By Mike Wood
Special to Las Positas Athletics

The Las Positas men's soccer team is back to work. Full-time, which has spelled bad news for Hawks' opponents.

The hard-working Hawks have built quite a resume as they begin Coast Conference play Sept. 28 at Cañada College in Redwood City. Las Positas (6-1-1) is getting the work done, earning the No. 11 ranking in the state in the most recent California Community College Sports Information Association poll. 

"We're a working-class team, and the players are really coachable," said Andy Cumbo, who began coaching the LPC men in 2016. He's served parallel duties with the women's program since 2019 and is glad to be busy once again with full seasons for both programs.

"It's been great to be in the full swing of things," he proclaimed with enthusiasm.

Of all the successes thus far, Cumbo actually points to the Hawks' lone loss to date, a narrow 5-4 defeat to Feather River-Quincy, as a signpost of what's been learned and a catalyst for ensuing victories.

"There were a lot of intangibles that came from that game, moments to learn from who you are," Cumbo said. "Sometimes you have to have a bad day to find what a good day will be like. We took a lot of things from that game to solidify our foundation."

That foundation is solid play throughout. Outside of the Feather River loss, the Hawks have not allowed more than one goal in any game, and have three shutout wins. They have scored at least three times in every match.

Having some experience is paying off with a strong leadership core. That's helped the Hawks to define their objectives as they head into conference play.

"What we are doing is, let's figure out as individuals and as a team what we do well, and focus on those, and what we don't do well and try to fix those,'' Cumbo said.

Cumbo pointed to a couple of leaders who exemplify the hard-working approach of the Hawks.

One is forward Saul Gutierrez, a sophomore from Tracy High School

"He's a bit more of a silent leader," Cumbo said. "He does a great job in attack, a great job of scoring goals and creates a lot of goals for his teammates."
Indeed, Gutierrez leads the team in goals with 10 and is one of three players tied for second in assists, with six. His 26 points lead all state players.

Another is sophomore midfielder Simon Fuentes, who hails from Monte Vista-Danville.

"He's shown leadership and is one of those older veterans who looks after the other players," Cumbo said of Fuentes, the team's assists leader with seven. "He does a great job in that role."

Garrett Aslup from Amador Valley-Pleasanton has logged the majority of the minutes as goalkeeper. Aslup has logged 13 saves for a .722 saves percentage.

Thus far the men have done quite well, while navigating through some early-season injuries that are pretty standard early on in the process and considering they are returning to a full slate of games after a brief resumption in the spring.

Conference competition will be steep right off the bat.

The Hawks' second conference opponent is Hartnell-Salinas, based in the South Division of the conference. The Panthers, winners of the state championship in 2013, are the state's No. 1 ranked team and will be in town for an Oct. 5 game with the Hawks.

Playing in the Coast North Division, the Hawks will have to contend with Foothill-Los Altos Hills, ranked fourth in the state. The teams will meet Oct. 12 in Los Altos Hills.

Get the picture? This conference is tough.

"With our conference, to win a conference championship, that's like a state championship," Cumbo said. "It's not an easy accomplishment. I'll say that out of 12 schools, there are 5-7 teams who could win the conference." 

Gearing up for what will be a gritty conference schedule, Las Positas aims to once again work toward making the Northern California playoffs. The 2019 season, which Cumbo characterized as a rebuilding year, was a rare instance in which the Hawks were on the outside of the playoffs.

Then the 2020 fall season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like so many sports teams, the Hawks had to wait for even the smallest opportunities like working out.

"It was challenging for everybody," Cumbo said. "We were appreciating the opportunity to even just train. We had some workouts where we were not able to use the soccer ball, which was pretty boring. We know in this environment, anything can happen. So to be able to come back is appreciated."

As they geared up for the challenge of Coast Conference play, they continued to demonstrate resilience. 

In  the final match before conference play, the Hawks forged a 1-1 tie on Sept. 24 with Merced, the No. 14-ranked team in the state. After Merced scored in the fifth minute, Las Positas responded when Adolfo Trujillo scored unassisted in the 10th minute. It was the sixth goal of the season for the sophomore from Livermore High, to go with his six assists.

Getting to play a full slate of games once again is a lot of fun, especially for the Hawks on their home field. That home-field pride was evident starting with their 4-0 home-opening win over Modesto on Aug. 31. Itcertainly will be soaring with the Hartnell match on Oct. 5.

"For sure, we love being at home and having a beautiful field," Combo said.
"The players know they are ambassadors of the college and the student-athletes really embrace that."

Combo remarked how great it is at Las Positas with such a supportive connection with the administration and faculty. He mentioned that the team was recently greeted by college President Dr. Dyrell Foster and that faculty are often interacting with and encouraging the college's teams.

"I love being part of such a great college," he said.