Eva Hernandez-Watsek has played soccer all her life. She remembers kicking a ball in her backyard when she was two years old.
At age 5, she earned the nickname “Wrong Way Ava” because she would find the ball wherever it was and kick it into the nearest goal.
Hernandez-Watsek is now the goalie for the Ramona High School girls soccer team, after all her years of playing.
On February 13, she signed a letter of intent to play soccer at the Instituto Civic de Roma in Rome, Italy. The school’s coaches saw her play at a tournament in San Sebastian, Spain last year and contacted her a few months later.
Hernandez Watzek, 17, said: “A lot has happened. I’m officially retiring in August. I’m excited, a little nervous, but even more excited for new opportunities.” he said.
Girls soccer coach Candelario Dinero said he is a family friend and has known Hernandez-Watsek since he was 2 years old. He said that’s because she has always been a goalie and her club league doesn’t have many resources to coach that position. She has put in a lot of effort to improve herself.
“What she accomplished on the field as a goalie was amazing,” Dinero said. “She’s just a phenomenal kid and her personality and personality are otherworldly.”
Hernandez-Watsek’s grandparents, Ron and Beth Watzek, were with her on signing day at Ramona High School. Hernandez-Vatsek said they had lived together in Ramona since she was in sixth grade.
Eva Hernandez-Watsek and her grandparents Beth and Ron Watzek attended signing day on Feb. 13.
(Noah Harrell)
“She’s just a fun granddaughter. We’ve been with her through the ups and downs,” Beth Watzik said. “She just wants to see the world.”
Ron Watzik recalled a Feb. 7 game in which Ramona High School was playing Mount Carmel High School, one of San Diego’s top soccer teams.
“Even if they (the Bulldogs) were down, it didn’t bother her one bit,” he said. “She played like it was 0-0 instead of 5-0.”
Waczyk said her granddaughter had to block nearly 40 shots on goal during that game. The final score was 0-6.
Eva Hernandez-Watsek clears the ball.
(Melissa Leyva, Candelario Dinero)
Coach Dinero said he was impressed with the way his team handled the past two games, both losses.
“I wake up at 3 a.m. laughing,” he said. “Thanks to the girls, especially Eva, she saved us several times with some incredible saves.”
Dinero has helped prepare Hernandez-Watsek for college-level soccer since he entered high school. They practice every day except Sunday, and he hired a former professional soccer player to coach him.
“She definitely has the potential to reach the women’s professional level,” Dinero said.
Hernandez-Watsek has yet to meet his future team in person, but said he has already been in contact with some players. She hopes that playing for Roma City Institute will open the door for her to sign with a professional soccer club in Europe.
Hernandez Vaczek said that during the college offseason, her school would take her to tryouts for clubs where she could play.
“Usually you start with club and then you get into the college season,” she said. “It’s all year round, nine months out of the year.”
Hernandez-Watsek is finishing up his high school career with a 4.0 GPA while working part-time at Ramona Country Bakery while playing soccer for school and the Ramona Soccer League Intra FC.
She said she is grateful to Leo Badescu, who owned a bakery with his wife, Carrie, and was also a semi-professional soccer player. He allows her to adjust her schedule around games, she said.
“I don’t think I’ll find another job that works around my schedule,” she said.
Hernandez-Vatsek plans to major in sports management at the Instituto Civic de Rome and earn a bachelor’s degree within three years. He doesn’t know much Italian yet, but he says he practices every day.
She said she was drawn to sports management because there aren’t many degrees available at the Civic Institute of Rome, but there are a variety of uses when it comes to jobs after graduation.
“With that degree, you can do more than just sports. It teaches you things like finance and accounting,” she said. “I could be an event coordinator or a social media manager, but I’d like to be involved in sports. Preferably a coach.”
Hernandez-Watsek said he only has a few more matches left with Ramona before he leaves for Italy. Hernandez-Watsek said if players prove they are good enough, they will be allowed to start playing in their first year without redshirting.
The school will likely let her try out for goalie or another position on the field, she said.
European soccer culture is a big attraction.
Last summer, while playing in Spain for the Legends FC San Diego 2006 team., She saw firsthand how soccer brings people together. Hundreds of people filled the stands for each game, and it was common for the team that had just lost to cheer on the winning team in a later game.
“It’s so beautiful to see how passionate people are about this,” she said.