By his account, two of the best things that happened to Jaime Lara during his senior year at West Torrance H.S. were reaching a high school soccer final and advancing deep into Sueño MLS.
But the worst thing that could have happened was for them to take place concurrently.
As luck would have it, Lara's shot at a professional contract and perhaps the pinnacle of his high school soccer career each were slated to kick off at 10 a.m. on March 1. And while his high school season ended on a down note -- his team lost the final 2-0 -- a late-arriving Lara nevertheless clinched a spot in the Final 18 for L.A. Sueño MLS.
As one of the last remaining players, Lara said he alone holds his Sueno MLS fate.
"At this point, everyone is probably at the same skill level in terms of how they play but now it's just who wants it more so now I've just got to go get it," Lara said.
While each of the remaining 18 players has faced obstacles to get this far, Lara's dilemma was unique. With Lara a pivotal player, West Torrance compiled an 18-3-5 record and won the Bay League during the regular season. The Warriors made short work of their California Interscholastic Federation opponents en route to the Southern Section Division II championship match against league rivals Peninsula.
Aside from the high school team's accomplishments, Lara had his personal goal of landing a pro deal. A year ago, Lara reached the final 24 in the inaugural Sueño MLS, and this year he hoped to progress further. He moved past the round of 2,000 and was excited about the chance to compete in the round of 60.
But when he found out the time of the latter, he nearly lost control.
"They called my dad to tell him when the Chivas tryout was and when they told him 10 o'clock, I wanted to cry," Lara said. "I was like 'I'm not going to make it. What should I do?'"
Lara was not about skip out on West Torrance and his teammates but he did not want to squander the chance Sueño MLS presented him. His mother suggested a compromise.
"My mom told me 'You should go (to Bell Gardens) before your game and tell them you're going to be late,'" Lara said.
It seemed like a reasonable solution, but it was one that had no legs.
"I couldn't do that," Lara said, "because my bus was leaving (from Torrance) at 7:45. The only option I had left was hope they would let me play and go after my game."
Perhaps it was fate that smiled upon Lara. The CIF Southern Section Division II final was played at Downey High, roughly three miles from the Bell Gardens Sports Center, hub of Sueño MLS. And at 10 a.m. on March 1, as the West Torrance-Peninsula final kicked off, Chivas USA coaches and scouts were trying to reassemble remaining players. In the round of 60, remaining participants were split off into four teams of 15 but some teams had inadvertently been split up unevenly -- too many goalkeepers on one side, not enough on another, etc.
Roughly around the same time Peninsula took a 1-0 lead on Lara's West Torrance squad in the 27th minute, the properly rearranged Sueño MLS sides kicked off the day's action. The delay in Bell Gardens might have bought Lara enough time to try out.
Still, Lara was not about to tempt fate any more than he had. From the start of his high school team's final, Lara had Sueño MLS on his mind.
"As soon as the whistle blew, I was like 'Let's just get our win and get over. I don't need overtime. I don't need all this. I need to get out of here,'" Lara said.
Unfortunately for Lara, his team never got the win. As he got in his car to head over to Sueno MLS, he feared an awful fate awaited him.
"I was thinking 'I lost the first game and nothing good is going to come out of this day,'" Lara said. "Going into the Chivas thing I was like 'Let's not make it the worst day of my life.'"
At 12:45 p.m., Lara finally made it to Bell Gardens. He said he was surprised the coaches let him play, and by the time he was ready to step on the field for his final chance of Sueño glory, he said he felt only two things: nerves and pain.
"Our final was intense and I was just beat up, I was sore, I had two hurt legs -- both my legs had charley horses," Lara said. "I was like 'Well, there's nothing I can do now. I'm here. They're letting me play.' I was basically like 'I'm doing this now or I'm not going to get picked.'"
In the game, which was the last one of the day, Lara said he touched the ball maybe 10 times and made three worthwhile plays -- a precise cross, a well-taken corner kick and a strong run up the flank. Still, he said he played the game at full speed.
"I know the coaches see everything," Lara said, "so I just kind of keep on doing whatever I've done to make it as far as I have -- make my runs, pass as often as possible, shoot when I can, cross the ball when I can -- do whatever it is I've done so far in my life to be successful."
Perhaps then it was fitting that coaches took their time to call Lara's name. As they announced the Final 18 on Saturday, 17 names were called before Lara's. When they called his name at long last, Lara said he was surprised and that ultimately he had given himself a second chance.
"Now there is nothing stopping me," Lara said. "High school is done. All I have to focus on is this now. Second chance is a perfect word for it."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
