Almaden Resident

Sports

Rain can't dampen spirits of Leland alumni

By Greg Lydon

A few raindrops weren't going to stop more than 30 years of tradition.

On the last weekend of 2007, the Leland varsity boys soccer team continued the tradition of facing off against alumni in a match that gloomy skies and a few raindrops couldn't dampen. The alumni pulled away in the second half, ripping off a bushel of goals, led by 2006 graduate Stevie Munoz, who pulled off a hat trick on the day with three goals, helping the alumni earn a 6-2 win against the Chargers of 2007-08.

The score wasn't the story. Loads of experience was gained by a young group of high school players when Leland stars from the last two decades came out to hold a mini-reunion, and a soccer game broke out.

"I told the guys that this would be easily the toughest game they would play all season," Leland head coach Rich Kubec said. "I wanted them to play hard and fight, but most importantly learn from the older players. See how they get everyone involved, pass the ball; it's really good experience for my younger guys."

Kubec, a 1989 Leland graduate, is midway through his third year as the head coach at Leland, replacing the legendary Dave Gold.

Gold led a 20-year run at Leland, highlighted by three undefeated seasons in '85, '87 and '88 that all ended with Central Coast Section titles for the Chargers. Leland still holds the national record for the longest winning streak by a public school, going 55-0-10 during its powerful march in the mid-80s.

"I look forward to coming back and playing this game every year," Gold said. "Its a fun thing to see players from my undefeated teams come back and play. They were kids when I coached them; now they have kids of their own."

Five minutes into the 90-minute affair, 1988 graduate Mike Hackett opened the scoring for the alumni. Hackett's bullet shot past the diving Leland keeper gave the alumni an 1-0 advantage.

"I've played in about 15 of the 20 years since I've been gone," Hackett said. "It's awesome to come back and play the next level of kids each year. The goal was a perfect give-and-go. It feels good to get a goal in from that far out at my age."

Mike Dally gave the alumni a 2-0 advantage in the 14th minute with a great burst down the far sideline, leading to a perfect first touch setting up the second score of the game.

Dally was one of several brothers playing in the match. Dally, a sophomore at San Diego State, also had big brother David Dally at the game. David is a junior at San Diego State where he plays soccer for the Aztecs.

"I love coming back and playing," Mike Dally said. "I've come back both years. Its fun to have my brother here and see old friends. I had a good run and a good touch on the goal. It was a weak shot; I got lucky."

The quick scores weren't a good sign for coach Kubec's young team, but the Chargers fought back and played one of their strongest halves of the season after the rough opening minutes.

Sophomore midfielder Jonathan Chavez nearly tied the score a minute later for Leland, banging a shot off the post.

Senior Adonis Levine got the Chargers on the board after several chances slipped through Leland's fingers. Levine whipped a shot past the alumni goalkeeper to cut the lead to 2-1 in the 34th minute. Levine was the best player on the field all afternoon for Leland. He will take his talents up the road to Stanford next year, playing soccer for the Cardinals.

The play of the game came minutes later, bringing a roar from the dedicated crowd and a big smile from coach Kubec.

Pint-sized sophomore midfielder Zade Shakir received a touch pass at the 40-yard line and spun away from two alumni defenders to rifle a bullet shot, beating the goalie in the top left corner of the goal. The spin and shot left the alumni players scratching their heads as the contest was tied at 2-2 at the halftime break.

Munoz, who scored three times in the game, including two late second-half goals, didn't expect this much fight from the Leland squad.

"After the first couple of minutes, it got more competitive and serious," Munoz said. "I thought we would come out and smash these guys, but they played a good opening half against us."

Back-to-back goals to open the second half quickly extended the alumni advantage. Peter Pena, a 2006 graduate, put home the second of the two goals for the alumni.

All three Eberle brothers were up front for the alumni in the second half. Hackett joked with his teammates, "That's why were so slow up front right now."

Eric ('84), Dave ('86) and Brent Eberle ('90) played alongside the Hartsell brothers, Greg ('86) and Doug ('89), and the day was a fun trip down memory lane for past Leland stars.

Munoz put two goals in the back of the net, and '89 graduate Tim Rudd closed the door in the net, shutting out the Leland squad in the second half.

"We won CCS on the back of Tim Rudd play in goal," Gold said. "It's a fun thing to play alongside these guys."

Back to league play

The Leland boys will return to play in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League this week. The Chargers, who were to host Lincoln on Jan. 9, will visit Leigh on Jan. 11, 3:15 p.m., before returning home to face Live Oak on Jan. 16, 3:15 p.m.

The Leland girls, meanwhile, were to face Evergreen Valley on Jan. 8 before hosting Santa Teresa on Jan. 10, Branham on Jan. 15 and Del Mar on Jan. 17. All of the Mt. Hamilton Division games begin at 3:15 p.m.