By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Teresa Noyola is the first player ever to be named Parade’s two-time National High School Girls Soccer Player of the Year, but she still calls her biggest thrill scoring the winning goal at age 14 to help her club team, the Mountain View Los Altos Mercury, win its first California State Cup championship.
Her club coach of six years, Albertin Montoya, won’t soon forget the spectacular goal, either. He told MaxPreps, “It was tied, 1-1, in overtime. She received a pass, dribbled about 60 yards, beat five players and scored the winning goal against a National Team goalie.
“That was our first state championship and we won two more. She really put us on the map and that started everything for this club. We were a small club that had never accomplished much. Eventually (2005) we were ranked No. 1 in the nation and five of our players made the National Team. Seventeen of our 18 (this year) will play Division I soccer.”
The mighty mite (5-foot-3, 118) with the magic feet described her “golden goal” this way: “I got the ball at midfield and just flipped the switch. I pretty much took on five players. The goalie (Bianca Henninger of San Jose Archbishop Mitty) is a good friend of mine now. My whole team kind of piled on me and our coach came sliding in. I was a hero for a moment, but a team effort got me there. I never had had a moment like that and I don’t know if I ever will (again).”
It truly was a “Kodak Moment” and she still plays that video back once in awhile to relive the thrill.
Noyola was introduced to soccer at the tender age of four when she joined her father, Pedro, to watch the Men’s World Cup on television. “I hadn’t started playing yet,” she pointed out. “It was fast and fluid.” And she was hooked.
One year later, she joined the Purple Penguins in a soccer league for beginners. Her mother, Barbara, recalled, “She had been in ballet since age three, but had out-grown it and didn’t have enough activity, because she was driving me crazy at home.”
She explained to her five-year-old daughter, “You run, find the ball and kick it into the net.” Her first game produced a telling statement for the future. Barbara related, “After the first 20 minutes, Teresa gets out of the swarm (beginners tend to bunch up on the field), runs at top speed and scores a goal. All the parents cheer. She comes over to me and calmly sits down in my lap. I whispered in her ear, ‘Sweetie, you have to go and do it again.’ Ever since, she has been doing it again.”
Teresa admits, “I thought I did my job and now it was over.”
For a few years, however, soccer still had to share Teresa with such other activities as tennis, softball, flag football and even taekwondo (in two years she had earned a Purple Belt).
Pedro Noyola recognized that soccer was going to be his daughter’s ticket while she was watching the World Cup at Stanford as a nine-year-old. He recalled, “The U.S. beat Brazil, 2-0, in the semifinals. The first goal came in the flow. I said (to himself), ‘This kid sees things and understands the game.’ She kind of called the whole play.”
Teresa finally discarded her other sports because soccer “kind of just clicked for me. I remember having so much fun. My dad always told me, ‘dribble and drive.’ I did kind of have a knack for it more than for the other sports. You have to be quick more than fast. I always was one of the smaller players and had to be quick and agile. I understand that I’m not a completely natural athlete and I’ve had to work hard on athleticism.”
So, as a nine-year-old, she joined the Stanford Blizzard – mainly a developmental team – before moving to the Mercury at age 12 and coming under the excellent tutelage of Albertin Montoya.
“I would attribute so much to Albertin,” she praised. “Before (he became coach), they were losing 7-0 and 8-0. Albertin trained them technically. By the time I got to the team, they were at a perfect level to challenge me. The major part of my development has occurred with Albertin. He’s always willing to work with me and improve my technique.”
She still calls Montoya her “idol. He was a very good player and played my same position. We’ve played one-on-one for six years and he still beats me. It can be one-on-four and he still beats us. I do occasionally score on him, but it’s always fun because it’s such a challenge.”
Montoya – the other half of this mutual admiration society – says his 18-year-old protégé “has an incredible work ethic and passion for the game that will help her get to the next level. Every minute she has, she works on the field. She never gives up on anything regardless of the score. Skill is definitely what separates her. She sees everything in the game and makes everyone around her better. Her relationship with her teammates and peers is amazing. She loves life and makes the most of it every day.”
