Head case: Silver Creek soccer gets creative in win at Boulder
Aug. 30—BOULDER — When Silver Creek boys soccer needed a hero to complete its comeback effort against Boulder at Recht Field on Wednesday night, Kael Pacaro was the natural choice to step up and shoot his shot.
The senior striker, who ended his 2022 season with 10 goals, utilized a strategy close to home to seal the deal in the 73rd minute. The Raptors won, 2-1.
"I sat back a little bit and my brother (Rien) just passed it back. We've been working on it for a little bit," Pacaro said. "I saw it coming into the season. I was like, 'We're going to get a lot of goals and assists together.'"
Pacaro netted the go-ahead score on a header, following the theme that held true for the Raptors throughout the final 40 minutes of play.
"That specific thing we've worked on just this season, because it's just what I like to do, so I'm trying to get him to just see the same thing," Pacaro said. "We've been together our whole life. It's kind of easy."
The beginning of the contest, however, was far from simple for Silver Creek.
Boulder's offense surged through the first 35 minutes of play, and the Panthers quickly capitalized on a cross from sophomore midfielder John Crowns to junior middy Connor Sims just five minutes into the action. The Panthers let that early 1-0 lead fuel them throughout much of the rest of the first half, as they controlled the pace of play.
"We're a pretty young group and we got a lot of things to work on, but we also had a good start," Sims said. "I think it's only up from here and this is just a small curve. It's a learning moment for us, but I think we'll come back stronger."
A maroon storm, however, was beginning to brew, evident through the pressure that the Raptors began putting on the Panthers as the first half drew to a close. Silver Creek first found its offensive spark in the opening two minutes of the second frame, as junior defender Aris Lindquist used maximum brainpower to score.
Through all the melee of a corner kick, he positioned himself perfectly to find the back of the net on a header. The Raptors' change in midfield in the final minutes of the first half had turned the tides irrevocably in their favor.
"Kaden Riedel is our best player and we moved him into a different position because they were double-, triple-teaming him and it just caused them some problems," Silver Creek coach Rob Johnson said. "We just out-worked them. That's all it is. That's a great, well-coached team. Hardy (Kalisher) does a great job."
The Raptors avenged last week's 2-1 loss to Golden to improve to 2-1 on the season as the Panthers, coming off of a stunning 1-0 victory at Valor Christian, dropped to 2-1. Kalisher believes that win or lose, his boys will come back stronger for what the rest of their tough schedule will bring.
"We love playing local games," Kalisher said. "It's a great atmosphere with a good turnout. That was a good soccer game. We want to be tested and we want to be exposed. We played well enough to win the game. We had the game, but I think a good team like that wasn't going to give up."
