Senior Alec Balica shines as soccer star

Meet the boys varsity soccer team’s top goal scorer for two years in a row: senior Alec Balica. This season, Balica is among the top five goal-scorers in the league, with a total of eight goals and four assists over seven games. Last year, Balica led the league with a scoring record of 27 goals.

“As a returning player and a senior, there’s a lot on his shoulders. Alec has really been able to leave an impact on the team, just by leading by example,” stated coach Juan Escalante. “The fight that he has in the games—especially big games like Berkeley, Piedmont, O’Dowd—really brings the team forward.” 

Balica has been a varsity team member since his sophomore year. As he wraps up his final season at CVHS, he hopes to finish strong against rival schools.

“I’m just looking forward to competing against teams like O’Dowd, Piedmont, and Berkeley one last time because they have been rivals since I was a freshman here at CVHS,” Balica explained. “The games are always close and it’s fun playing with my own teammates from the club.”

Balica is recognized as a positive role model and hard worker on the field.

“Being able to pull one back against Berkeley at the end is because of the hard work he’s put in,” said Escalante. He explained that Balica serves as an example for everyone, “especially for the younger guys on the team.”

“I don’t regret anything here at CVHS,” Balica reflected. “On the field, it’s a time where you have to lock in but off the field is where you’re making memories with your teammates and that’s the best part of high school soccer.”

Many of Balica’s teammates shared memories of playing soccer with him throughout the years and agreed that Balica is a key part of the team.

  “Overall, Alec is a very good player. He’s very technical on the attacks,” said junior Ian Hsu. “He’s a very good teammate; he uplifts us and makes us play better as a team.”

“Alec is a teammate everyone should have. He is a leader on and off the field. Even if he’s not talking that much on the field he leads our team by example and leads us with pride,” agreed sophomore Dominic Bolender. “Alec is the guy that we look for, whatever it is and he always delivers for our team in either creating chances or scoring for our team. He will always make an impact on the field and it doesn’t matter if he’s playing a strong school or not.”

One of Balica’s favorite memories was the first round of NCS against Redwood High School his junior year.

“The most memorable moment from CVHS soccer was scoring a hat trick in the first round of NCS, beating number four seed Redwood High School, 3-2,” Balica said. “I just remember the bus ride home was amazing, blasting music, dancing and just having fun with the whole team after that win.”