After two close calls, Diaz has helped bring her team back to
the postseason
MORGAN HILL — When she began her career at Live Oak, Fabi Diaz dreamed of building onto a program that her club coach molded into one of the strongest in the Central Coast Section.
If you told her then that it was going to take four years for her and the Lady Acorns to reach the CCS playoffs, she would have given you an odd look.
It feels odd to say Diaz, 17, will suit up for her first postseason match next week, considering the career she has had and the teams she has played for. As a starting forward, Diaz was named Sophomore and Junior of the Year in the Santa Teresa Division, scoring the most goals for a team that totaled 12 wins in 2008 and 15 in 2009. The Acorns lost five league games combined during that time.
“I’ve been a part of some really good teams. There’s no question,” Diaz said Tuesday. “We’ve had great players and great coaches. Not making CCS; that doesn’t change anything.”
Scoring goals and winning games have been Diaz’s favorite part of high school, but numbers define only a small part of the impact she has had on her team.
That is why coach Tony Vasquez felt comfortable when he told Diaz she was moving to midfield for her senior season, leaving the goal scoring to be anchored by rising star Megan Rauschnot.
“Fabi didn’t mind as long as she got to play in CCS,” said Vasquez, who has coached Diaz in club since she was 11. “I told her we need her playing every position. She was so used to playing forward and scoring a lot during club season, so she had to take on a whole different mindset at midfielder. She’s done a tremendous job.”
She’s the ultimate player, really. She puts aside goals in order to help the team. That’s pretty special.”
Diaz has warmed up to creating plays rather than finishing them — not that she doesn’t score still. Diaz’s six goals are the Acorns’ second most behind Rauschnot’s 11.
“It’s good having Megan up there. That’s where she should be with her talent,” Diaz said. “I like playing midfield. I don’t have to score for us to win games and to be happy.”
Diaz’s love for soccer traces to her days watching her father play. Growing up in Gilroy, Diaz honed her skills dribbling against her family members. Her brother, Alexis, and cousin, Alejandro, play for Live Oak’s first-place varsity boys team.
“I love watching them play, especially my brother,” Diaz said. “He’s stepped up his game a lot.”
When it was time to pick a high school, Diaz chose to continue playing for Vasquez at Live Oak. She has been with his club, Orchard Valley Sting, for six years.
“I was supposed to go to Sobrato, but I didn’t want to play for any other coach,” Diaz said.
Upon meeting Diaz when she was 11, Vasquez saw a gifted player who was deceptively quick and tenacious. She had a knack for scoring goals and taking on challenges; two things she never grew out of (to this day, Diaz’s favorite part of soccer is throwing her powerful 5-foot-6 frame into the air to win 50/50 balls).
Shyness was the only thing stopping her from being a leader.
“We had to get her to talk. She was growing up fast not communicating well,” Vasquez said. “It took time, but she’s learned to use her voice.”
And her teammates listen. Diaz instills confidence in them on and off the field.
“She knows each player individually. She knows how we work,” said junior defender Kayla Cisneroz, one of three Acorns who are club teammates with Diaz. “She has a lot of trust in us, and we have a lot of trust in her.”
Diaz and the Acorns have always pushed themselves. Their preseason goal was to place in the top four in the Mount Hamilton Division and finally make the playoffs. By Christmas, the team wanted to take first in league, which is still possible. Now, Diaz has her teammates thinking about taking the Division III section championship.
Vasquez, who coached the Acorns to a share of the Division I title in 2004, said it’s within their realm.
“The girls are hungry,” he said. “They feel like a lot of pressure has been lifted off of them with finally making CCS.”
Winning prep soccer’s top prize would cap quite a four-year turnaround for the program. Diaz and goalkeeper Gladis Covarrubias are the only active players who were part of the 2007 squad that finished 4-14. The Acorns were 11-4-4 after Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Leigh.
“It’s been an exciting three years playing with Fabi,” Covarrubias said. “We’ve been through a lot together, all the wins and losses, and we have gotten close. It’s always been fun.”
Today, Covarrubias and Diaz will be honored with classmates Mika Matsumoto and Ilona Gawrys during Live Oak’s final home game at 3:15 p.m. against Santa Teresa.
“I don’t know what that’s going to be like,” said Diaz, who plans to play at Evergreen Valley College next year. “Senior Day is going to be sad, but it’s also exciting.”
Sad because her senior season is ending; exciting because it isn’t over yet.