Noyola actually was invited to her first National Team tryout camp at age 14, but could not go because she cut her knee badly and had to sit out three months during that period. Later, however, she did make the Under-15 National Team and travel to Japan. “I did not do well,” she admitted, “but it was a very good experience. The speed of play was so much faster than I was used to and the players were so athletic. I was making slow decisions. I realized I could play at that level if I prepared.”
The budding superstar did not play soccer her freshman year at Palo Alto (Calif.) High School, because her entire club team chose to stay with the Mercury. Her sophomore year, though, the same group decided to play with the high school team. She scored all the goals during a 3-0 victory over Los Gatos, but missed a lot of action due to national commitments. This was to be a pattern throughout her prep career.
Ernesto Cruz became Palo Alto’s head coach during Noyola’s sophomore year and he clearly recalls the first day with close to 90 girls trying out. He noted, “This little girl was juggling the ball 100 times. In the scrimmage she nailed the ball inside like a bullet. I didn’t know she was a national player already.”
Cruz estimates that she played probably about one-third of the first season with his team. “It was not disruptive, only at first,” he insisted. “She really is a team player. She has a great personality and is such a friend that they missed her.”
Noyola’s abbreviated junior year produced what Cruz terms “one of the most beautiful free kicks I’ve ever seen. It was about 23 yards and she looked exactly like David Beckham.” The awesome goal defeated Los Altos, which was loaded with Teresa’s club teammates, 2-1, to win the Classic Winter Tournament championship.
She also had four goals and five assists during an 11-1 rout of Saratoga. But she is quick to point out, “I actually don’t enjoy those games too much. I enjoy the challenge (of close games.).”
As a senior, Noyola played in 14 of Palo Alto’s 20 games, leading the team with 18 goals and seven assists. She had a goal and two assists as the Vikings again defeated Los Altos, 3-1, for the Classic Winter Tournament title.
Regardless of how many games she had to miss, Cruz was thrilled to have her on his team. He stressed, “I’m not exaggerating – she does beyond what great players do. She has the best, fancy moves you’ve ever seen in a woman. She really entertains you. She’s really fast. She can stop and go whenever she wants. She kicks with both legs – no difference. She is a top-line team player and everybody adores her. She is the humblest person I’ve ever met.
“She is going to be one of the best players in the U.S. – the way she works. We need to clone her (she is an only child) at least four or five times. I have been blessed to have that type of student-athlete in my life.”
Though she’s been a National Team member since age 14, Noyola has used her high school experience to a great advantage, too. She explained, “I really got to practice my leadership. It had been a weakness before high school. As an attacking midfielder, I have to be the quarterback. I have freedom underneath the forwards to create plays. My high school team has been so supportive.”
During her prep career, Noyola also has been involved with national teams. She has played in such places as Argentina, Brazil, England, Cypress, Canada and Chile. Last summer she was the youngest member of the Under-20 National team which placed second in the Pan-American Games.
Noyola is an incredibly well-rounded person. She carries an outstanding 4.4 GPA and is a National Merit Scholar Finalist. Math is her favorite course. She already has signed with hometown Stanford University. She has been playing drums since fifth grade and performs for both the symphonic band and jazz ensemble.
Lest anyone thinks Teresa is perfect, she does have one little flaw. Pedro Noyola says, “No less than two times a week, I can hear from the other side of the house, ‘Teresa, you did it again!’ She overtapes (her mother’s) programs on our Tivo with professional soccer games. The way she watches – studies over and over – is never ending.”
After graduation this week, she will be battling for one of 20 positions on the Under-20 National team which will travel to Chile in November to compete in the World Cup. She currently is on the roster of 24, with four cuts yet to be made.
“It’s definitely a pressure cooker,” Noyola concedes. “but I’m motivated. Whatever happens, it’s been a great experience with the Under-20 team and I’ve learned so much.”
It’s only fitting that Teresa’s idol, Albertin Montoya, gets the last word. “Teresa is going to be one of the best players the U.S. ever has developed, because of her work ethic and what she has upstairs,” he predicts. “She’s definitely one of the most creative players we’ve ever seen. Teresa has it all.”