Robinson completes comeback against Fairfax
By Dave Buschenfeldt
At halftime of Tuesday's game at Fairfax, Robinson boys soccer coach Jac Cicala had two choices. He could either yell at his players for a lackluster effort that had resulted in a 2-0 deficit after 40 minutes, or he could calmly talk to them about what it would take to pull out a win.
Cicala chose the latter option and it worked to perfection, as the Rams scored three unanswered goals in the second half to claim a 3-2 victory.
“Sometimes coaches come in and they want to do the Bobby Knight berating, and I did a complete opposite act,” Cicala said, citing the antics of the former Indiana University basketball coach. “I really kept it very low-key. There was no point going after them about what they should've done in the first half. It was what we had to do in the second half to make corrections.”
The biggest correction Robinson's players made after halftime was to put the ball in the back of the net. Despite having more scoring opportunities than their opponent, the Rams found themselves behind because of two goals scored in a three-minute span by Fairfax senior Lonnie Carter.
It looked as if it would be more of the same in the second half when several Robinson shots were turned away by Rebels goalkeeper Sean Goudarzi, but the Rams (4-1-1, 2-0 Concorde District) finally broke through 15 minutes after the break.
Senior captain Eli Hajjar carried the ball through three Fairfax defenders and blasted a shot past Goudarzi to bring Robinson to within a goal. The score was tied seven minutes later on a goal by striker Alex Makcumbi, and the Rams took the lead for good with 12 minutes remaining when a Makcumbi cross found the foot of senior Ben Peek, who placed the ball into the net for a 3-2 advantage.
“I just caught the trash and managed to knock it in,” Peek joked.
After a hard fought 1-0 win over Herndon last Friday night, Robinson's players admitted to taking Fairfax a little too lightly, but the second-half effort showed just how talented this Rams team is.
“I think our team did a good job staying with the game,” senior captain Seth Goldman said. “Nobody got impatient. We've got a good gel to this team. We can count on people to step up in big situations.”
Cicala was impressed with the leadership displayed by Goldman and his fellow seniors.
“They know what to say,” he said. “They played on my tone, they didn't start getting negative. The first thing guys want to do is come off the field and start pointing fingers. I said, 'We're not going to take that approach. What do we need to do to change it?'”
With a game Monday against Westfield, which could determine the regular season Concorde District champion, Cicala plans to take the same laid back approach with his players.
“I have this philosophy that the bigger the game, the calmer I better be, and the calmer they better be,” he said.