By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

As the Riverside girls’ soccer team enters district play, it attempts to rebound from a series of tough losses. The latest came this past week, at St. Martin’s last Thursday night, 5-1, and at home on Saturday to Country Day, 9-0.

Going without a number of senior starters for varying reasons, Riverside could not match the firepower of the Saints (6-5-2), who won for the second time this season over the Rebels (2-6).

Riverside coach Daniel Waguespack, nonetheless, got to see a number of his younger players in action, from the seventh grade and up.

“It ended up being a preview of what we’ll look like next year,” said Waguespack. “They played really well.”

Among the young players that stood out, Waguespack said, were Shelby DeSlatte and Kaci Simon. DeSlatte scored the lone goal for Riverside in the game.

“They controlled the game for our side,” said Waguespack. “They showed me they can handle the load. I think they’ll be great for us in the coming years.”

Meanwhile, a strong Country Day team proved to be too strong for Riverside from the start.

“They’ve got one of the better teams in the state,” Waguespack said. “They overpowered us.”

But in spite of a loss, Waguespack says his Rebels can take a number of positives from being faced with elite competition.

“It’s good for my players to see that kind of team and what makes it successful,” said Waguespack. “They’ve got very good ball movement, and they find the open person. It’s something we can take with us into next year.”