SAN MARCOS — The Comets returned to Minkoff Field for the season opener against the San Bernardino Valley Wolverines on Aug. 26.
Palomar finished fourth in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference last season and were eliminated from the postseason after just one game. The Comets looked to improve on their lackluster 2024 campaign with a clean slate and new team members.
“Win conference or get at least like top two is definitely my personal goal this year, after we did not do as great as we wanted to last year,” Felix Hamm (#10) said.
Starting off with a win provides great momentum for a successful season, but that is difficult to achieve when your opponent takes a two-goal lead to begin the match.
Johnny Gonzalez and Luis Erives on the Wolverines scored in the third and 11th minutes, respectively, putting the Comets in a huge early-game deficit.
“I think our defense as a whole, and probably the whole team was really jittery, a little nervous for the first game of the season, and that showed in the first 10 minutes,” Comets goalkeeper Amanueal “Manny” Kidanemariam said.
In the 23rd minute, Hamm put the Comets on the board for the first time in the game and the season. Hamm got his head on a cross-pass from Brandon Barrientos (#5) that deflected off the opposing goalie and into the left corner of the goal.
Before the end of the first half, however, the Wolverines extended their lead back to two goals after Adrian Ayon scored on a penalty kick in the 39th minute. The Wolverines led 3-1 at halftime.
“When you give up two early goals, and now you’re chasing the game, trying to get back into things, the mentality is different,” Head Coach David Linenberger said. “It kind of changed our whole game plan.”
Palomar’s attempt to come back in the second half was met with a physical and aggressive response from San Bernardino. The Wolverines were shown two yellow cards and committed another foul that led to Palomar’s second goal of the game, a penalty kick converted by Jakub Kozlowski (#9) in the 80th minute.
This goal still left Palomar trailing by two, as just two minutes prior, San Bernardino’s offense overwhelmed Kidanemariam with persistent shots on goal before Saul Ruiz slipped one past the outstretched arms of the diving goalie.
The score remained 4-2 for the closing 10 minutes of the match, dropping Palomar to an 0-0-1 record to start the season.
“We’re disappointed in the result, but I thought we got better as the game went on, and we’ve identified some specific things we need to fix,” Coach Linenberger said. “Still, we scored two goals against a tough opponent and showed that we could play.”
The Comets’ next game will be played on the road against Pasadena City College at 4 p.m. on Aug. 29.
For schedule and team information, check out the Palomar Athletics’ website.
