Omaha South’s Edwin Cisneros-Garcia ‘excels on the big stage’
OMAHA, Neb. (BVM) — The Cisneros name is synonymous with soccer talent in the Omaha, Neb., area. Joe Maass knows this as well as anyone. He’s been the head coach of the Omaha South High School boys soccer program for over two decades.
“Basically any kid who has the last name Cisneros is really good,” Maass said. “I’ve known their family for years. If you hear the name Cisneros, they can play. It’s crazy how good they are. And they’re not overly sized, [they’re] small in stature but really fast, and their one-on-one skills are unbelievable.”
Those attributes certainly apply to 5-foot-4, 135-pound Edwin Cisneros-Garcia, the 2020-21 Gatorade Nebraska Boys Soccer Player of the Year, who had 10 goals, 11 assists and led the Omaha South Packers (21-1) to their second straight Class A state title as a junior this spring. Cisnero-Garcia’s skills have been evident since he first stepped onto the pitch as a freshman, and it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise to those who know of his family. Edwin’s cousin is Ozzie Cisneros, who earlier this year became the fourth-youngest player — at 16 years and 10 months old — to sign a professional contract with the Sporting Kansas City soccer club.
Edwin might not be quite at the level of his older cousin, at least not yet, but he’s been a major difference-maker at the high school varsity level since first getting an opportunity two years ago.
“As a freshman, I put him on JV for about two games and he scored five goals and I’m like, ‘Nah, you can’t play JV no more,’” Maass said. “And then he immediately went to varsity and made an instant impact.”
And it was during that freshman season that Edwin first made himself known as a big-game player. He scored three goals in his first state tournament, including a match-tying goal against Creighton Prep that sent the Class A state championship into overtime before the Packers prevailed in a shootout to capture their third state title in program history. Last month, Edwin scored goals in both the state quarterfinal and semifinal matches and had an assist in the title match against Lincoln Southwest which Omaha South won in another shootout.
“Whenever we get to the playoffs, he just excels on the big stage,” Maass said.
Edwin is likely to excel at the next level as well, wherever that may be. He’s yet to draw substantial interest from Division I college programs, and he hasn’t made the jump to Sporting KC Academy, like his cousin, but that could change with another year of high school remaining. It would likely be a mistake for a program to overlook the immensely-skilled, speedy and clutch midfielder who could make an immediate impact on any team he lands with. Edwin also brings a level of maturity and dependability which Maass says sets him apart from most of his peers and makes him a coach’s dream. With those qualities combined with his skills, his next school — or club — will be lucky to have him.
“Maybe he’s not ready for the academy,” Maass said, “but I think as a college player he’ll be phenomenal.”
