Players on the Monterey Blues semi-professional soccer team practice Tuesday at Monterey Peninsula College. The Blues are in their first season of competition in the Women’s Professional Soccer League. The team plays host to Brandi Chastain and the California Storm Saturday at MPC.

MONTEREY — When Christina Gilbert, a midfielder for the Monterey Blues semi-professional soccer team in Monterey, talks about professional soccer, her eyes light up. When she tries to describe taking the pitch for the first time as a collegian, she’s literally at a loss for words. She says she’s been thinking of going pro since she was three — and it seems believable. It’s easy to tell that she really, truly, is in love with the game.

So thank God for the Blues. Because without them, Gilbert’s playing days would be up.

The United States has been without a professional women’s soccer league since the WUSA folded in 2003, meaning that for anyone good enough to play collegiate soccer but not quite good enough for national team duty, the only options were rec leagues and semi-pro clubs. The Central Coast, up until this year, was without even a semi-pro team.

That’s where the Blues come in: The team began playing games in the National Professional Soccer League in May, fielding a roster made up mostly of collegiate and top-level high school players from around the area. For those players, the team represents a good way to stay in shape during their school’s off-season and play against good competition. But for the few players who are out of school— like Gilbert, who graduated from Fresno State this year — this team could be the ceiling.

“It’s been my goal my whole life, since I can remember, to be a professional,” Gilbert said. “So to even be playing against players who have been pros is great.”

While the players on the Blues all carry amateur status, they are surrounded by a lot of experience. Khalid El-Rasheed, the Blues’ coach, has played in international competition as a player, and has been coaching in the area for over 30 years.

“It’s a good support for players who are going to go to college,” he said of the team. “(High school players) want to play with the college players, and see what the difference is between them and the good college players. It’s good, to be young and to play against the best; anything can happen to you. You can learn a lot from them.”

While the Blues boast no widely recognizable names on their roster, some of the teams they play against boast big-name talent. The California Storm, who the Blues host Saturday, feature two players — former U.S. National team star Brandi Chastain and Brazilian national team player Sissi— that most of the Blues’ roster grew up watching.

“Yeah, the whole team’s really psyched,” Gilbert said of lining up opposite Chastain, who is best known for ripping her shirt off in celebration after scoring in the 1999 Women’s World Cup. “I mean, we’ve all seen those players on TV.”

If things break right, players like Gilbert may soon get a shot to be on TV themselves. A new women’s professional league is set to begin play in 2009 in eight cities.

The chances to make one of only eight rosters — with most of the U.S. National team already committed to play in the league — are slim, Gilbert knows. So the players take the Blues’ season seriously, as it may well be their best shot to play against top talent.

Leah Morales, a former standout at Harbor High School, is now a member of the women’s team at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, as well as the Blues. She said she’s aware that after college is up, it’ll be extremely difficult to get on with a pro side.

“I know a lot of college players don’t really think about it,” Morales said of life after soccer. “But it scares me to death to think about not playing. I don’t want to stop.”



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(Published on June 25, 2008)

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Photos by I.A. Stewart/Register-Pajaronian

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