Ex-teammates Montagalvan and Arteaga playing collegiate
soccer
Alfonso Motagalvan is a coach?s dream, and not just because he excels in the classroom. It?s all about attitude.
The University of California-Santa Barbara sophomore, a Gilroy High graduate, doesn?t start every game. He has played in all but one of the Gauchos? games, missing the 1-0 win over San Diego State because of a red card the previous game. He is very competitive, feeling he should be on the field at all times.
Being a student of the game, he realizes that different situations call for different strategies. And playing on a team ranked 28th in the nation, there is plenty of talent at UCSB. Thus, he doesn?t always play as much as he would like. But his perspective is right on target.
?Look, I?m getting a good education while I am doing something I love,? said Motagalvan, a midfielder/defender with a 3.2 grade point average as a psychology major. ?I am enjoying the experience. It?s almost like being a professional athlete at this level except I?m not getting paid. But they?re paying for my schooling.?
Motagalvan is a key contributor for the Gauchos (6-4), whose game at 8 pm today against seventh-ranked UCLA (6-3-1) at UCSB?s Harder Stadium will be nationally televised by Fox Soccer Channel.
It marks the 32nd meeting between the schools. The Gauchos have some catching up to do, trailing the seventh-ranked Bruins 27-2-2 in the all-time series. In fact, UCSB hasn?t beaten UCLA since Oct. 30, 1982.
Motagalvan is undaunted. After all, the Gauchos are home where they have a 4-1 record.
?You can never count a team like UCLA out,? Motagalvan said. ?They have like 10, 15 players who were on the youth national team. They?re more experienced than us. And yet, we are tough to beat at home. We get crowds of 4,000-5,000, and they can get pretty crazy. It?s going to be a battle. It will come down to who wants it more and who shows up.?
Motagalvan was a three-varsity starter at Gilroy and co-captain each season. The other Mustangs? co-captain the last two years was Artemio Arteaga, a redshirt freshman at Cal State Stanislaus.
He was excited to hear about his former teammate and close friend picking the perfect time to score his first collegiate goal.
Arteaga scored on a counter attack in the 74th minute Tuesday as the Warriors beat Chico State 1-0, the first-ever win for the Warriors on the road against the Wildcats. CSS is 6-8 overall, 5-5 in the CCAA.
