On the evening of April 8, Irie O’Donnell’s phone chimed. Her former head coach, Andrew Cumbo, reached out to the former midfielder the following day to ask for assistance at Las Positas. O’Donnell had been working with Cumbo and the women’s soccer team throughout the season following her departure from the campus in 2024.
“Wear a national team jersey,” his text read.
O’Donnell was slightly confused, but rolled with it.
“Can I wear my Japanese jersey?” She replied.
“Yeah, I’ll wear my Italian one.”
Thursday afternoon, O’Donnell walked towards the grass field at the top of Campus Hill Drive. She connected the dots when she saw the charter bus parked in the lot.
In front of O’Donnell stood the very team she repped with her jersey. Only they were in Livermore.
“It was insane,” O’Donnell said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Las Positas’ grass field became a Women’s World Cup team training ground in just 15 hours. The Japanese women’s national team had planned to practice at the Oakland Coliseum in preparation for their matchup with the United States National Women’s team. But when those plans failed, Las Positas came through in the clutch.
Andrew Cumbo, the head soccer coach and assistant athletic director, coordinated with Alfonso Cerda, team liaison officer for Japan, working on behalf of US Soccer to make it happen. They transformed the Hawks’ field into a professional training ground.
The benefits didn’t end with the privilege of hosting the Japanese national team. Irie O’Donnell, a future assistant on the women’s team, wound up getting the surprise of a lifetime.
O’Donnell, 21, is a Japanese-American who spent half of her life playing soccer in Japan. So her alma mater hosting the national team, featuring some of her favorite players, proved a fortuitous opportunity.
NEW HAWKS women’s soccer assistant coach Irie O’Donnell attended the friendly match between the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) and Team Japan. LPC received tickets to the match as a ‘thank you’ from Team Japan for allowing the team to practice on the school’s field. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
The entire event, from the quick turnaround to the treat for the alumni, highlighted the efficiency of Las Positas’ systems. The seamless operation created an opportunity that adds to the credibility of the school, its facilities, and the people who run them.
“Turning something around in 15 hours, I have maybe done it once in my 20-year career,” Cerda said. “So to have it happen that quickly is unbelievable.”
The Japanese women’s national football team, known as Nadeshiko Japan, has won the FIFA Women’s World Cup once in 2011. They became the first Asian team to win a senior World Cup by beating the USA team in the final. They were also runners-up in 2015. Currently, they sit at number five in the FIFA world rankings.
The team is known for its possession-based style featuring several standout players, including Yui Hasegawa, a top-level midfielder; Hinata Miyazawa, a midfielder who gained global attention in the 2023 World Cup; right back Risa Shimizu; Maika Hamano, a rising young forward; and veteran Saki Kumagai, a defender who brings major tournament experience.
Cerda learned on Wednesday, April 8, that the field at the Coliseum, where the Oakland Roots play and practice, had been torn up by heavy use and was unsuitable. Suddenly, the Japanese women’s national team needed a new site by 11 a.m. on Thursday.
Cerda, familiar with Northern California, reached out to an old friend, Eric Yamamoto, the associate head coach at Santa Clara University. He mentioned LPC.
Cerda took a 30-minute detour from Oakland to scout the location.
“It was absolutely beautiful,” Cerda said.
Cumbo got the phone call at 5:20 pm the same day from the U.S. Soccer team, with Cerda on the line. He explained the situation. Cumbo’s focus shifted. He knew exactly what to do.
In the past, Las Positas has hosted the Trinidad and Tobago men’s national team and the Curaçao men’s national team — both in the summer of 2025 — but Cumbo wondered if he could pull it off in fewer than 24 hours.
Cumbo had two fundamental concerns. Could the field be prepared in time? Could Las Positas clear the legal and administrative hurdles overnight?
The first person Cumbo called was Ron Ribali, grounds and maintenance lead for the Chabot–Las Positas district. Ribali oversees the playing surfaces at Las Positas and coordinates with the maintenance and operations teams. Fortunately for the endeavor, the grass had been recently cut and was in great condition for a professional team. However, it wasn’t lined.
And the paint robot they use lives at Chabot College, which is 30 minutes away in Hayward.
Ribali arranged to use the paint robot in the morning. The paint needed to be dry before the Japanese women took the pitch.
“We’re not sure if we can get it lined up so quickly,” Cumbo texted Cerda. “Is that a deal breaker?”
Cerda said they would still use the field if it wasn’t.
The second phone call Cumbo made was to Andrea Anderson in Business Services at LPC. Anderson handles all of the college’s outside-use contracts, insurance and agreements. Cumbo caught her on her way home and told her they had a shot at hosting a prestigious World Cup team.
When Anderson got home, she got straight to work. She first sent U.S. Soccer the insurance liability forms. After that exchange, a certificate of insurance was issued with the required verbiage and liability limits. Anderson then moved to the facility rental agreement. Then, finally, the rental rate document. And the deal was done.
On Thursday, Ribali lined the field at 9 a.m. In addition, he and his team set up the goals, tents, benches and water stations. In just 15 hours, the community college campus became a training ground for an elite soccer club. The team arrived at 11a.m., the grass freshly watered.
Cerda was taken aback by Cumbo’s feat. But he had to make one thing clear: it was a closed-door training. No media. No extra bodies.
But Cumbo had plans for O’Donnell.
Cumbo wanted to give his former student and future assistant coach a moment to remember, something he knew meant the world. So he painted her background for Cerda.
O’Donnell, the Japanese-American alum, moved back and forth between the U.S. and Japan, where she took part in both soccer cultures. But she grew up invested in Japan, her favorite team. Her dual citizenship made the USA vs. Japan matchup personal.
In the end, O’Donnell got to be the lone exception.
“It was no problem,” Cerda said. “Japan was gracious enough to allow her to come out. Those things are sometimes really hard with teams. They can be really particular about bringing people out. So it was great to have her come out and watch the session.”
The moment came. After she passed the bus, she knew what she was in for. The emotion reached the entire field.
“Watching her walk up, in her jersey, I had goosebumps,” Cerda said. “You don’t see that very often.”
After watching her favorite team practice, O’Donnell and Cumbo were invited onto the field for the team picture. After the photo was snapped, her favorite player, midfielder Yui Hasegawa, handed her a jersey signed by the entire team — along with tickets to the USA matchup at PayPal Park on April 11.
FIRST FRIENDLY match between the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) and Team Japan took place Sat. April 11, at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif. — the home stadium of the MLS team, the San Jose Earthquakes. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
“I don’t know how to go on after this,” O’Donnell said. “It’s so weird.”
She attended the game with her mom, sister and best friend. This was her first time seeing both teams play in person. Japan lost to USA, 2-1. But more valuable was the gift from her mentor. A moment that would live on.
“I just look at (the signed jersey),” she said, “and I’m like, ‘How is that even possible that I have a signed jersey from all the players that I saw play today?”
The day ultimately demonstrated the unique value of Las Positas’ campus facilities and the people who steward them.
“At the end of the day,” Cumbo said, “We’re here to serve students. Sometimes that means doing crazy things like this, because it creates opportunities you could never script.”
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TOP PHOTO: On April 11, the U.S. Women’s National Team beat Japan 2-1 at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., the first of a three-game friendly series. Before that match, on April 9, Team Japan practiced on Las Positas’s soccer field. (Photo courtesy of LPC)
Annie Moore is the Sports Editor of The Express. Follow her on X @SanJosAnnie.
