It echoes throughout the bench. Every single game.
“Talk to each other.”
In different tones and volumes, from coaches to players, from players to each other. It’s been an endless echo this season for LPC men’s soccer. The simplicity of communication can make all the difference. A talking team is one that supports each other, practices accountability, and has rapport.
And now that the playoffs are here, the Hawks truly need it.
The Hawks (12-4-5) earned the No. 15 seed in the 3C2A NorCal Regional Playoffs. They host No. 18 Butte (12-8-2) on Nov. 19 at 2 p.m.
“(If) we come out strong with energy and just passion,” freshman defender Jose Valencia said, “I think we got ’em.”
The biggest thing hindering the Hawks as they head into the playoffs? It isn’t the injuries, or lineup changes, or tough competition. It’s their own morale.
“The morale does get a little low, or maybe actually lost, kind of everywhere,” Sophomore Goalkeeper Sahib Sandhu said. “But I think we’re kind of all putting it together now, coaches giving more tactics and stuff, calming us down, trying to get us all on one page.”
Las Positas took some licks in conference play. What made them crack the most was the lack of communication and connection.
Mentally, things can get tense under pressure. For instance. Playing teams such as Evergreen Valley — aggressive, mouthy and fast-paced — can be frustrating for a club not completely in sync. It can be disconnecting. The Hawks seemed to stop playing to win and started playing not to lose.
The challenge now, especially for the sophomore leaders, is whether LPC can do the work to tie up loose ends and get the team in the right mindset before getting eliminated.
“The competition now is obviously much higher, and our team is slowly adjusting to that,” said sophomore midfielder Arteen Arianmanesh, the Hawks’ leader in points. “At the start, it really caught a lot of us by surprise, and now we’re making those small fixes and adjusting the mentality that we need going into the playoffs.”
Las Positas will host one of the more efficient attacking teams in Northern California. Butte scored 59 goals in 22 matches — an average of 2.68 goals per game — while allowing just 1.29 goals against. The Roadrunners went 5-4-1 on the road (5-4-1). With a strong offense, a steady defensive core, and enough depth to stretch opponents late in matches, Butte poses a legitimate threat as they travel to Livermore.
If the Hawks win, they advance to the second round against the winner of No. 10 De Anza vs. No. 23 Modesto.
Las Positas enters the playoffs with one of the most balanced and disciplined rosters in Northern California — one of the reasons it spent most of the season ranked in the state. The Hawks, No. 14 in the latest poll on Oct. 28, produced 54 goals in 21 matches, an average of 2.57 goals per game. Defensively, LPC was even stronger, allowing just 0.76 goals against per match and recording 10 shutouts. The Hawks have been especially dominant at home, where nine of their 12 wins happened. LPC can’t be seen as anything but the favorites in the first-round matchup.
But they can only take advantage of it if they solve their biggest issue: communication.
“Our mentality … players’ egos are there,” Arianmanesh said. “We’re not able to take advice.”
Conversations turn tense when they shouldn’t, he said, and the team doesn’t always talk things out the way they need to. That disconnect shows on the field in missed runs, late decisions and moments where one voice could change everything. Instead, the pattern is for no one to say anything.
Multiple players pointed to this as a central issue for a team riding a five-game winless streak, including a 3-0 home shutout vs. Hartnell and a 1-1 tie vs. Skyline. The next time LPC takes the field, it will be nearly four weeks since they last won a game, Oct. 24 at Monterrey Peninsula.
“Some players just play for themselves,” Valencia said. “Hartnell, I feel like, individually, they’re not better than us. But they were a team. … that’s a big problem.”
Fortunately for the Hawks, they still have time to remedy the situation. Arianmanesh made it clear they’re working on it.
“Us captains have been getting more vocal,” he said, “celebrating anytime we win the ball or create a good chance, rather than staying quiet or getting mad.”
He’s seen that energy spread to the rest of the team. And off the field, they’ve been just as intentional. Their progress is visible.
“I feel like our relationship has grown stronger, and I feel like we understand each other better,” Valencia said. “We’ve been through good and bad now, and I feel like facing adversity has really helped us, and I think it’ll help us during the playoffs to do good.”
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TOP PHOTO: LPC’s men’s soccer team fought a hard battle against Skyline College, resulting in a 1-1 tie. They now head to the postseason with some issues to address. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
Annie Moore is the Sports Editor of The Express. Follow her on X @SanJosAnnie.
