The ‘Catz’s mystique is back, ladies and gentlemen.
The Watsonville High boys’ soccer team made history Saturday evening after winning their first-ever NorCal Championship in the program’s history.
After the final whistle blew, junior forward Justin Alfaro sat down for a quick minute to soak in the moment as the rest of the group bounced around in the middle of the pitch.
Alfaro scored the game-sealing goal for the No. 1 seeded Wildcatz as they defeated No. 2 University, 3-1, in the California Interscholastic Federation Division III Northern Regional Final.
It wasn’t long before teammate junior Damian Moreno walked up to Alfaro for a celebratory hug, and then addressed the 1,200 thunderous home fans at Emmett M. Geiser Field.
“I’m just proud to have these guys as my brothers, and I’m just happy for this team,” Alfaro said. “We worked all year. It’s a great moment to play football, and we came up on top.”
Junior midfielder Alan Alonso added a pair of goals for the ‘Catz, including the go-ahead score midway through the second half.
“All our seniors, we’ve been together for three years and we’ve never gone this far,” Alonso said. “We knew we had to do it for the school, for the badge, for everything. It was hard, but we managed.”
Next up, Watsonville (22-1-2) plays Southern Regional champion Los Alamitos (18-15-2) for all the marbles in the State Final at Natomas High in Sacramento on March 14 at 3pm.
According to the Max Preps website, the Griffins are ranked No. 215 in California. The ‘Catz moved up seven spots to No. 10 in the state, and are nationally ranked at No. 36.
Legendary head coach Roland Hedgpeth recently led Watsonville to its 13th Central Coast Section title. But this was the first time he hoisted a NorCal championship trophy after coming close in the 2021-22 season.
“It feels good to go this far,” said Hedgpeth, who has won 11 of those 13 CCS titles in 55 years with the program. “Those kids worked so hard, they really did. There was a little controversy but they overcame everything this year.”
Now the Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division champion ‘Catz have a chance to cap off the season with a true quadruple by bringing home a State title.
On Saturday, Watsonville took an early punch to the gut by conceding a goal in the first five minutes of the match.
It was reminiscent of Thursday’s win over No. 4 Pioneer, which scored first but then allowed three unanswered goals.
“If you look at our record except for one or two games, it was all in the second half we really controlled the game,” Hedgpeth said.
Alonso notched the equalizer in the 33rd minute that tied the score at 1-all going into halftime.
“Usually I don’t play much, but today I knew I had to make a change and reserve my spot on the team,” he said. “I’m on the starting 11, so I just gave them my all. I looked for the opportunities and when I saw them, I took them.”
Alonso took advantage of every second on the pitch, striking again in the second half to give Watsonville its first lead of the night.
The speedster received a cross pass from teammate junior Justin Alfaro near the box, drove it to the left while blasting a left-footed shot past the goalkeeper in the 53rd minute.
“I kind of timed the ball, I knew it was gonna go over the defender,” Alonso said. “I stepped back a little bit, and as soon as I saw it bounce I hit it with all my power.”
Alfaro had a chance to extend the lead after he was set up with a penalty kick opportunity, but his shot bounced off the top crossbar for the miss.
He redeemed himself about 10 minutes later with a spectacular header into the back of the net.
“I wasn’t expecting to get that, these guys [University] are tall,” Alfaro said. “I read it, I went inside, I just headed it, prayed and made the goal.”
Teammate senior Damien Amador was credited with the assist on the well-placed corner kick pass.
“If you look at our record except for one or two games, it was all in the second half we really controlled the game,” Hedgpeth said.
Alfaro added that it helps to have chemistry on the field, which they seem to have a lot of after losing just one game this season. Watsonville currently owns a 22-1-2 overall record.
“We practice like this every day, tiki taka, tiki taka,” said Alfaro as he describes the way they’re able to move with the ball. “It’s a brotherhood. We hang out at school and there’s just chemistry there.”
Now they’re on the cusp of making more history next week with the chance of capturing a CIF State title.
“It’s an honor to play for a team that has a lot history behind it,” Alfaro said. “To make for that team, it just means a lot. I did it for my coaches, I did it for [Hedgpeth]. We won it for him.”
