Las Positas coach Andrew Cumbo had seen enough. So he left the sideline and stormed onto the field to give an Evergreen Valley coach a piece of his mind. The Hawks leader was so upset he had to be held back.
Tensions bubbled over in the 90th minute of this Nov. 3 matchup when Arturo Arriola of Evergreen Valley slipped the ball past Las Positas goalkeeper Andric Macias, breaking a 2-2 tie. The entire Evergreen Valley bench erupted and stormed the field.
The visitors from San Jose had been exuberant all game, loud and banging on the walls of their portable bench. They didn’t hide their fervor when celebrating and even talked some trash LPC’s way. The last explosion by Evergreen Valley proved to be the last straw for Cumbo, who seemed to take exception to the visitors’ decorum. This marked the second occasion that the raucous Evergreen Valley sideline took to the field to celebrate a goal with 11 players already on the pitch.
Cumbo had words for their assistant coach Harvie Miller, who was the most animated of the visiting team’s coaches. It was Evergreen Valley head coach Simon Cook standing between Cumbo and Miller as they exchanged words.
ANDREW CUMBO, in all black on the right, did not appreciate Evergreen Valley’s celebration when it scored the game-winning goal in the 90th minute. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis // Special to The Express)
After the coaches returned to the sideline, just one minute of added time remained. Not enough for the Hawks to mount so much as a shot on goal. As the final whistle sounded, handing Las Positas a 3-2 home loss to No. 2-ranked Evergreen Valley, the deflation was palpable for the once fired-up Hawks.
“We played hard for 90 minutes,” Cumbo said, “and just switched off at the end there, which was a little bit of a heartbreak at the end of the game.”
LPC and EVC are not new to a lack of pleasantries on both sides. Last season, the Hawks traveled to San Jose to take on their Hawk counterparts and lost a dogfight of a game 2-0, a match that featured 11 total yellow cards.
Revenge was likely still on the minds of Evergreen Valley. Two years ago, 17th-seeded LPC walked into San Jose and left with a 2-0 win over Evergreen Valley, then the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and the No. 3 team in the state.
Although Tuesday’s game was less physical than the years prior, the intensity remained. Alejandro Ramirez got the Hawks on the board in the 25th minute, but Jose Banuelos of Evergreen Valley answered back just before halftime.
Multiple shots careened off the posts of the goal with no luck for LPC. But 20 minutes into the second half, Evergreen Valley’s Joel Gonzalez broke the tie.
It took Las Positas 23 minutes to climb back from the 2-1 deficit. Jesus “Chuey” Lua Amaya, playing his new role up top as the false nine, used his big left foot to boom a shot past the goalkeeper in the 88th minute to get LPC back in the game. All eleven wearing black made their way to the left corner of the opposing goal and celebrated with the Stephen Curry “night night” celebration.
‘NIGHT NIGHT’ Jesus Lua Amaya celebrates his game-tying goal with the celebration of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis // Special to The Express)
But just two minutes later, Evergreen Valley responded with a booming goal of their own, which prompted the bench to empty for the second time. Every member of their team, including the coaching staff, did their own “Night Night” celebration.
A RETORT by Evergreen Valley as the entire team took the field and did the same ‘Night Night’ celebration after scoring the game-winning goal in the 90th minute. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis // Special to The Express)
Evergreen Valley men’s soccer has a rich history in recent years, being ranked No. 5 nationally in 2023 and No. 3 last season. They were also the top team in the first two 3CSIA polls of this season, being topped by Cañada in the Nov. 3 edition.
“This game was an opportunity to compete with one of the best teams around, and the guys made the most out of that opportunity,” Cumbo said. “I think it’s a good experience, and they know that they can play with them.”
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Carson Pfotenhauer is a staff writer for The Express. Follow him on Instagram @cjpfotie.
