By Ray Hamill — The College of the Redwoods men’s soccer team will kick off a five-game home stand against Contra Costa on Friday afternoon, hoping to build some much-needed momentum and confidence.

Through their opening four games, the Corsairs are 0-3-1 but have showed plenty of promise at times, and head coach Kyle Van Dyke believes a stretch of home games is just what his players need.

“I’m hoping we can start fast,” Van Dyke said of Friday’s home opener against Contra Costa. “We’ve had a problem with starting slow in our games so far, and I’m hoping playing at home will help with that.”

Slow starts proved costly in tough matchups at Cabrillo and Foothill last weekend, before the Corsairs picked up the level of their play in the second half on each occasion.

They also finished strong two weeks ago at Chabot, with Richmond Miamen netting the equalizer in a 2-2 tie in the final minute.

“The first weekend, I thought we played really well, and last weekend, honestly I thought we played really well in the second half of each game,” Van Dyke said. 

Sean Claridge-Colbert, Donty Thompson, Josevincente Chavez and Justice Evans have all been leading the way for the Corsairs early in the season.

And without an assistant on staff this year, their leadership has been key for Van Dyke.

“I really do rely on them,” the head coach said.

The CR women also host a game on Friday, playing Mendocino at 2 p.m. 

The men’s game kicks off at 4 p.m.

CR also plays Mendocino on Tuesday and Yuba next Friday.