WARRENTON – For six Ilwaco High School students, playing soccer the last few years has been something more casual, that is until they got the chance to compete with the big boys.

“In Ocean Park we used to all get together and play around for fun,” said Jonathan Encinas, a sophomore at Ilwaco High School. “Our coach was like ‘Do you want to have a real team?’ And we decided to make one.”

That coach just happened to be the former coach of perrenial powerhouse Atlas, which now goes by the name San Jose, in the men’s soccer league Liga Hispana. The group found a sponsor and became team Valencia this spring.

Despite its popularity among high school students, Ilwaco High School does not have soccer teams. In a poll taken last year, soccer was found to be the second most popular sport among males at IHS, drawing 47 votes (just behind football with 63). Among female students it drew 30 votes. 

Carlos Pacheco, a graduating senior at IHS this year, said that once they were past eighth grade there was no outlet for their passion for soccer. 

“This is my first year playing competitively since the eighth grade,” he said.

The league has proven to be a higher level of competition than they may have been used to.

“You have to grow up a little bit,” said Pacheco. “It’s a little more physical.”

Encinas said he doesn’t mind. “It’s hard, yeah, but we have fun, you know? It’s what we love to do.” Often these high school players will find themselves matching up with opponents twice their age, which can also mean twice the experience level.

Helping them along the way have been the other five players on the team, all of whom are former players on the league title winning Atlas the last two years. Going into the first round of the league’s playoffs this week the team is second from last with a record of 3-6-3. But according to sophomore Karl Oman, “It’s hard to lose a lot of the time, but we know that next year we’ll be better because we’ve got this experience.”

In their game two weeks ago against San Jose – the former Atlas team of Ocean Park – Valencia lost 7-1. The team bounced back however in their next match against Arza, taking a 1-1 tie for the final game of the regular season, thanks to a first half goal by Encinas after falling behind 1-0. Encinas added that the team was dedicating the game, and his goal, in memory of their former classmate Dane Bonfigt who passed away last week.

Next up for Valencia will be a match with second-ranked Leon in the first round of the single-elimination playoffs, June 10 at 7 p.m. 

Pacheco says they are ready for the playoffs, noting that they have progressed since game one.

“We feel like we’ve gotten better,” he said. “Playing with older people, you have to get your game up to their level. I expected it to be a lot easier. I mean, come on, we’re kids, but they can do it too, even better than we can.”

According to the players, they have approached the school about getting a team at IHS, but the funds are short for adding a new team – plus state rules say that if you add a boys sport you have to also add a girls team, making the cost essentially double. So for now, the students will continue to learn and play with the big boys.

Looking ahead to next spring, the players said that they think that the more interested players know about the league the more interest they may have in coming out for the team. One thing that may be a hamper for some is the fact that the games all take place at the Warrenton Soccer Complex, 22 miles from the Peninsula. Encinas said that if there was a school team they could possibly play at Sheldon Field in Ocean Park, adding that if the field is chosen for an upgrade in the online contest sponsored by Frosted Flakes, the facilty would make an excellent venue for their sport.