The CSU East Bay soccer team stands in with a 2-9 record heading into their final stride of the season, finding it difficult to keep up with the rest of the CCAA.
Sitting in at last place, the Pioneers will compete in six more games this season, welcoming in two teams with winning records this weekend in Sonoma and Chico State.
In his third season at the helm as head coach of the Pioneers, Coach Andy Cumbo entered the season confident in the talent that this team possessed but aware of the experienced that they lacked.
“We’re a very young group competing in the toughest conference in the country,” said Cumbo.
“In terms of results, our statistics are not great. In terms of development and growth, it’s going really well. The team is getting better and gaining more experience, they are in possession of the ball the majority of the time.”
In their last time out, the Pioneers were defeated by CSU Monterey Bay, losing by a score of 3-1.
Last Friday, however, the Pioneers were able to pull out their second win of the season, defeating San Francisco State in the Battle of The Bay 2-0.
Cumbo admitted that the Pioneers are scoring more goals as of late, but still have a way to go in getting to where they want to be.
“We need to improve in being able to finish off our opportunities given to us in the game and being able to control the tempo of the match early on in the game,” said Cumbo.
The Pioneers’ roster consists of 29 players with 25 of them being freshmen and sophomores.
With a young and team lacking experience in the eyes of Cumbo, leadership from the team captains is an essential part in getting this team in the right direction.
Sophomores Tyler Anderson, Steven Belalcazar and Bryce Bookhamer have taken the reigns as team captains, with a hope of establishing a winning foundation for the future of East Bay soccer.
Bookhamer, the Pioneers starting goalkeeper, led the CCAA in saves with 149 and saves per games with an average of 8.76 as a freshmen. He was also selected to the NSCAA All-Region Third Team a year ago.
Approaching the end of the 2011 campaign and a disappointing season, the Pioneers look to eliminate mistakes and find ways to end the season on a good note.
“The moral of the guys still remain high,” said Cumbo. “As we continue to move forward, I believe we’ll get better and more dangerous and acquire a better style of playing.”
