Como Park Cougars savor a dream season for soccer

The Como Cougars displaying their plaque: Front Row L to R: Abdurazak Omar, Lah Htoo, Simer Sho, Seik Seik, Su Aye, William Xiong. Middle Row L to R: Assistant Coach Jonah Fields, Hsa D Moo, Aaron Heng, Jacob Cohen, Sahal Hassen, Ebrahim Hashim, Will Kidd, Yeng Yang, Thor Will. Back Row L to R: Henok Debesay, Joe Krivit, Zach Lee, Doug McCune-Zeirath, Keiron Sauer, Max Inskeep, Head Coach Eric Erickson. (Photo by Mike Krivit)

By JAN WILLMS

With a 19-2 record season, its first-ever trip to the state tournament and its coach, Eric Erickson, named as Minnesota Class A State Coach of the Year, it has been a dream season for the Como Park Cougars soccer team.

Although the varsity team lost its first match with St. Cloud Cathedral the opening night of the state tourney, it did not dampen the spirits of the players, their parents and fans.

“It’s been a dream season for everyone in the program,” said Erickson. The varsity team was St. Paul City Conference champions for the second time, achieving that honor also in 2009. The junior varsity team also won city conference with scores of 13-0-3. The C team scored 10-3-2 and took second place in the city conference.

”The future looks bright with our younger teams doing so well, too,” Erickson said. “It’s the best season we have had, and everybody at all levels has done a fantastic job.”

Erickson, who is also a social studies teacher, has been coaching varsity soccer at Como Park High School since 2004. He has played soccer his whole life, at Minnehaha Academy and as a college student at North Park University in Chicago.

The Cougars became Section 4-A champions by winning four games in the district tournament with scores of 10-0, 5-0, 5-0 and 3-0.

Erickson said the championship game played against Simley from Inver Grove Heights was a crowning achievement for the team.

“It was a great day for Como to go to state by winning on our home field in front of the fans,” he said.

There are 60 boys in the soccer program at Como, with 29 players on the Varsity team.

“We have a very diverse group of players that reflect our school’s population,” Erickson explained. “Many have played in their country as well. Some learned in refugee camps in Burma, some in Ethiopia and some at St. Paul Parks and Recreation. It’s a very fun cultural exchange to play together at Como.”

Joe Krivit, senior captain of the varsity team, agreed.

“At the beginning of every year, we ask the team members where they were born, and how many languages they speak,” he said. “I think half of our team was not born in the United States, and that’s really cool.”

Krivit, who has played soccer since he was about 6, said the most exciting game he can remember took place in mid-October when the Cougars faced Simley in the district championship game. “That win sent us to state!” he said.

He said the state experience was great, with so many fans in attendance. He said he didn’t think the final score of 2-1 necessarily reflected which team was better, but he just enjoyed being at state and feeling the excitement.

“Being captain this year, I learned a lot about leadership skills,” he said. “We didn’t really have a superstar on our team; it has just been a good team that played well together. It’s one of the best teams of any sport I have ever played on.”

Erickson also reflected on the skills the students learn from playing soccer.

“All sports teach kids the greatest life lessons they can learn, as far as maximizing their skills and talents,” he said. “They’re taught how to handle adversity, achieve success and see growth through their hard work.”

Erickson emphasized that the goal of all high school sports teams in a competitive setting is to get to the state tournament. “That’s the ultimate goal,” he said. “Como Park has been close to that goal in many previous years. We have had wonderful teams with excellent records.”

He said qualifying for the state tournament is an especially challenging task that Como Park finally achieved this year. “That accomplishment has brought the school and community great pride,” he added.

He said the Cougars have been bolstered by the support of fans and parents. Although because of work schedules and other responsibilities, some of the parents had not been able to see the games, Erickson said there is a core group of parents that have offered spaghetti dinners and team barbecues.

Erickson said that coaching requires a lot more effort than just running practices.

“You have to run a program, be an administrator, fill out bureaucratic forms, manage the players and issues and equipment, stress academics and provide support,” he said.

“I don’t enjoy all the administrative details,” Erickson said, “but they have to be taken care of to run a successful program.”

Meanwhile, he realized that in a few years, he will also be the parent of soccer players.

“My two daughters will be playing soon,” he said, cracking a proud smile.