Prep boys’ soccer: Whitney becomes first Sacramento-area team to win Division l title

When this group of Whitney High School boys’ soccer players were freshmen four years ago, their coach at the time made a bold prediction.

“I saw the talent,” Whitney freshman coach Ryan Balbi said. “I told everybody who would listen that we were not only going to win a league and section title, but we were going to win a regional title their senior year. I told the group on Thursday night that ever since their freshman year I believed they would win a (NorCal) title.”

Turns out Balbi was onto something.

Top-seeded Whitney completed its magical season with a 3-1 win over No. 2 seed Watsonville in the Northern California Division l championship game Saturday night in Rocklin. Whitney opened in 2005 and this is the first NorCal team title in school history.

Whitney senior Robbie Mora scored in the fifth minute and Hector Serrano Martin scored a goal in each half, including one late in the game to ice the win. Once he scored and his team took a 3-0 lead, the Whitney bench ran to the corner to celebrate with him. They could feel it.

“It felt really good (scoring that last goal),” Serrano Martin said. “This win means everything to me. I have played (with these guys) since my freshman year. I have become super close with them and to share this moment with them is amazing.”

A few thousand fans in attendance got to witness history. It was the first time a team from the Sacramento area won the Division-l NorCal boys’ soccer title. It was also the biggest soccer crowd in the school’s history.

“If you get 400 or 500 fans in a (soccer) stadium, you are feeling pretty good,” Whitney coach Joel Williams said. “I imagine there were close to 3,000 fans here tonight. This was a good stadium and atmosphere.”

Williams added, “For our section, we know there are a few traditional teams (that are very good) but we keep working our way up. For (our team) and the SFL, (this game was about) gaining respect for our league and the area. We wanted to showcase that we play pretty good (soccer) over here. … It feels fantastic seeing the boys achieve the goals they set for themselves early.”

This Whitney team has been through a lot since stepping on campus as freshmen. During the current players’ freshman season, they lost in the section semifinals; then they lost in the second round of the playoffs the next season. There were no section playoffs in 2021 due to COVID-19.

It’s why the win meant so much to the 14 Whitney seniors on the roster to go out on top. It was also felt by players who previously played in the program on those teams that fell short. A handful of them were on the bench in the final moments.

“Seeing our (past) teammates suffer in that moment just made us stronger,” Serrano Martin said. “We (won) this for them too. They were on the sidelines cheering us on.”

Mora added on the win, “It means everything. When I was a freshman, we made it to the (section) semifinals and it was a tough loss. To win (tonight) is a big deal. ... We have 14 seniors on the team and they are all my really good friends. This is a perfect memory. From the very beginning (we knew) this team could get it done. Being the first team in Whitney history to win (a NorCal championship) is great.”

Whitney ends the season a school-best 21-2-2. The Wildcats are ranked by MaxPreps as the second-best team in California and eight-best in the nation. But as Balbi would say, he thinks this team could beat anyone.

“I genuinely believe there is not a team in the state or country that can beat these guys on their best day,” Balbi said. “Today, they got the job done.”

Maybe one day there will be a true soccer state championship to prove it.