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Published on 08/17/1998 All articles from this issue

Ambassadors' 1st season deemed a success

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By Pete Borello

Town Crier Staff Writer

With their first season in the books, the Silicon Valley Ambassadors can now look back and admire what they accomplished in 1998.

And the Premier Development Soccer League team accomplished a lot.

The Ambassadors went 19-3 overall, won the Southwest Division and were ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of the season.

If the local minor league team could change one thing about the season, it likely would be the way it ended.

The Ambassadors failed to make it past the opening round of the divisional playoffs, falling 2-1 in overtime to the visiting Central Coast Roadrunners on July 31.

However, club owner and general manager Silvian Centiu doesn't want his team's postseason performance to taint what was an otherwise successful year.

"I'm very happy with the season," Centiu said. "We fell short of our goal of winning the national championship, but we still accomplished a lot."

Centiu said the Ambassadors posted the best record of any expansion team in league history.

"That's a very good achievement," he said. "It's not easy to do."

Centiu is already thinking about next season, saying he hopes to keep the team intact.

Head coach Joe Silveira is under contract for another season and the former San Jose Earthquake appears excited about returning.

"I couldn't have asked for a much better season from a first-year team," Silveira said. "We did well and I hope to build on that."

Centiu said most of the players have also expressed an interest in returning next year. That should bode well for the Ambassadors, a team loaded with current and former college stars from the area.

San Jose State's Aman Kebreab led the club with 12 goals and Romanian Mugurel Dumitru scored 11. Defensive standouts included ex-Cabrillo College star Chris Biason and Santa Clara University goalkeeper Tim Edwards.

One question that remains for the Ambassadors, however, is if they will return to Foothill College next season.

While Centiu said he likes playing home games at the Los Altos Hills campus, attendance fell short of expectations.

"Foothill is the best venue for us, but we need more community support," Centiu said. "If we can't get it, we'll need to look elsewhere."

Centiu said he hopes to talk with Los Altos city officials about sponsorship possibilities and plans to do the same in Palo Alto.

Centiu said he wants to find a place the Ambassadors can call home for the next 5-10 years.