Just minutes into the soccer match, the Las Positas Hawks found themselves down 2-0 to Lake Tahoe Community College. Surrendering goals in the 10th and 17th minutes dug the Hawks into a massive hole early in their home opener for the 2024 season.
But fortunately for the Las Positas team, they’re led by a coach who’s seen it all — Andrew Cumbo.
His team rallied, scoring three unanswered goals, including the game winner by freshman winger Alex Braginsky, half to steal a 3-2 win over the visiting Coyotes — a dramatic ending to a meaningful victory.
The Hawks have started the season with six straight wins. In 2022, Las Positas opened with four losses sandwiched around a tie for a 4-0-1 start. A win on Friday, Sept. 13 against Mendocino officially marked the Hawks’ best start to a season since Cumbo took over the program in 2016.
This year has marked a milestone for Cumbo, who heads both the men’s and women’s soccer teams at Las Positas. The 8-0 season-opening victory at Marin was the 300th win in his career. He’s now at 305 thanks to the Hawks’ win streak.
“While there are some specific wins that I actually remember,” Cumbo said in an interview for the LPC Athletics website, “the memories that are most sketched in my mind are all the players and assistant coaches I’ve had a pleasure to work with the past 24 years.”
Cumbo started as the head coach at Humboldt State University in 2001. He stayed eight years before moving to Cal State East Bay. After the 2015 season, he was hired to take over at Las Positas College.
His experience was a crucial part of the team’s comeback effort against Lake Tahoe. Cumbo used a first-half change to counter the momentum of the match. He subbed in Braginsky as an attacking midfielder and converted a free kick in the 43rd minute to put Las Positas on the board.
”I honestly came in probably the middle of the first half,” Braginsky said. “It was 2-0. Always in mind, I think we can come back. I mean, it was pretty rare, but I’m happy I got that first goal, and that definitely boosted our team’s confidence.”
Freshman Saul Tecle tied the game in the 70th minute, scoring on an assist from Trey Lassiter. Braginsky then booted home the go-ahead score, assisted by Arteen Arianmanesh, in the 75th minute.
“I think scoring the second goal kind of gave us that confidence to get that third goal since we were tied and actually were coming down from 2-0,” Tecle said. “After scoring that second goal, we found our momentum, our rhythm, to get in that circle.”
The year’s team features 18 freshmen this season, tasked with keeping the Hawks’ streak of post-season appearances alive. The men have never missed the playoffs with Cumbo as coach.
Two key players from last year’s squad that lost in the first round of the playoffs, Luis Castillo and Edwin Zabala, have moved on. But the youngsters who replaced them seem to be just as adept at scoring — led by Braginsky and Tecle, the team’s striker.
The Hawks have scored 25 goals in six games, an average of 4.2 per game, and have yet to score fewer than two in a game.
Cumbo believes that although last season’s team seemed a little more dominant, their current lineup is a lot more versatile this year, with talented players both on the field and on the bench.
“The big difference is the depth of the team,” Cumbo said. “We can go into the bench and the level still stays really high.”
Part of what inspired Cumbo to take on the challenges of becoming a head coach was his successful career as a student athlete. He held records as a student goalkeeper and was also a two-year captain at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.
Cumbo holds a master’s degree in Kinesiology from Humboldt State with a focus on teaching and coaching at the collegiate level. He is both the Kinesiology Program Director and the Assistant Athletic Director at Las Positas College and has been an ambassador for soccer, serving as a volunteer for the United Soccer Coaches Organization for over 20 years.
“I’m a first generation college student. I realize the special opportunity I had as a collegiate student-athlete and my mission in coaching at this level is to help give that opportunity to others,” Cumbo said.
By taking it one game at a time and maintaining the team’s focus, Cumbo has managed to lead the Hawks into the playoffs each season as their head coach.
“We expect to do well at home, and we expect to do well on the road,” Cumbo said. “We’re always focused on post-season play.”
Top photo: Frank Hinostraza in possession of the ball in a home game at the Nest against Lake Tahoe on Sept. 5, 2024. (Photo by Luke Vavuris/ The Express)
Francis Kennedy is the Sports Editor for The Express. Follow him on X, formally Twitter @kennedy_aloisf.
