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11/30/2016 11:00 PMSenior Victor Cartagena recently played his final game with the Valley Regional boys’ soccer team. Although Victor feels sad that his career with the Warriors has come to a close, he’s also happy that Valley had such a successful season this fall.
“It was a great season and we got really far,” says Victor. “We did OK in Shorelines, but then stepped up in states. Everybody worked hard.”
Valley finished the regular season with a record of 9-3-4 to earn the 10th seed in the Class S State Tournament. The Warriors then defeated East Hampton 2-1 (4-1 on penalty kicks) and HMTCA 7-1 before blanking 2nd-seeded Lyman Memorial 2-0 in the quarterfinals. The win sent Valley to a semifinal matchup against Coventry, which eliminated the Warriors with a 4-0 victory. Still, Victor and company went on a great run and finished with a dozen victories on the campaign.
“Coventry was a really good team, but we played well. You could tell they were the better team,” Victor says. “Even though we lost, we played well in that game and their team was really good. I was glad we made it to the semifinals.”
Victor, who’s been playing soccer since age four, was greatly influenced by his father. Victor grew up in El Salvador and then moved to Ivoryton with his dad and his sister five years ago. As soon as Victor was in Connecticut, he joined the local soccer club.
“When I first came here, I didn’t speak the language and I didn’t know anybody,” he says. “The sport helped me get to know people on the team and in my school. It helped me make friends and has helped me get through.”
Victor found that sharing a love for soccer not only helped him bond with his new teammates, but also helped him get acclimated to the English language. He liked how the sport was the same in each country and that he was able to enjoy it despite a language barrier.
“I didn’t speak the language, but for a sport, you don’t have to understand the language. You can just see what is happening,” says Victor. “That was a good way to start and then, once I started speaking the language, it was even easier.”
Victor often played against older kids when he was in El Salvador and notes that he wasn’t intimidated by “how tall or strong people were” when he joined the program at Valley Regional. Victor thanks all of his coaches, including Warriors’ Head Coach Mick Fearon, for helping his improve his skills. Fearon, in turn, compliments Victor for how he performed on the pitch throughout his time at Valley.
“Victor is a very technical player and really started to come along his junior and senior year, when he was a big part of the varsity program,” says Fearon. “He had a good vision of passing and knocking balls into good space.”
Even though Victor didn’t see a lot of varsity action as a freshman, he still enjoyed watching the Warriors’ older players patrol the field. Victor’s playing time with the varsity squad steadily increased during his tenure with the team.
“Watching the older kids play really gives you an idea of how to improve yourself. When I started playing with Valley, it was a great chance to show people the way I play,” says Victor, a midfielder. “Every time I played soccer with somebody that was really good, I always wanted to do better than them, so that helped me to get better each day. I love the sport. I’ve always loved the sport since I was a kid.”
Victor has a nine-year-old brother with whom he enjoys sharing his love for soccer, just like Victor’s dad did with him. Victor often plays with his brother in the yard and is looking forward to working with him even more as he gets older.
“My younger brother loves soccer like I do and is learning from me,” Victor says. “When I see him play, I see myself playing sometimes because he has the logic of the sport. When he grows up and goes to high school, he’ll be a great soccer player if he keeps it up.”
Victor thanks his father for his support throughout the years and feels grateful that he always attended all of his games.
“After each game, he would tell me where I could improve, so that in the next game, I could try to improve the weakness,” Victor says. “My dad loves soccer, too. It runs in the family.”
While Victor has now lived in the United States for the past five years, he still visits his mother, sisters, and other family members in El Salvador at least every other year. Even though Victor loves visiting his family in the country where he grew up, he plans on staying in the United States.
“My country has had a lot of problems and the United States is a great place to be,” says Victor. “Experiencing the different cultures is nice because you get to learn more and it makes you feel like you’ve seen more than some other people who haven’t had the chance to see or live in another culture for as many years as I’ve had.”
Looking to the future, Victor has a dream of becoming a firefighter like his uncle, who fights wildfires. He also plans to continue soccer in any way he can. Victor has always played in indoor leagues and he hopes to join a team in college.
“Even if I don’t make a team, I’ll find my way to play just for fun because I just love the sport,” says Victor. “I wish I could turn back time and play again, but you have to move on and see what comes next. During my four years at Valley, it was an awesome experience.”