Masaniai’s Subtlety Is Not Overlooked

Meki Masaniai is a soccer mom, but she has never understood why people think so much of her son, Rawlston, who plays sweeper for Mater Dei.

“He’s not as flamboyant as some of the other players,” Meki Masaniai said. “If I were to walk up on a game, I wouldn’t be looking at my son. I’d be looking at the forwards and the midfielders. But that’s Rawlston, he doesn’t crave the attention.”

Once college recruiters started giving her son some attention this summer, Meki began to realize that maybe there was more to Rawlston’s game than she knew. And when San Jose State, the top-ranked team in the nation, offered a full scholarship, Meki was convinced--her son was a player.

“I thought he’d go to a junior college,” Meki said. “I’m just so humbled by this whole thing.”

So too is Rawlston.

“This is really nice,” he said. “It all came as a big surprise.”

Of course, there were plenty of people who weren’t surprised Masaniai landed a scholarship with one of the nation’s elite programs. Mater Dei Coach Martin Stringer, who seems to have soccer running through his blood, knew instantly he had something special in the lanky, polite kid who ran like a deer.

“He’s very steady,” Stringer said. “He looks fundamentally perfect. When he runs, he just glides. Like most good athletes, he thinks a couple of seconds ahead of everyone else.

“There’s an expectation that when Rawlston goes in for a tackle, he’s going to win it. His passing is quick and direct and he is a leader by example.”

But the soft-spoken Masaniai will probably never be a rah-rah or a get-in-your-face leader. It’s simply not in him. And that’s fine with Stringer.

“He’s got a great work ethic and good values,” Stringer said. “I wish I had a hundred more like him. He has that quiet, unassuming respect about him.”

So how does a quiet kid deal with a loud, fanatical coach?

“We get along fine because I never have to yell at him,” Stringer said. “I know that he’s always going to get the job done.”

Well, not always. Stringer still jokes with Masaniai about his blunder against Santa Margarita last year that allowed Sebastian Galmarini to score an important goal in a key Serra League game.

“I tell everyone Rawlston’s as safe as a house, except against Santa Margarita,” Stringer said.

Masaniai, one of five starters returning for the defending Division II co-champions, takes the ribbing in stride: “It was my fault. I owe him one there.”

Who else does Masaniai owe? Indirectly, he owes something to Mater Dei’s football program, which nudged him toward the soccer field. After a year of inactivity as a freshman tailback, Masaniai decided “the real game of football” was more his style.

Masaniai admitted he was pretty raw on the football field. He devoted most of his youth to club soccer and none to organized football. But since American football was rooted deep in his family’s American-Samoan culture, he decided to give it a shot.

Masaniai’s cousin, Nicky Sualua, played fullback at Mater Dei and Ohio State and briefly in the NFL with Dallas. All of his other cousins play high school football.

“They all thought he was kind of an oddball for playing soccer,” Meki said.

But as a single mother, Meki Masaniai liked soccer, even if it was expensive and difficult to understand.

“It was a year-round sport,” Meki said. “It kept him busy and off the streets. Even if he wanted to get into mischief, he was too tired to do so.”

So Meki, who works at the Department of Defense in Fullerton, sacrificed so Rawlston could play club soccer with North Huntington Beach and Wolfpack. She pooled all her family’s resources so Rawlston could attend Mater Dei.

“It’s been quite a dent in my budget,” Meki said. “But it’s been worth it.”

Said Masaniai, one of only two juniors to be selected all-county first team by The Times last season: “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my family and God. They are the reason I’m doing so well. They’ve supported me in everything I do.”

“Hopefully, some day, I’ll get a good job and pay everybody back that helped me out.”

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Other top players:

Pieter Berger, Woodbridge, MF, Jr.; Luke Boughen, Santa Margarita, MF, Sr., two-time All-Division III; John Brown, Capistrano Valley, D, Sr.; Duke Burchell, Newport Harbor, GK, Sr.; Ismael Cervantes, Saddleback, MF, Jr.; Roy Chingarian, Woodbridge, MF, Jr.; Matt Fennell, Mater Dei, MF, Sr., second team All-Division II; Diego Figueroa, Kennedy, F, Jr.; Erick Foss, Santa Margarita, GK, Sr., two-time All-Division III; Eric Hallenbeck, St. Margaret’s, F, Sr., MVP Academy League, first team All-Division V; Drew McAthy, Huntington Beach, MF, Sr., first team Times’ all-county; Mike McNally, MF, Esperanza, Sr.; Zach Mikelson, Capistrano Valley, GK, Sr.; Nazario Miramontes, Sonora, D, Sr., Freeway League defensive MVP; Danny Morales, Santa Ana, GK, Sr.; Jeff Murphy, Servite, F,; Kyle Polak, Fountain Valley, GK, Jr., co-defensive MVP Sunset; Sergio Rivera, Dana Hills, D, Jr.; Ruben Rosales, Mater Dei, F, Sr.; Schermerhorn, Aliso Niguel, F, Sr.; Ryan Valdez, El Dorado, MF, Sr.; Ryan Wolf, Laguna Beach, MF, Jr.