GAINESVILLE — Riverside Military soccer coach Diego Vacca was by no means happy after watching his team drop a 2-0 decision to Pace Academy on Tuesday in Gainesville.
He was also far from distraught, however, as his Eagles fought throughout a showdown of Class AA top five squads.
"You learn more when you lose; you pick up little things you wouldn't in a win. This was a good game for us to get ready and know what's coming (in the playoffs)," Vacca said. "It's great to have games that challenge us."
Certainly the second-ranked Knights (10-0) presented a sizable obstacle for the fifth-ranked Eagles (8-3-2), scoring once in each half to hand the hosts their first defeat since a 1-0 reverse to Winder-Barrow on March 8.
But the reverse could also be said -- especially if Riverside had made the most of a handful of scoring opportunities throughout the first half and early in the second.
"The game would have been different if we had made the most of our scoring opportunities," Vacca said. "We also gave them two easy goals. But that's part of playing a team like this. You learn that you have to make the most of your chances because you don't get many.
"We also showed that we need to improve defensively and be more comfortable on the ball."
Riverside gave the visitors' defense plenty of discomfort in the opening minutes -- though the Eagles could not make the most of an impressively-created scoring opportunity with 26 minutes left in the first half, as Samuel Palmer stormed up the right wing and crossed for Jorge Quesada. The striker unleashed a first-touch volley into the path of Pace goalkeeper Samuel Sloman, whose block rebounded perfectly for Carlos Carrillo -- but the junior blasted over an empty net.
Eight minutes later Palmer so nearly broke the deadlock after again surging down the wing, but this time the Eagles watched as the speedy attacker's chip shot pinged back off the left upright.
Just before halftime, Pace punished the Eagles' misses, however.
Winning position inside the Riverside half, Pace's Ethan Robinson surged forward and side-footed a 15-yard shot into the Eagles' net for a 1-0 advantage.
The goal came just minutes after Malik Hobie's warning salvo, the Pace attacker striking the Riverside upright after Robinson curled a perfectly-flighted cross into the Eagles' penalty area.
Despite the setback, Riverside came out firing again in the second half -- but again failed to find the target after Carrillo burst through the Pace defense, sliding his shot agonizingly wide of goal and a charging Sloman.
The Knights left Riverside to rue the miss with 22:55 remaining when Hobie doubled the visitors' lead.
Latching on to a ball just 25 yards from goal Hobie cut inside and slammed a 20-yard shot into the net for a 2-0 advantage.
The insurance strike allowed Pace to relax, and, while Riverside's Manuel Chivaca did threaten with a 35-yard attempt that just cleared the Pace crossbar, the Knights largely kept the Riverside attack at bay over the waning minutes.
"We learned a lot from today in seeing things on the field and experiencing it," Vacca said. "It's tough for us because we have players coming and going every year, so we don't really build any seniority, and the kids have to learn their roles on the fly, but this team is doing well. And we keep getting better."
The Eagles are currently looking for someone to show their improvement against before the start of the playoffs, however. Final regular season opponent Greene County forfeited their contest scheduled for April 19, leaving Vacca searching for one more opponent before the postseason begins on April 28.
