Mustang senior midfielder chosen for Western Regional Olympic
Developmental team
GILROY – If there is an open man on the soccer field, center midfielder Alfonso Motagalvan will find him and deliver a crisp pass onto his foot.
When there is a ball in flight on a corner or free kick, the Gilroy High senior will almost always get a head on it.
And although he may not be the flashiest player on the field, Motagalvan is always in on the action one way or another.
That’s why the 17-year-old kicker was recently selected to the Western Regional Olympic Developmental soccer team, after demonstrating his skills during a week of games against other elite state teams in Oregon.
“I’m not surprised because of Alfonso’s leadership ability and his ability to adapt to all types of situations,” said Brian Hall, who coaches Motagalvan at Gilroy High and on his summer club team. “Under pressure he’s tenacious. He has the ability to step his game up when has to step it up.”
Motagalvan, however, was not as sure as his coach.
He was thrilled just to make the California-North regional team for the first time in his promising career and even more so when he was selected to compete in Oregon with a chance to make the Western Regional squad.
“I kind of knew, but I didn’t’ want to get my hopes up high. I was like if I make it I make it. Either way, I knew I gave it all I had,” Motagalvan said. “I wasn’t saying, ‘Yeah, I’m going to make the team.’ I was prepared whether I made it or not. This was my first year, so I had a lot to win and nothing to lose.”
In the end, Motagalvan was one of 25 players picked for the Western Regional squad out of a pool of talented players from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Cal-North, Cal-South, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. He became the first player ever out of Gilroy High School to receive the honor.
“I started as a nobody and all the hard work I’ve been put through, all the coaches especially Brian (Hall), is paying off,” Motagalvan said. “It’s like an award for me because I’m being recognized among the best in the Western Region.
“First it was just Cal-North. Now I’m among the best of the best in the 13 western states.”
Two weeks ago, Motagalvan arrived in Oregon with his Cal-North squad, hoping to make a strong enough impression to advance to the next level in the Olympic developmental process.
He did.
After a relaxing first day, Motagalvan started in his team’s 2-0 victory over Oregon. It was the second time Cal-North had defeated the home state squad, winning 1-0 in the NIKE Cup.
“I played really well the first half,” he said. “I was going to go back on the field in the second half, but the coach told me to sit out. He said there were plenty of other games to play.”
The next day, Motagalvan came down with strep throat and did not start in a 3-1 victory over Washington. But he did come off the bench in the second half with the game tied at 1-1 and assisted on the two go-ahead goals.
“It was big because that’s when I started making a name for myself,” Motagalvan said. “I came off the bench, I saw what was happening, and I got two assists. Our state coach that game he praised me a lot.”
There were still more games left and Motagalvan was still unsure of where he stood among the pool of players. So later that same day, he was back in the starting line-up in a 2-0 victory over British Columbia.
“I got overconfident and too excited. I didn’t played good at all,” said Motagalvan, who was subbed out with 20 minutes left in the half. “After that game, I didn’t think I had chance to make it because the regional coaches look for consistency and I didn’t show that.”
Following his up-and-down day, Motagalvan came back for the final two games and started in both a 1-0 loss to Cal-South as well as a 4-0 victory over Hawaii.
In the early game against Cal-South, Motagalvan sent several through balls to his teammates but they could not finish them off. His squad also missed a penalty kick that would have tied the score.
“We were playing really well. … It was one of the games where we dominated but we couldn’t score,” said Motagalvan, who was all over the field despite the losing result. “I was the go-to guy in the air once again. Cal-South had some trees back there, but I out-jumped them on corner kicks. In the air, I won every ball or at least challenged.
“That helped me tremendously.”
In the late game against Hawaii, Motagalvan played his natural midfield position in the first half and then showed his versatility by playing sweeper in the second half.
Once the games were completed, the coaches called off the names of the players who would stay the next four days and be apart of the Western Regional team. When Motagalvan’s name was called, he joined his new teammates atop the podium.
“It was kind of sad to see all the faces that didn’t make it,” Motagalvan said. “It was hard to see (GHS teammate Everardo Diaz de Leon) and all my other friends from Cal-North not make it because without them we wouldn’t have made it.”
The Western Regional Olympic Developmental team will compete in three elite tournament in Chula Vista, Florida and abroad in either Germany or South America. But only 18 of the 25 players will be picked.
Motagalvan hopes to be one of them.
“They can pick different people for every tournament,” he said. “I want to go to the overseas one. I want to get seen by other people and, hopefully, I have something a professional coach wants.”
Motagalvan has already been noticed by several college coaches within the United States and was at a UC-Berkley mini-camp two days before heading to Oregon for the regional tournament.
“Alfonso is an exceptional listener. The past years that he’s played for me he’s learned the tactical aspects of the game,” said Hall, who is also a World Cup soccer official. “When he’s back home with the high school and club teams with me, he really listened and what he sees he puts to practice.”
