<p>Junior midfielder Juan Silva approaches the ball as Riverside junior defender Mario Sepulveda races to intercept during Monday's match in Boardman.</p>

The more experienced soccer team picked up three points and a 7-1 win Monday afternoon in Boardman as the Riverside boys controlled their league matchup with Umatilla.

The defending state champion Pirates (3-0-1, 3-0-0) opened the Special District 4 contest by controlling possession and peppering shots in the direction of the Viking (1-2-0, 1-1-0) goal. In the first ten minutes Umatilla was only able to get off one long distance shot that missed well wide off the right foot of sophomore midfield Felipe Resendiz while Riverside fired shots at will.

The first real opportunity for the Pirates was a right footed chance junior captain Francisco Velazquez blasted along the ground from the top of the penalty box that slid under the goal keeper but off of the post in the 12th minute. Five minutes later Velazquez would get another one of Riversides many opportunities but this time he made it count for the Pirates first goal.

That was the first of four goals for Velazquez in the game. Its special, any hat trick is special but it is a good feeling especially against a rival, Velazquez said. His favorite goal of the game would come off of a set piece in the 32nd minute that put Riverside in front 2-0.

After the first 20 minutes Viking Head Coach Pedro Ortiz was able to find some substitution combinations in the midfield that helped create a few more chances through improved passing as the first half progressed.  

A flurry of activity in the final minutes of the first half saw Umatilla get a couple of better shots at the Riverside goal. One chance was a deflected shot from senior Martin Rubio that Riverside couldnt fully clear out of their defensive third of the field. The ball fell to the feet of Resendiz well outside the penalty box.  Sensing opportunity he unleashed a rising right footed shot that climbed too high for Riversides goalkeeper to get any more than his fingertips on the ball but the deflection was not enough to keep the ball out of the net.

I just got the ball and I was like Im gonna just take a shot at it sometimes I make them and sometimes I miss them and I just tried my best, Resendiz said the 38th minute goal gave the team a boost of confidence going to the halftime stop facing a 2-1 deficit.

The goal might have also awaken a sleeping giant because Riverside wrestled control of momentum just two minutes into the second half when freshman midfielder Edgar Rodriguez would score to put Riverside up 3-1 and they continued to pressure the Vikings from there.

I expect that everyone got excited [after the Resendiz goal] and put more effort into the game, the Vikings coach Ortiz said. But weve got some players that have poor experience and they just play the season at school most of them dont play outside of school so it makes a difference with these guys [Riverside] because they play year-round.

Ortiz expects that as his team gets more games in this season they will continue to learn the style he would like to see them develop and he hopes they will also get a better understanding of what it takes to play at the same level as other top teams for a full 80 minutes. We need to keep more possession of the ball and keep a better quality of passing so we have to work on that.

The Pirates remain undefeated but head coach Carlos Velasco is still tinkering with the lineup in the midfield and the attack. Weve got a whole bunch of new kids and we had four freshmen starting today so it is a rebuilding year but I think they played hard enough to win it and that was the difference between the win and the loss, Velasco said.

Riverside returns everybody in the defense from last years state title team and the goal is to find the right lineup with a couple major tests on the horizon. The Pirates get a first of two non-league looks at another regional power McLoughlin at home on Sept. 27. Riverside goes to Irrigon next Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Umatilla hosts Central Christian of Redmond on Saturday in another Special District 4 game at 1 p.m.