Men’s soccer newcomers share connection as former club soccer teammates
Freshmen defender Pablo Greenlee and midfielder Andrew Valverde join the UCLA men’s soccer squad after both playing club soccer for the LA Breakers. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Rafay Siddiqui
Dec. 12, 2020 4:08 p.m.
Transitioning to collegiate athletics can be a difficult task.
For two particular newcomers to UCLA men’s soccer, however, their shared experiences have aided each other in the adjustment process.
One of these new Bruins is Andrew Valverde, a freshman midfielder from North Torrance High School. Named California’s 2019 Gatorade Boy’s Soccer Player of the Year, Valverde contributed to North Torrance’s 2019 CIF Southern Section championship. In his senior season, Valverde tallied a career-high 29 goals – his fourth consecutive season scoring over 20 goals.
Assistant coach Matt Taylor said Valverde’s speed enables him to be effective on the offensive end.
“(Valverde’s) quick. He’s got good bursts of speed in his first couple of steps,” Taylor said. “And he’s technically all-around very good.”
Beyond high school athletics, Valverde also played for the LA Breakers, the top-ranked squad in the Elite Clubs National League in the past season. Among several accolades, the first-year Bruin was selected to the Olympic Development Program West Championships Best XI during his time in high school.
The midfielder said that his transition from the ECNL and high school to UCLA soccer has not only been manageable but also enjoyable.
“It’s been really good. It hasn’t been a normal setting with (COVID-19) and everything, but I’d say the transition between coming from LA Breakers and my high school to UCLA has been good,” Valverde said. “It’s been smooth. It’s a process that I’m enjoying so far.”
Despite his former experiences, the midfielder has faced hurdles in his transition. As with newcomers each year, Valverde’s ascension to the college level has presented physical challenges with regard to personnel and spacing.
“I think this is really their first exposure to playing with a lot of older players, a lot stronger (players),” Taylor said. “And so coming (into the) next level, it’s about finding out what’s (Valverde’s) role on the team. Is he going to be playing the middle, is he going to play off wide, to the right, to the left? That’s going to be part of his development, just really getting comfortable in certain areas of the field and working in tighter spaces.”
Valverde is not alone in making the leap from the ECNL to the physical demands of collegiate athletics.
Joining him in Westwood is Pablo Greenlee, a freshman defender from Harvard-Westlake School and Valverde’s former teammate on the Breakers. During his tenure at Harvard-Westlake, Greenlee earned both Mission League Offensive MVP and Defender of the Year in 2019.
As with his teammate, Greenlee has also adjusted to collegiate soccer by accounting for pace, positioning and physicality.
“(I have worked on) speed of play and tactically just scouring my position a lot better,” Greenlee said. “The college level is a lot bigger. It has been a transition for me definitely, but (I’m) enjoying it so far.”
With similar points of emphasis, Greenlee and Valverde have assisted each other in overcoming the initial struggles of transitioning to UCLA throughout the offseason.
Valverde and Greenlee also share experiences on differing sides of the field. While teammates for several years, the duo were formerly competitors.
“So before playing for the LA Breakers, I actually played against (Greenlee) for a really long time,” Valverde said. “So I knew him from the other side of the field.”
As a result of their history, the two freshmen recruits have developed a long-lasting relationship as teammates and as opponents. Valverde said their tenure with the Breakers not only improved their cohesiveness on the field, but it has also provided an important social outlet amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Being his teammate with the LA Breakers has definitely helped me get adjusted to his play and then that’s helped us get chemistry together,” Valverde said. “I think playing with him, becoming really great friends has helped me socially during these times, and has definitely helped me know who I’m playing with and just continue building a relationship that could really bring success to UCLA. I am pretty happy to have a teammate like (Greenlee).”
