Local Stars Shoot for the Galaxy

Two years ago, Tomas Serna, Jose Retiz and Danny Califf were setting their sights on a Southern Section soccer title. Today, the three Orange County high school graduates are in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., fighting for spots on the Los Angeles Galaxy’s roster.

Retiz and Serna, a dynamic one-two scoring punch on what was the top-ranked high school team in Orange County, the Saddleback Roadrunners, were drafted in the third and fifth rounds out of Santa Ana College. Califf, an all-county sweeper for Orange High who played two seasons at Maryland, was picked sixth overall Sunday in the MLS draft.

“It’s pretty amazing we’re all here together,” Califf said Tuesday between practices. “We played Saddleback every year and those guys were always the best on their team. I remember Tomas scored a couple goals on us.”

Serna scored a couple goals on a lot of teams. As a senior, he nearly broke the county record by scoring 45 goals. Retiz, a midfielder, assisted on many of them. Califf won a Southern Section Division II title as a sophomore and was a four-year starter, but he spent much of his last two seasons playing for the U.S. under-17 team. He also played for a top club team, the Mission Viejo Pateadores.

Serna and Retiz didn’t play much club soccer, and they didn’t have the SAT scores to qualify at a Division I school. Both wound up playing at Santa Ana College. Califf, a Soccer America top 25 recruit, looked at several high-profile colleges before choosing Maryland.

Serna and Retiz won back-to-back state community college championships, but they did so in near anonymity.

“Nobody knew about us,” said Serna, 20, who had 75 goals in two seasons at Santa Ana. “Who follows junior college soccer?”

Well, for one, Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid, who spent 19 years as UCLA’s coach.

“I’ve been watching those two kids since they were in high school,” Schmid said. “I wanted to recruit them to UCLA, but there were academic difficulties.”

Schmid kept his eye on Serna and Retiz, both U.S. residents but not U.S. citizens, and then took advantage of a change in MLS policy toward international players. Schmid drafted Serna and Retiz as junior internationals--players aged 22 or under who receive roster protection and will not count toward a team’s senior international player limit of four.

The policy still has to be approved by U.S. Soccer’s board of governors next week, but it is expected to allow 12 league-wide places for young international players this season and 24 for next season.

“We have to do a better job of identifying the inner-city kids like Tomas and Jose,” Schmid said. “In the past, these are the kind of kids who would have gone back to Mexico to play in the pro leagues back there. Now, we can develop them here and if they become citizens, they can play for the national team someday.”

Retiz, 21, had an offer from Connecticut, but he wanted to get on with his professional career.

“I have the capacity to play in this league,” he said. “I’m on the verge and these chances don’t come around very often.”

Retiz realizes the chance came sooner than expected because of the new MLS policy toward international players.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play pro, ever since I was a kid in Acapulco,” Retiz said. “I’m very thankful to Sigi and the league. Who knows what might have happened to us without the change? We might not be here. That’s reality.”

Serna, who doesn’t academically qualify to transfer to a Division I school, said he would have probably gone to back to Mexico.

“This is all pretty exciting,” said Serna, who grew up in Aguascalientes, Mexico. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to play at the next level.”

Mel Silva, who coached Serna and Retiz at Saddleback, said some of his former players stopped by practice to inform the team that two Roadrunners had made the big time.

“It’s awesome and it’s tremendous for the youth,” Silva said. “I hope these boys can help us and keep banging the education theme too. These two have stuck with it, been very disciplined and it’s paid off.”

Retiz said he won’t turn his back on school.

“Tomas and I want to play, but we want to finish school too,” he said. “That’s very important to us.”

Califf, as a Project-40 player, will get his education paid for by the MLS. He also doesn’t count against the Galaxy’s salary cap or roster for the next two years. Project-40 is a joint venture between the MLS and U.S. Soccer aimed at providing young American players professional training to develop their skills.

If Califf doesn’t make the Galaxy roster, he would play for Project-40 in the A-League. Serna and Retiz would probably play for the Galaxy’s A-League affiliate--the Orange County Waves, who play at Santa Ana Stadium, a few miles from Saddleback High.

Of the three, Califf has the best chance to stick with the Galaxy this season.

“We were looking for a big center back,” said Schmid, who coached Califf on the under-20 team. “Danny’s good in the air, he’s got the international experience and he can man mark. I expect him to see some time.”

Serna, worn out from his first two practices, said he is looking forward to the challenge.

“I think this will be tougher than anything I’ve ever been through,” he said, “But I have faith in myself.”