Humboldt Midfielder Erwin 'EJ' Manibusan Competes at U20 Asia Cup

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A photo of Cal Poly Humboldt Soccer Player Erwin "EJ" Manibusan playing soccer.
Men’s Soccer player, Erwin “EJ” Manibusan Jr., recently competed at the AFC U20 Asian Cup in Vietnam as a midfielder for Gaum’s national team.

The U20 Guam National Team arrived at Lach Tray Stadium in Hai Phong, Vietnam on Sept. 21, ready to face opponents: Bhutan, Bangladesh, Syria, and host, Vietnam. Manibusan is one of many Guam athletes returning as former members of Guam's youth national teams. The team tied their first two games against Bhutan and Bangladesh and fell to Vietnam and Syria in staggering losses. "It was tough," said Manibusan.

As a seasoned player for Guam's national team, competing for both the Men's U20 and U17 National Team, he is familiar with the coach and the level of play. But that didn't rest his nerves when he received the invite to play midfield for the team at the AFC U20 Asian Cup.

"[There were] mixed emotions because I'd miss games for Humboldt which is super important but at the same time it was a really awesome opportunity to play for Guam and travel to Vietnam," said Manibusan. "Once I knew I had the support from coach, [I felt] a lot of excitement. I take a lot of pride, too, in being able to represent Guam."

Coming back to Humboldt from playing at the national level, his mindset remained the same. "Do whatever I can to help the team and keep working," said Manibusan. 

Manibusan Jr. is a first-year student at Humboldt from Inarajan, Guam. Being thousands of miles from home presents its own challenges, but Humboldt has become his second home and the team has become family.

"I just think about all the gifts and how I'm super fortunate and grateful to be in this position and play at this level, so when I think about that then it kind of helps motivate me to go to class, get good grades, and go to practice. Prepare right, eat right, sleep right," he said.

His drive to play soccer at the collegiate level started early in his high school career. "I love the sport and [I had a] desire to keep playing," said Manibusan. "The team culture that Coach Fred sold me on, it's just something I wanted to be a part of."

He spent the summer of his junior and senior year in Spokane, Washington training with Coach Mike Pellicio who was familiar with Coach Fred Jungemann, the Lumberjack’s head Men’s Soccer coach. Pellicio’s connection helped Manibusan get recruited to play at Cal Poly Humboldt. "[I was] getting adapted to the playing speed because it's super high here in college and just building confidence too by playing games," said Manibusan.

He scored his first collegiate goal against San Marcos, a team that received votes in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll, on Oct. 6 after a two-week absence, "[It] felt super awesome. Relieved too. It was San Marcos, they were ranked, undefeated and haven't lost so we knew it was going to be such a tough game but it was honestly a great team effort," said Manibusan. "Defensively the whole team was amazing and we were just solid and when the opportunity came to me I was just lucky."

"I was so nervous too because you come back and sometimes it's hard to get back into the groove of things, you've been away from the team [and] we had a game before that we lost [but], Coach just threw me right back in and I was just thankful to get a goal," said Manibusan. "It was a big test for us and hopefully we can continue that."

The team is entering their final road trip of the season, as they head to Southern California this week to face nationally ranked Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino. Humboldt will return home on Thursday, Nov. 7 to close out their season hosting Sonoma State.