Rio Mesa Dumps Saugus and Claims One for Underdogs

SAUGUS —  Friday, the Rio Mesa High and Saugus boys’ soccer teams stripped the 1995-96 regular season of any significance as far as the Southern Section Division II playoffs are concerned.

Visiting Rio Mesa, which finished fourth in the Channel League and was granted an at-large berth in the divisional playoffs, pinned a 4-0 upset loss on Saugus, which won the Foothill League title and was seeded second among the 32 schools.

The Spartans (14-6-3) play Lynwood, a 3-2 winner over Bishop Montgomery, in the second round Tuesday.

“We were hoping they’d see us just as an at-large team, no big threat,” Rio Mesa’s Adam Reeves said. “But we had no doubt we’d win.”

Neither did anyone else by the midpoint of the first half. Rio Mesa scored in the 15th and 21st minutes to seize control, then buried the Centurions (21-3-2) with two more scores in the second half.

The Spartans pulled the same move last season, parlaying a fourth-place league finish into an at-large berth and then knocking off Burroughs, the Foothill League champion, in the first round.

Friday’s game was drained of suspense early when Aldo Hernandez scored from 15 yards off a pass from Mario Espinoza and Carlos Perez fed Jason Buccat for a nearly identical goal and a 2-0 Rio Mesa lead.

Saugus had focused on stopping striker Jaime Ambriz, the Spartans’ star, but underestimated the skill level of Rio Mesa’s midfielders, Buccat and Reeves.

The pair worked in tandem, fueling Rio Mesa’s short-passing attack and helping their teammates move the ball upfield from player to player.

In contrast, Saugus attempted to kick the ball as far forward as possible, hoping that strikers Nate Wright (30 goals) and Jeff Hammond (15 goals) could run it down and produce shots.

When the Spartans were was able to generate offensive thrusts, they were smothered by the Spartans’ defense, including 6-foot-4 goalkeeper Nick Pavlick, who made only four cursory saves in recording his 11th shutout.

“We just couldn’t get any offense going even though we had a few chances,” Saugus Coach Nate Wright said, looking weary. “[Buccat and Reeves] aren’t going to get the statistics but they control the entire center of the field. Without them Ambriz is sunk.”

Ambriz scored his 27th goal of the season and Rio Mesa’s last of the day off an assist from Greg Molthu in the 71st minute. Nate Haros scored the Spartans’ third goal in the 69th minute with assists from Buccat and Ambriz.

“I let my players play; I don’t confine them to any particular style,” said Rio Mesa Coach Brent Kruk, whose last two teams have produced the only winning seasons in the program’s 18-year history. “I told them we’d been here before and succeeded.”

Reeves said Rio Mesa’s confidence was forged during a late-season surge. However, he acknowledged the Spartans were aware of their underdog status.

“We heard [Saugus] was big and physical so we were kind of timid coming in,” Reeves said. “But after the first five minutes we saw they weren’t that good and it was ours from there.”