Miguel Gonzalez has never been one to turn down a challenge – and now his hard work is paying dividends. He was named Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, leading his team to a WAC regular season and conference title, and the program’s first ever Division I tournament win at Creighton in Nov. 2013.
For his efforts, he received the Bill Fenton Male Athlete of the Year Award at the annual Athletics Awards Show in May 2014, given to a pair of student-athletes who have demonstrated excellence in athletics throughout the past competition year.
As many children grow up playing their respective sport against competitors their own age, Gonzalez was no ordinary child and his skill level was noticed early on.
“At the age of 15 or so, I started playing men’s league and we call it Mexican League, because it’s a lot of Mexican teams playing together,” Gonzalez looks back. “You’re playing against people who are 20, 30, 40, all ages, and it’s pretty competitive. I never really played with a club team so that was my start to competitive soccer.”
After that experience, Gonzalez knew that he wanted to continue playing soccer but wasn’t sure he would be able to play at the next level, but not because of athletic talent.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to play in college or at the next level, because I had a lot of trouble in high school. I didn’t really even know if I’d be able to go to college or if I’d be able to afford it. So I was pretty much just going through the motions and then, my senior year of high school, I got an offer from Peninsula Community College. I went there and, from there, came to Seattle U.”
And the rest, as they say, is history.
“God is great and I got the opportunity here. Now I’m living the dream and graduating.”
Though he grew up just over 60 miles south of Seattle in the state capital suburb of Yelm, Wash., he didn’t know a lot about Seattle U prior to being scouted.
“Once they talked to me, I came for my visit, and saw how beautiful it was and where it was, location, everything, how great the community was surrounding it, [I realized] it was an amazing place. Once I found out what it was, it was definitely somewhere I wanted to be. Almost too good to be true, you know?”
The Seattle U athletics community would come to appreciate him as much as he appreciated it. He would go on to lead the team in goals and points during both seasons with the Redhawks, finding a place on SU’s top 10 all-time career goals list in just two seasons. He led the conference with 15 goals, but no two goals were more important than those on a snowy night in November in Omaha, Neb.
The stage was set. Creighton, intending to extend their back-to-back Final Four appearance streak, hosted the Redhawks, making their first ever appearance in the NCAA Division I tournament. Snow started to fall just as the teams took the field.
The Bluejays would score first but Gonzalez’s two come-from-behind goals would be the difference maker as Seattle U did the seemingly impossible – earned the program’s first ever Division I tournament win.
“[My favorite memory] would definitely be the game against Creighton and scoring two goals to go to the next round. Sliding in the snow, that picture pretty much says it all. I talked to Coach Pete before that and he said, ‘You know, if you score in this, you’ll slide a little bit more in the snow’ and after that, I slid and I told him ‘Hey coach, you were right. You do actually slide a little bit more in the snow.’ That’s a great memory and I’ll always remember that.”
It turns out that wasn’t all Coach Pete Fewing taught him over his two seasons at Seattle U.
“Attention to detail would probably be the most important thing that I take away from here. One of the things Coach Pete emphasized was that it comes down to the little things, and every little detail counts, especially when it comes to transitioning to the next level. Without my coaches and all of our players, I wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
Gonzalez hopes to continue playing soccer at a competitive level for as long as possible before making a transition to the other end of the bench, potentially to coaching.
“Currently, I’m playing with the Kitsap Pumas and am talking to some teams for after that, so hopefully that works out.”
He also had the opportunity to train with the Seattle Sounders during their three-week preseason trials this spring.
“It was a great experience and I have some great memories and opportunities from that. I met a lot of great guys, played against a lot of great players, and it gave me a lot of confidence because I was able to keep up with them. It definitely showed me I could play at that level, so that was great. The opportunity to talk to professionals, to see what it’s like, and what their life is like was helpful. It’s definitely something I would love to do.”
Through all of his experiences thus far, his most important lesson is how crucial hard work is to success. He would impart the following wisdom on those who would want to follow in his footsteps.
“Just dedicate yourself to what you want to do and don’t stop trying. You’re always going to face problems, but if you don’t give up and keep at it, you will do it. Anything can be accomplished, honestly.”