PASCO -- Rene Solorio may wonder from time to time if he made the right choice as a freshman, picking soccer over baseball.
After all, the slick-fielding shortstop showed a rare blend of speed and power as an 11-year-old, hitting 14 homers during his final season of Pasco Little League in 2005.
"I still have the collection of all the baseballs I hit over the fence," said Solorio, a junior midfielder. "But as I grew, the pitchers started throwing a lot faster."
Had he stuck with it, who knows? Perhaps the Chiawana baseball team would be the one celebrating its first trip to state.
Instead, the Riverhawks' boys soccer team is making the trip to today's 4A state quarterfinal at 3 p.m. at Stadium High School in Tacoma.
Solorio has been a major factor in Chiawana's transformation from an underacheiving squad at mid-season to a dangerous playoff team capable of knocking off the state's biggest guns. He has two goals and four assists in the Riverhawks' three playoff wins this year after leading the team with 10 goals and seven assists during the regular season.
Midway through this season with the team struggling to find a rhythm, Chiawana coach Rich Zoller shuffled the lineup, moving Solorio from forward to an attacking midfield slot. Surrounded by fellow midfielders Ariel Gonzalez and cousin Alex Acevedo, he found it easier to utilize the open space and put his considerable skills to work.
"Maybe I should have done that sooner," Zoller said with a chuckle. "When he plays up high, he just gets beaten to death by the defense. We felt the more time he can spend on the ball, the better off we'll be."
Solorio illustrated his coach's point during Saturday's 3-0 first-round 4A state win over Lewis & Clark, scoring the first goal of the match off an assist from Acevedo with an expertly placed shot across the box.
Then, with LC threatening to score in a 2-0 game, he proved his mettle on defense by stripping a Tigers' midfielder of the ball in the Riverhawks' zone and centering it to teammate Killian Kammerer for an insurance goal.
Solorio is quite proud to be part of the first group to send Chiawana into the state playoffs and give the team's fans a taste of a deep playoff run. But he's seen postseason greatness before, namely with the 2007 Pasco team that won the 4A state championship. Acevedo's older brother Marco was a starting forward on that squad.
This season, Solorio wanted the same for his team.
"I decided to step up this year," he said. "We're a new school, but we wanted to make history."
Even before the 2011 high school season started, Solorio already had plenty of memorable moments over the last 12 months. He has trained with the Washington State Olympic Development Program 1994 (birth year) squad since 2008 and was selected last summer as one of just 36 players for the Region IV '94 ODP pool that includes players from each of the 13 western-most states.
"He's a special player," Zoller said. "He's grown up and matured into a natural leader. There's different ways you can lead, and he does it with his play on the field."
After returning from ODP camp, Solorio helped lead his club team, the Three Rivers U-17 coached by Mike Pardini, to a pair of championship games.
In the fall, Solorio helped take Pardini's team to the Surf Cup finals in San Diego, where the team fell just short of a title.
Less than two months later, the team also reached the State Cup championship game, proving its elite standing was no fluke. A loss in the State Cup final was difficult, but that didn't stop college recruiters from taking notice after Solorio finished the club season with two goals and a team-high three assists.
By the way, he also does it with a 3.5 GPA.
"He's been getting so many emails. It makes me very happy for him. I believe he can go anywhere," Alex Acevedo said. "He's really been working hard this year. He's a good leader."
One who's not yet ready for baseball season.
