With youth comes risk. But also great reward.

Both coaches — Oscar Pareja of the Colorado Rapids and John Aloisi of Melbourne Heart — knew that coming into Saturday’s third-place match of the Hawaiian Islands Invitational soccer tournament at Aloha Stadium.

Aloisi had no choice. The majority of his roster was comprised of the club’s youth team, ranging in ages from 16 to 23.

Pareja had options in the final contest before his Major League Soccer opener against Columbus on March 10. However, the first-year coach got quality play from several rookies, and a very impressive match from one.

Tony Casio, three months removed from graduation from UConn and a month away from his 22nd birthday, was brilliant. His goal in the 29th minute held up in a 1-0 victory over the Heart before an estimated crowd of 7,500.

It hardly told the story. In a game of inches, Casio could have easily scored two more, with one shot off the crossbar, another off the near post.

But one was enough as Colorado dominated on both sides of the ball, with a 15-3 edge in shots and a possession game that was both frustrating and fatiguing for the Australians.

It was the same in the championship match, a fast-and-furious battle between Korea’s Busan I Park and Yokohama of Japan. In what was hardly a friendly "friendly," Busan I Park used two first-half goals, including one with seconds left in stoppage time, to help defeat Yokohama 3-0.

Bolstered by a group of costumed buk (drum) players, Busan banged out a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute. It came on a header by Seungwhan Bang off a perfect cross from Kwanghee Choi.

I Park padded its lead just before half on Sanghyug Lim’s breakaway goal, a shot from some 20 yards out that beat the whistle and Yokohama goalie Junnosuke Schneider.

"I didn’t want to lose to the Japanese team," Lim said. "And I was very glad to score that goal."

"That (second) goal was very important for us to have the momentum," Busan coach Iksoo Ahn said. "It was a fun way to enter the locker room."

A mistake by the Yokohama defense led to Busan’s goal in the 70th minute on a breakaway by Jose Fagner Silva.

In the third-place game, the Rapids dominated the opening half, keeping Melbourne keeper Vedran Janjetovic constantly on his toes. Colorado had a 9-1 edge in shots, with Janjetovic pulling in four saves.

The one he couldn’t get to came when Casio took a pass from Jaime Castrillon from about 30 yards out and drilled it into the left corner for what would be the only score.

Casio nearly had another goal in the 42nd minute when he mis-hit a cross. The ball hit the crossbar and bounced out.

Colorado stayed aggressive in the final minutes. Midfielder Jeff Larentowicz had a solid strike off a pass from Casio from about 30 yards out that Janjetovic hung onto.

Steward Ceus got the start in goal for Colorado, replacing Matt Pickens, the keeper from Thursday night’s 2-1 loss to Yokohama. Ceus had one save in the opening 45 minutes, that a grab of a shot from Steven Gray, and a save in the second half off a strike by 36-year-old veteran Josip Skoko, who came out of retirement to play and mentor the Heart.

"They dominated the game — physically they were a lot stronger," Aloisi said of Colorado. "We defended well at times, found it difficult other times. But we conceded only one goal in both games with a lot of youth team players and trialist (players not under contract).

"The MLS is stronger than the Australian league, but 1-nil against them is not too bad. Skoko was brilliant (in over 100 minutes in two matches). He helped our young boys on and off the pitch."

The Rapids lost their veteran, 35-year-old midfielder Pablo Mastroeni, in the 75th minute. Mastroeni, who missed the end of last season with a concussion, left the match after getting knocked in the head and remained out as a precautionary measure.

"We’re happy and pleased with the effort," Pareja said. "We could have scored a couple of goals more, but it is important that we are going in the right direction.

"This week will help us get better as we keep building the team."

Colorado’s best chance at a second goal came in the 81st minute when Casio was replaced by Andre Akpan. Akpan, the Harvard roommate of New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, took a cross from Kohei Yamada, but his header was tipped out by Janjetovic.