By Don Trello
The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent
Gaither boys soccer team captains Jonathan Lopez, Ricky Rivera and Tyler Helm are confident the Cowboys will regain the winning form that resulted in final four appearances the last two years, despite a slow start this season.
Gaither was 39-9-4 during its trips to the state semifinals the last two years and won a district championship in 2011-12, but the Cowboys started with four straight losses before going 5-1-2 in their next five games to improve to 5-5-2 this season.
“At first our chemistry wasn’t that good, but now we are progressing,” said Rivera, a senior midfielder/forward. “I definitely see improvement. We are becoming better and better.”
Sophomore forward Jhonatan Da Silva and freshman midfielder Nicholas Ortiz are playing important roles in the Cowboys resurgence, according to Rivera.
“Da Silva knows the game more than other people his age and knows how to hold on to the ball,” Rivera said. “Ortiz has lots of skills and knows how to play with older people; he’s not scared of any senior.”
Da Silva has five goals and one assists this year after recording just four goals and four assists in 25 games last season.
“Last year I wasn’t as tough as I am this year,” said Da Silva, who is from Rio de Janeiro. “I’m stronger, and I made my mind up to be as tough as the rest of the guys. I’ll do anything to help my team.”
Da Silva, 16, moved to Hillsborough County from Brazil with his family when he was 13 years old. He has made a positive adjustment to life in the United States.
“I miss Brazil, but I like it here,” Da Silva said. “The weather and the language were the biggest things. It’s really cold here during December and January, and I spoke no English. It took me about one year to learn the language, but it wasn’t hard making friends. I’m not shy.”
Da Silva’s friends nicknamed him Taco because he grew a mustache his freshman year. The mustache is gone, but not the nickname.
“Everybody just started calling me Taco,” Da Silva said. “My mom made me cut off my mustache. She said it was ugly.”
Ugliness is no stranger to Lopez when it comes to injuries. The talented senior midfielder played with a dislocated shoulder much of his freshman year, missed his sophomore season with a broken arm and missed the postseason as a junior with a hyperextended knee.
“I did three months of physical therapy rehabbing my knee, and I’m feeling really good this year,” Lopez said. “There is a lot of responsibility as a captain. The younger guys get nervous going up against bigger, older kids, but they listen to all the captains and we help them. We have better talent than I thought we would have because of our young players.”
Gaither coach Eric Sims agrees with Lopez about the youthful talent on his team when it comes to Da Silva and Ortiz.
“Da Silva got a lot of experience as a freshman and has a very good left foot,” Sims said. “Ortiz is a freshman playing in 90 percent of the games. He strikes a very good ball and is not scared to shoot from anywhere.”
Ortiz, 14, moved from Columbia when he was 8 years old, and is happy with the change in environment.
“America is the country everybody wants to come to, and I like it here,” Ortiz said. “Soccer is way different here. There are more long balls. Players here are bigger and more physical. There are more skilled players in Columbia. I have a strong shot, and I like shooting the best.”
Sims had high praise for Helm, a senior midfielder, who might be the poster person for what it takes to be a successful soccer player.
“Tyler is basically the prototypical Gaither soccer player,” Sims said. “He is as fit and works harder than any player I’ve ever had. Tyler is the kind of player we are built on.”
Helm made his respect for Sims clear and offered his thoughts about where the team has been and where it is going.
“I play soccer year round and I never get tired of it, especially with coach Sims,” Helm said. “It depends on how motivated we are to win. That dictates how we play. It’s definitely depressing losing to teams we might be better than. We’ve improved some, but we have to continue to make improvements to make a big point about Gaither soccer.”
The Cowboys will host the Class 4A-District 8 tournament Jan. 23 to 26, with the final Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. Gaither plays at Wharton Dec. 20 at 8 p.m.
