By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

RESERVE — A week after winning the first playoff soccer match in the history of the Riverside boys program,  the Rebels are officially in the midst of another first — a first playoff run.

Tyler Gauthier scored two second half goals as Riverside came through at home to earn a trip to the state quarterfinals, RA defeating visiting St. Frederick 2-1 in a Division III regional round match.

“Playing with these guys has been amazing,” Gauthier said. “Playing in front of this crowd, people who are supporting us 100 percent, it’s really special. We get to do it again and we know we’re going to get the same kind of amazing support.”

The Rebels will host district rival University, the second seed in Division III, at 11 a.m. Monday.

Riverside (9-9-3), Division III’s No. 23 seed,  has locked down defensively during its two postseason upsets, earning a shutout in round one at No. 10 North Vermilion and allowing just one goal in Thursday’s match against the No. 7 seeded Warriors, that goal coming with less than two minutes left.

“We’re really embracing the underdog role,” RA defender Jared Hymel said. “We played a tough schedule, and that didn’t earn us a high seed but it helped us in the long run. It prepared us for these games.”

The Rebels controlled the ball for much of the first half, but a number of near misses on a windy day kept Riverside from striking early. Twice, Gauthier missed shots from potential scoring range. On the other side, St. Frederick’s Cole Williamson missed high early in the match, while Noah Santiago came up empty on a close shot just before halftime, keeping St. Frederick (8-6-3) from getting the upper hand.

Gauthier said Reed encouraged him to keep firing.

“He told me if Kobe (Bryant) takes 1,000 shots, he’s at least making one,” Gauthier said. “Whenever you miss shots or make a mistake, you can’t hold your head low. You come back stronger.”

With nine minutes gone in the second half, it looked like RA broke through, but a Gauthier score was negated by an offsides call.

But in the match’s 55th minute, St. Frederick was whistled for pushing, and Gauthier earned a penalty kick — one he deposited into the lower left corner of the net to push RA ahead 1-0.

“I just felt a rush of emotion,” Gauthier said. “A feeling of electricity.”

With 12:30 left to play, Gauthier netted a second goal, putting the Rebels comfortably ahead.

“We knew they were a very good team,” Hymel said. “We expected a tight game and we got one.

“We just had to hold on from (the second goal).”

St. Frederick coach Russ Parent said the Rebels took advantage of a few Warrior backline mistakes, and credited Riverside for their intensity.

“100 percent, I have to commend that team’s effort,” Parent said.

“I doubt their coach could have asked for more from his players … We made a couple of bad decisions today, and those mistakes cost us.”

RA coach Jonathan Reed had already led his team into unchartered waters in his first season as head coach and will now lead the Rebels into their first state quarterfinal.

“We’re feeling very good about Riverside soccer,” Reed said. “We said before this game, we’ll control the outcome, and if we play Riverside soccer, it’ll be in our favor.

“This is not only big for our program, but also for Riverside as a whole,” Reed said. “We always stress to our guys to not only represent Riverside well on the field, but off the field.

“We couldn’t ask for anything better than what these boys are doing in both areas.”