SEATTLE, Wash. – Two times, defender Tony Alfaro was called upon to step into head coach Sigi Schmid’s lineup.
When captain Brad Evans was knocked out in the first half against New England on May 28, Schmid turned to Alfaro. When defender Zach Scott couldn’t continue in the next match against D.C. United on June 1, Schmid turned to Alfaro.
Coming off of the bench in response to an injury is not an ideal way to come into any match. With no prior notice, and no time to warm up, it’s not easy for an athlete to get mentally prepared to step into a match where everyone else on the field has been in full battle mode since the opening whistle. It’s even less ideal, for your first MLS appearance of your career.
Yet, Alfaro met the challenge. And he could be on deck again when the Sounders host the Kitsap Pumas in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup at Starfire Stadium on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. PT; Live Stream on SoundersFC.com).
“You’ve got to take your hat off to him,” said Schmid. “He’s had to come in twice, once for Evans and once for Zach. For a rookie playing in his first two games, he plays with some pretty good composure.”
Alfaro was drafted by the Sounders in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft in January before signing to a first-team contract in March. A Southern California native who's been plugged in the region's college soccer scene for decades, Schmid himself was the primary catalyst for drafting Alfaro, who played college soccer at Division II Cal-State Dominguez Hills after he was a prep star in Santa Barbara, Calf.
“We liked his ability with the ball; his technical ability was good, his passing out of the back,” said Schmid. “He’s a guy who stays in tune with the game, his concentration levels were good, and he’s shown all that stuff since he’s been here.”
Prior to his appearances for Schmid’s first team, Alfaro started regularly for Seattle Sounders FC 2 under head coach Ezra Hendrickson. Hendrickson and his staff have often stated that their goals are not just to win games, but to develop young guys, and keep them warm in case they are needed by the first team.
“Part of our job here is putting these guys in game-like situations so that when they get into a first team game, they have an idea of what to do,” said Hendrickson. “We try to play similar to the first team so that when they need a guy, they can just plug him in.”
Alfaro consistently got valuable minutes at the USL level with Hendrickson’s squad before getting the call from the first team, and he believes that S2 played a crucial role in his success in first appearances in the MLS.
“I really think playing with S2 helped me,” he said. “They gave me that leadership role and they thought I could develop a little better getting a couple games in with them.”
“Training is one thing but if you’re not getting that repetition in games it becomes difficult,” added Hendrickson.
Alfaro’s first appearance against New England was particularly special for him in that he got to face off against fellow Cal State-Dominguez Hills alumni Kei Kamara, who was last year’s MLS Golden Boot runner-up and traded to the Revs earlier this season.
“I went down there (Cal State) and trained with him, and I saw the desire in him to become a professional,” Kamara said about Alfaro. “His hard work paid off, and I want to say congratulations to him.”
Alfaro and Kamara are the only two Dominguez Hills alumni to play in an MLS match. After the match, they met on the field and traded jerseys. According to Alfaro, Kamara shared some words of encouragement in their exchange.
“He just said, ‘Congratulations you played well, keep it up," Alfaro said.
Despite a bright start, Alfaro knows he has a long road ahead. With Evans, Scott and defender Chad Marshall all returning from injury after the Copa America break, and defender Román Torres returning from his ACL tear not long after that, Alfaro has a tall latter to climb, but will always cherish his first MLS match.
“It was definitely a test for me,” he said. “As a young guy, you remember those moments forever.”
