The Hawks held their season opener on their home turf in Livermore on Thursday, August 27, against a College of the Siskiyous team making the trip from Weed, Calif., a game in which Las Positas had control for most of the 90-minutes, winning with a score of 3-0.
The Hawks got off to a rough start, with possession being contested and with multiple Hawks falling to the turf. Freshman Walter Galindo from Clayton Valley suffered a dislocated shoulder, and team captain defenseman Kayke Carneiro suffered an apparent lower leg injury.
The Hawks finally got going at the 20-minute mark when Tristan Casella drew a foul in the box to set up a penalty kick.
Cumbo went with Jose Valencia, and Valencia showed he made the right decision by putting it past the goalie in the left corner.
“A lot of guys want that moment, and I have a lot of confidence in a lot of them. In that moment, I was feeling him.” Cumbo said.
The second 11 came on minutes later with Alejandro Ramirez, who was tied for first in goals last season, scoring a goal of his own, assisted by Rohman Mamood.
A third goal by Abel Meda at 75 minutes officially iced the Eagles, giving the Hawks their first win of the season.
Cumbo and his new staff have 35 players on the roster this season, one of the largest in program history.
With so much depth and talent, Cumbo made it a point to see two different groups of 11 out on the field. The first 11 played the first 22 minutes of the half, with a new 10 (who stayed on) coming on for the second 22-minute interval.
In the second half, Cumbo inserted players into the lineup that he felt earned it in the first half.
“We have a lot of depth. It’s tough to come up with 11 starters. Everybody wants to play, and the majority of those guys wanted to play more.” Cumbo said.
Managing a team of 35 athletes who are confident in their abilities and want to be on the field is difficult, especially when only 11 players are on the field at a time.
An excess of quality can be a blessing or a curse, and Cumbo will try to use his depth for good.
“That second line that went in, they could all be starters, and that first line could be the second line next time,” Cumbo said.
Captain and one of the Hawks’ leaders, Hadi Jaber, shared his coaches’ views on the team’s depth.
“They’re(Siskiyous) a great team. They were moving it, they were working it, but I think the talent, ambition and depth we have is too great, Jaber said. It’s a whole other squad that could compete with the first, if not better.”
A member of that second group that particularly impressed was Xavier Harmon. Harmon played at Tiffin University last season and has now returned to the West Coast.
“I was most impressed with Xavier, Cumbo said. He did really well winning a lot of balls in the air.”
Last season for the 07 Palo Alto boys team, Harmon was listed as a right back and left wing, but had some run as a center back and performed well.
“I’ve never seen Xavier play center back, said Valencia, the team’s first goal scorer of the season. “He’s usually at the top. He played an important role today.”
Cumbo knows who he has and what he can do with his four captains. It’s a matter of an adjustment period to see who else can play. The team has a number of transfers this season, and Cumbo has to find a way to use the excess of talent to his advantage.
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TOP PHOTO: Sophomore Hadi Jaber will be looking to lead the Hawks past the second round of the NorCal playoffs this season. (The Express archives)
Carson Pfotenhauer is a staff writer for The Express. Follow him on Instagram @cjpfotie.
