Saul Tecle was called into a meeting with one of his coaches this past summer. For two years, he’d been playing for Project 51O, the youth development program of the Oakland Roots Soccer Club. This meeting, he was certain, was the moment he’d get that promotion. This was the moment he would get the payoff for the time he put in, the sacrifices he made. The two years of “so much blood, sweat and tears” he poured into the program. It was all going to be worth it. They were about to tell him he made his first professional team.
Instead, this meeting was about something else. The Roots dropped him.
“It was devastating,” Tecle said.
His childhood dream had been deprived. His hopes were crushed. For many, that would have been the end. But Tecle, the 5-foot-10 striker, wasn’t ready to give up. That kind of blow leaves a mark.
Instead, it made his fire burn even brighter.
“That’s kind of what motivated me,” Tecle said, “to have such a great season.”
That he did. At Las Positas.
The end result was Tecle, a freshman forward for the Hawks, breaking the school record for goals in a single season. The end result was him named to the First Team All-Conference, and First team All-State, and Coast Conference Forward of the Year, and North All-Regional, and All-West Regional, and First Team All-American.
The end result was Tecle making history: the first player ever from Las Positas to be named the Junior College Division III National Player of the Year.
It’s a season that gives him the opportunity to leave for an even brighter stage. Tecle is currently searching for yet another home, this time hopefully at the Division I level.
Just a few months removed from having his soccer future dealt a blow, Tecle is back in the role of prodigy. He’d crafted a plan to revive his dream. He put his faith in Hawks head coach Andrew Cumbo. He also showcased his strong mental fortitude, forged from a journey anchored in family.
“I’ve faced so much adversity,” Tecle said. “Through bad coaches, injuries, moving to a different state across the country… I’ve been through so much, but I just can’t quit. I’ve never been a quitter in my life.”
Adversity came in the form of failure. Getting cut by the Oakland Roots nearly broke him.
Instead, he made his way to Las Positas, where he reminded himself why he loved the game. Where he remembered what it was like to be good again.
He turned out to be one of the best players in the nation at the JUCO level.
“It tells me I’ve been doing something right,” Tecle said. “Starting out a young kid, all the work, all the dedication and sacrifices that I’ve made in my life has been for a reason, and it’s slowly paying off.”
For the Hawks to have the National Player of the Year is a game changer. The greatest season in program history keeps on giving, as it sets up Las Positas as a viable soccer program moving forward.
This level of attention is how a program takes a leap. Or, as Cumbo believes, it is proof the program already has.
“In some ways, we are on another level,” Cumbo said. “Our ability to attract, recruit and get commitments from high level players, and then in addition to that having players be successful.”
It was a season of milestones for the Hawks. In the opening match, the Hawks beat the College of Marin 8-0 for Cumbo’s 300th victory as a coach. In the playoffs, they upset No. 1-seeded Evergreen Valley in the second round. The Hawks reached the third round of the playoffs for the first time ever, losing 3-1 to Merced.
Seven other Hawks received recognition, including Frank Hinostroza and Jayden Nguyen also making First Team All-Conference. Nguyen was also named a Junior College Scholar All American.
But the clear star of the Hawks was Tecle, who was on a mission to prove himself. His record season with Las Positas was the latest step in a journey he is determined will take him to the professional levels.
Tecle was born in Germany. He and his family moved when he was three years old. When Tecle was a junior in high school, he decided to move to Charlotte, N.C. to play for the Charlotte Soccer Academy. After two years, he moved back to his home in Oakland and joined the Root’s youth program instead of playing at the college level.
Throughout every decision, he had his family’s support.
“I’m a family man,” Tecle explained. “I’m very family orientated. So the things that my family says plays a big part of how I move, how I do the things I do. So, since I was a little kid, my family has been there for me in terms of my soccer journey.”
So when he was cut by the Roots, Tecle knew he’d need a new home. Not just a place to play. But a futbol family that could build his confidence and his game. He needed a place that could provide an opportunity to prove the Roots made the wrong decision.
He found it on Campus Hill Drive. He found it with Cumbo.
CUMBO LOVE: Saul Tecle (right) put his career in the hands of Hawks coach Andrew Cumbo (left) and came to Las Positas to prove himself and . (Luke Vavuris/The Express)
Tecle made sure to not treat the Hawks like a mere JUCO team. He brought the same work ethic and professionalism he learned with the Roots’ program.
“I anticipated, a player at that level, they take their craft seriously,” Cumbo said. “They look at training, they look at preparation a little bit differently, a little bit more serious. So I expected that from him, just kind of a higher level of everything.”
But before he ever saw the pitch as a Hawk, he needed their love and support once more. He was forced to handle an undisclosed personal issue, something that sidelined him for the first two weeks of the season. He missed the team’s opening two matches. It was another setback, one that brought more questions to his soccer aspirations.
But this time, he didn’t just have his family for support. He had a team and a coach that were truly there for him.
“During that time when he was away, him and I would communicate,” Cumbo said. “I’d reach out to him often and let him know ‘I’m there for you. I know this is a tough time, but you know I’m there for you.’ Then once he got with us, I let him know ‘just take your time and I got your back.”
When he was able to make his debut in the team’s third game of the season, Tecle starred. He scored two in the Hawks 4-2 victory over Woodland Community College.
He followed up his debut by scoring three goals in the next three games. At one point in the season, he’d scored a goal in nine of 10 games — which included a streak of six straight games with at least one goal. He scored three or more goals on four occasions. His season-high was five goals in an 8-1 win over Monterey Peninsula.
Tecle finished with 27 goals, breaking the school record of 25 set by Marco Neves in the 2016-17 season.
Tecle remained somewhat oblivious to his charge for the school’s single-season scoring record. Cumbo first told Tecle that he had a chance at the record before their match against Gavilan on Nov. 12.
Sitting on 23, Tecle needed three goals in the last two regular season games to break it. But he didn’t feel like waiting.
“I told him before the game,” Tecle said, “I said ‘listen, I will be breaking that today.’ I said it with conviction. I said it with confidence.”
But it didn’t go well in the first half. He scored one goal but was frustrated after missing multiple big chances. He was hotter than Cumbo had seen him all season long. It led to a moment between him and the coach who resurrected his game.
Cumbo subbed out Tecle, pulling him aside to coach him up. It rejuvenated Tecle. Focused, he dominated the second half with three more goals in the Hawks’ 10-0 victory.
“But what I really liked as a coach,” Cumbo said, “was that he was experiencing some difficulties in that game. He gave me the opportunity to talk to him — he was always coachable. I gave him that information and then when he went back out there, he applied it. I don’t care about the goals or the record or any of that. What I was most proud of was just that overall experience that he had that day.”
After his record-setting third goal, on a pitch in Gilroy, Tecle came running straight to the sidelines. He jumped into the arms of the man who was crucial to his growth. He celebrated with his coach.
“So personally,” Cumbo continued, “I felt really great about that because it was a special moment.”
The start of Tecle’s journey to the Hawks began with a coach failing to believe in his ability. To think he wasn’t good enough for the professional level.
It ends with him leaving the program with new life, after finding a coach who saw what he could be. A star. An elite goal scorer. A National Player of the Year.
TOP PHOTO: Saul Tecle, here striking the ball against Merced, had a banner year for Las Positas. (Photo by Justin Gomes/Special to The Express)
Jakob Arnarsson is the Editor-in-Chief of The Express. Follow him on X, formally Twitter, @JakobA2004
