By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area
*Click the links on the top-left for full video and photo coverage of Friday’s game.*
In a tie game between elite Northern Region teams, the Rams turned to Koko for a double K.O.
Robinson junior striker Alex “Koko” Makumbi scored back-to-back goals in the 66th and 69th minutes to cap a natural hat trick and — most critically — secure a 3-1 road over Westfield, the highest scoring team in the region, on Friday.
“He’s a phenomenal player and a phenomenal athlete,” Ram coach Jac Cicala said of Makumbi. “I think he needed to get in his rhythm a little bit, because in the first half everything was running off of him a bit.
“In the second half, he settled down. J.H. [Musick] was able to give him some good opportunities off the flicks and certain things created pretty well for him.”
Added Makumbi, who netted the first of his three goals in the 52nd minute: “This week has been tough; we’ve had Lake Braddock and Westfield. It’s good to show that Robinson is still up.”
But at halftime on Friday night, it was the Bulldogs that were up.
In the 37th minute, Westfield sophomore Michael Harvey played a long free kick into the penalty area that was punched down by Robinson keeper Brian Kincaid. But Bulldog senior Sean Murnane was waiting inside the six-yard box to blast home the deflection for the game’s first goal.
At halftime trailing 1-0, Cicala pulled Kincaid — who began the season with three clean sheets before a 2-2 tie to the Bruins on Tuesday — in favor of U-17 U.S. National Team member, junior goalkeeper Samir Badr.
Badr, who was in Portugal training with European clubs, had not debuted with defending state runner-up Robinson since returning to the area on Monday.
In the second half with Badr in goal, Westfield’s build-up in the attacking third was visibly more hesitant and it was held without a scoring chance.
“The other guy has been out of town for a while,” said Cicala of Badr. “He started coming back to practice and working out, and it’s his time to show.”
Added fifth-year Westfield coach Tom Torres: “I don’t know that it was just because of Samir. Obviously, guys were getting a little tired, we’ve got some injuries.
“As they were feeling confident, all it really took for Robinson was to get one goal and you saw momentum swing right away.”
The Rams limited the Bulldog attack — which entered with a Northern Region-best 20 goals in its first four games — to Murnane’s 37th-minute rebounded strike.
Robinson dipped its two center backs to prevent long balls into Westfield strikers Irvin Herrera and Murnane. The conservative approach paid dividends, repeatedly fraying the over-the-top Bulldog passes that had plagued their first four opponents.
With the breeze at its backs, Robinson controlled the attacking third and quelled at Westfield attempts at late counterattacks.
“We had to obviously settle in,” said Cicala, formerly a four-time state champion at Lake Braddock and 12-year coach at George Mason University. “We knew the wind was going to be against us in the first half.
“So if we could just survive that — no worse than1-0 — second half, the wind was going to be with us and we’d shut it down.”
Added Torres: “I don’t think we’re a terrible team. But I think if a team has a solid defense, a solid midfield, a striker like Alex Makumbi and a national-pool goalkeeper, you’re going to be put in a tough situation to try and win those games.”
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
Robinson (4-0-1) 0 3 — 3
Westfield (4-1-0) 1 0 — 1
Goals:
WF — Murnane (37)
RB — Makumbi (52)
RB — Makumbi (66)
RB — Makumbi (69)
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