Zach Martin / zach@chronline.com
ROCHESTER — Javier Paredes Garcia had never played soccer in the United States until this season. The Rochester High School senior is a first-year exchange student from Spain.
“Spain is tougher, but here all the people, the crowds are better,” Paredes Garcia said. “(The only difference is) the level, but it's not that big.”
He has played soccer most of his life. He made an immediate impact Tuesday night.
Paredes Garcia hit a beautiful bender shot in the 42nd minute that found the top left corner and was the only goal in the Warriors' 1-0 win over Black Hills at Rochester High School.
“I think this will motivate us because it was a great win,” Paredes Garcia said.
Last season, it took Rochester (1-1, 1-0 EvCo) to win the Evergreen Conference until its only win of the year. This victory came much earlier, and the Warriors celebrated with vigor as the final whistle blew.
They even sang Happy Birthday to freshman Brandon Reyes-Ybarra during a team huddle.
“Every game should be a pretty even game,” Rochester coach Matt Ashton said. “It's a good way to start. This excitement has to do with our first home game and being able to get a win for the belt against a league opponent.”
Paredes Garcia admitted he had a mental block from taking a shot immediately after his first touch. Even if the midfielder is in a good position, he will not always pull the trigger.
That changed on Tuesday.
From a throw-in by Giancarlo Gomez, Paredes García turned and kicked the ball with his left foot. He took a shot from near the sideline that sailed past the Black Hills netminder for the winning goal.
“In my mind, I was telling myself to take the shot,” Paredes-Garcia said. “This season I'm like, 'Just shoot it.' When it left my leg, I didn't know if it was going to go into my leg.”
“He doesn't give up, that's the biggest thing,” Ashton added. “He still understands our terminology. We couldn't have had a better placement.”
The Wolves (0-2, 0-1) had several chances to tie the game in the second half.
They were twice ruled offside, took two free kicks with too much force, and failed to convert a total of four shots from behind the goal in the final 40 minutes.
“At the end of the day, we had a lot of synergy,” Black Hills coach Jackie Zubersdis said. “They came out for each other (in the second half). It was really great to see how they moved the ball. They seemed to get their jitters out.”
Neither team was able to break through in the first half, but both teams quickly took control.
Rochester dominated the ball and controlled two chances on goal within a minute of each other. Black Hills created a chance in the 24th minute and almost broke the tie.
“We had some problems defensively,” Paredes-Garcia said.
Rochester is experimenting with a three-midfielder formation, which is a new approach for Ashton. That trifecta moved a number of times as Wolves were trying to make it easier to pass the ball in the attacking third.
Black Hills was unable to create a crease in the middle of the 18-yard box.
“There's going to be more gaps that we need to know about and the IQ that we need to cover them better,” Ashton said. “We can easily adjust back to a 4-4-2 if necessary.”
The Wolves return just three starters from last spring's team, which was EvCo's top half. Zvirzudis hopes that by gaining more match experience, the team's cohesiveness will lead to victory.
“We have to figure out how to connect. I'm proud of them,” she said.
Less than a week into the season, Rochester is one win away from matching last season's win total. When discussing what spring will look like, Paredes Garcia said he felt the fall atmosphere was not ideal when he first arrived.
Now he feels an immediate change.
“The people have to believe,” he said. “This season is going to be one to be proud of. This is a great example of how good things can come if you don't believe.”
