Carlos Rivas helped lead the team to a draw on the road, finding the back of the net in San Jose for his second goal of the season.
He came on as a substitute for Luis Gil in the 63rd minute. With some help from PC, Rivas broke through the Quakes backline and opened up scoring in the 80th minute.
“I knew I was going to have an opportunity to shoot,” Rivas said after the match. “So, I just waited patiently once I was subbed in to get it done.”
The goal marks Rivas’ second of the season. The young Colombian also leads the team in assists with five on the year. His impact on the team has been more noticeable than in years past-- according to him, that is thanks to a shift in his mindset and motives.
“I’ve had great motivation,” Rivas said. “I’ve also had a lot of change in mentality and I think that’s what has helped me have a really good season so far.”
It’s also been thanks to more appearances on the pitch. Rivas has proven his worth to his team and his coach, and has appeared in all eleven matches so far this season. Already, he is close to passing his goal tally in 2016 (three) and has earned more assists than he has in the past two years. He’s developing and growing with each day, and that’s great for the Lions offense and their future. Kreis certainly seemed to think so, when he spoke about Rivas before the start of the season.
“This is a young player still, and we have the ability to sign young DPs for a reason; to grab these kids before they fully develop and to develop them ourselves into something that fits into our team,” Kreis said. “So, I’m seeing that with Carlos; I’m seeing that it’s taken him a while to transition into the league and to living in a different country.”
“Now, we’re starting to see somebody who’s getting it, who’s understanding what it takes to be successful in this league. And when he gets that, when he wraps his mind around that, and when he’s fully fit and committed, the potential for a player like that is sky high. Absolutely sky high,” Kreis said. “And when he’s at his best, he can be a tremendous handful to a lot of defenses in this league. And so we’re hopeful that he continues on that path. But he’s still not a finished product.”
With Rivas off to the best start of his career, one has to wonder if he has started tapping into that potential. And what the future will hold for a player that has finally become comfortable with his team and with his league. All we know for sure: his potential is sky high.
