By Andy Walter

CAMDEN — Thaddeus Glasser already knew his new teammate, Daniel Gomez, was a pretty good soccer player from seeing him in practice.

A native of Spain who just seemed to show up on Caesar Rodney High’s doorstep shortly after pre-season practice started, he’d been playing the sport his entire life.

But it wasn’t until they got in an actual game that Glassner saw what a big impact Gomez might have.

“In games, he’s a different player,” said Glassner. “He’s 10 times better than what he shows in training — which is awesome.”

Just four games into his career with the Riders, Gomez has already collected five goals and three assists for 3-0-1 CR.

The unexpected addition of the newcomer has pushed the expectations even a little higher for a CR squad that already had some high hopes for this fall.

The Riders, who play a Henlopen North contest at Sussex Tech today at 7 p.m., have a strong nucleus of returning players who have been together since they were little.

Gomez, who has lived in a few different countries, ended up at CR when his mom was hired to teach in the district’s Spanish immersion program. He’s a senior academically.

“It’s not that different,” Gomez said about playing in the U.S. “I didn’t notice a big difference. I’m getting goals and assists that are helping the team to win some games but I’m focused on the whole team, not only on me.

“All my family and friends are in Spain, so it’s been a little bit difficult. But I’m good. My teammates are really helping with that. We have a really good group.”

Another Spanish player, Guillermo Climent Gomez, who joined the squad last year, told coach Dwayne Lavender about Gomez.

“Sometimes they fall in your lap like that,” said Lavender. “With an already-good team, he was just an added bonus. He adds a bit of quality and he’s a left footer, which is always worth its weight in gold.

“It was a really nice surprise.”

A year ago, the Riders finished 9-2-2 after falling to St. Georges, 2-1, in the DIAA Division I state quarterfinals. The Hawks netted the tying goal in the 73rd minute before winning the contest in overtime.

CR lost seven seniors — including five who made all-Henlopen North — from that team but still has a solid group of eight seniors this season. Sophomore Pierce Cheslock made second-team all-North as a freshman was Glasser was an honorable mention pick as a sophomore.

“I’ve played with some of these boys since the U-8 years,” said senior co-captain Tate Wisniewski. “We all play really well together.

“Last year we couldn’t finish as well but I think this year we’ve nailed down on that. We have a good front three and even more players who know how to finish.”

The Riders started the season with a 4-4 tie against Wilmington Charter. CR trailed the Force, 4-2, before Gomez scored in the 60th minute and Glasser netted the tying goal on a penalty kick in the final minute.

“I think Charter was a good, hard match for our first game to show us the bar of where we have to play the rest of the season,” said Wisniewski.

Wisniewski has tallied a team-high six goals while Glasser has four for the Riders, who have netted 23 goals so far. Those two players and Gomez each scored in CR’s 3-0 win over Caravel on Saturday.

The Riders play their annual showdown with Henlopen South power Indian River in Dagsboro next Tuesday night.

“Our first game, it was a little bit of getting nerves and all that out of the way,” said Glasser. “But, after our first game, we’ve just been going better and better every single game. We have a lot of potential this year, for sure.”

The addition of Gomez and his skill set gives the Riders just a little more potential.

“I feel like going into the season we were missing one piece,” said Glasser. “And I feel like he was that piece that plugs into our team.”