after starting the season 0-2, he contemplated if there was really progress.

“It’s a mentality thing for us here at Riverhead,” Philcox said. “I don’t get it. We have tremendous talent individually. We have a team full of seniors that have been through it all together. But for some reason when the going gets tough, we fold.”

After falling behind 2-0 in the first half, the energy level dipped as it seemed like it was beginning to be another case of same old, same old. But with 30 seconds left in the first half, Lesther Rivera, last year’s top goal scorer with 15, took it upon himself to dribble the ball up the right side of the field and hit a left-footed curling shot from way outside the box that ripped right past the goalkeeper’s mitts and into the back of the net.

“Instantly, the mood of the team changed,” Philcox said. “All of a sudden we had belief and the game was within grasp. We started the second half with a fire we didn’t have all game.”

Riverhead dominated possession for the first 10 minutes of the second half. They pushed the ball forward, made the correct pass and defended a very high line. Riverhead didn’t have a shot on goal until Rivera’s strike late in the first half. They barely had any shots at all. But those 10 minutes in the second half, Riverhead was able to get off two shots, not at goal, but it was at least a sign of injected energy.

“Why don’t we start the game that way?”assistant coach Kevin Ghigliotti exclaimed post game.“I don’t get why we need to get a goal to want to be here and play hard. We should be working hard from the opening minute.If you don’t want to be here,just let me know and I’ll take your jersey. We have plenty of people on the bench that want your minutes.”

But once those 10 minutes passed unfruitful, Sachem East got back into the swing of things and took over the game again,rarely allowing Riverhead to pass the midline. The Flaming Arrows’ third goal of the game basically crushed all hope of coming back, which could be seen in the Blue Waves’ body language.

“We have nine seniors starting,” Philcox said. “This is their last year playing for Riverhead. That should bring some fire in them. Knowing it’s their last chance to make a statement. To show the community that Riverhead can win. To show everyone we can make the playoffs for the first time. We have the talent to do it but they just don’t play well together.”

Sachem East dribbled through Riverhead’s midfield with ease and it seemed like everyone knew where their teammate was going to be without even needing to look that way before the pass. There was a confidence about their play and they had an understanding of one another. When Riverhead got possession, the ball was either kicked back upfield to the opposing team or a long ball was attempted that eventually didn’t hit its target. Instead of finding an open player and navigating through the defense, Riverhead was content with just getting it out of their zone.

“It’s like they’re scared to make a mistake,” Philcox said. “I would understand that from the underclassmen. But we have a group of seniors out there that have been in the program for three, four years. I know we’re better than this and I think it’s too early to start making drastic changes but we have to get out of the losing mentality and believe in ourselves. Coming into today I was feeling like we could get a 2-0 win today. I really believed it.”

Riverhead plays three underclassmen regularly — Hector Calderon, Rony Yanes and Chris Contreras — whether it’s starting or off the bench.At times it seemed like they might have been the best players on the field. They may be inexperienced but they’re committed to working hard and making an impact – even if that’s in effort alone.

“I guess we’re just used to losing; it’s comfortable,” Philcox said. “We need to have belief and that starts with our seniors. They need to step up. It’s now or never.”