The making of Monterey Bay F.C.’s second team has young soccer players dreaming.

Celia Jiménez here, thinking about how exciting the past couple of years have been for local soccer players and soccer lovers. First, Monterey Bay F.C. became a new local professional soccer team in the area—a no-brainer since it’s a very popular sport in the region and has strong teams at the college and high school levels, including Hartnell College and Alisal High School. Then, this year, the team announced they would create a second team: Monterey Bay F.C.2, a pre-professional team. 

The news was welcomed with great enthusiasm by locals and across the country. Neil Diaz, MBFC’s development officer, says he was getting 15-20 emails about potential players every day. The tryouts opened on March 13. There were 120 spots available for the tryouts, and they sold out within 36 hours, most of them to locals. 

On March 26, Monterey Bay F.C.2 held its first day of tryouts at Alisal High School in Salinas. It was a sunny, but chilly, morning. There were dozens of players from high schools and colleges throughout the tri-county area and beyond. The players were in different areas near the entrance to the stadium, watching their competition play; others were warming up before their match while the third group was out on the field, trying to impress the coaches. 

One of the players on the field that day was Rigo Garcia, 18, a defender from Marina High. Garcia says he will play for MPC in the fall and he is hopeful he will get a spot (he also tried out for the first team, but he didn’t make it). “I hope to get chosen to the 2-team because they're starting from the ground up, so I have higher chances,” Garcia told me after his tryout. 

Raul Magos, 23, a defender for the Hartnell Panthers, says he heard about tryouts through social media and wanted to see how far his talent can take him. Turning professional is “every soccer player’s dream,” he says.

Diaz says they will also give opportunities to student-athletes at four-year colleges who will return home during their summer vacation. “The door will be open for quite a few people,” Diaz says, adding that a greater variety of players (for different positions) signed up for the second team’s tryouts. “We have over 10 goalkeepers trying out,” Diaz says. Fewer tried out for the first team. 

A former Panther who played in the California Community College Athletic Association finals, Isaac Lomeli, 21, also tried out for the team. Lomeli, who is from Seaside, currently plays for San Jose State and he said the tryouts happened at the perfect time: during spring break. He says being part of the team can benefit those seeking a professional career: “It helps me get more experienced and higher level and probably go pro,” Lomeli says.

Some players came from Watsonville, Monterey Bay F.C. midfielder Adrian Rebollar’s hometown, including Ignacio Aguado, 17, from Pajaro Valley High School. He says his mom encouraged him to participate, and he sees Rebollar as a role model. “I want to follow his footsteps. That's why I signed up for the tryouts too,” Aguado says. 

Coach Mark Cisneros, head coach for the Alisal Trojans and the Lobos at Monterey Peninsula College, says the second team will benefit players and local high school and college teams because the players will play year round and will be exposed to professional players. 

The tryouts are a two-day process—the second day is an opportunity to turn around their previous performance if they had a bad day. “We want to give them a fair shot at it and to showcase their ability over a two-day event,” Diaz says.

If you want to catch the second part of the tryouts, they happen from 9am-3pm this Sunday, April 2, at Alisal High School. The preliminary roster will be available on Monday, April 3. 

The team’s first game for the USL 2 league is on May 6 against San Francisco City FC. Before that, Monterey Bay F.C.2 will have three friendly matches, two against Cabrillo College and one against the San Jose Earthquakes II on Saturday, April 22. Like many soccer fans, I can’t wait to see local talent take the field at Rabobank Stadium in Salinas and witness the crowd that will come to support them.