'They're winners.' UC Merced stays local with two soccer recruits from Livingston.

Francisco Lopez remembers first meeting his future teammate in Marco Sobrevilla playing junior varsity soccer during their freshmen year.

His first impression of him wasn't a good one. Lopez thought Sobreville would be someone he tried to avoid during high school, not somebody he looked at as a possible friend.

Fast forward three years and the two teammates have become close friends. Lopez and Sobrevilla shared the spotlight on Tuesday afternoon at Livingston High when they signed their national letter of intent to play soccer at UC Merced during a ceremony in the gym in front of the other Livingston High athletes.

"When I looked at him, I thought he was going he was going to be a mean guy and now I'm with him, we're signing with UC Merced," Lopez said. "It's just awesome to think about because we didn't only play here at the school, but we also played competitive soccer. We know each other, we know each other's families. Sharing this moment with Marco is a blessing. I know we'll both be a part of something. It's been both of our dreams."

Sobrevilla and Lopez walked into the gym with the Wolves athletes already seated in the stands. As soon as they entered, the crowd gave the two Livingston soccer players a loud ovation.

"It was exciting and I was a little nervous," Sobrevilla said.. "It's joyful knowing you have all these people behind you."

Lopez was the Western Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player last season, leading the Wolves with 17 goals and also chipping in with six assists.

Sobrevilla was one of the top goalies in the Southern half of the Sac-Joaquin Section He averaged almost 10 saves per game to help the Wolves reach the Division IV championship game.

The last two years the Wolves have compiled a 39-7-8 record with the help of their two stars.

"They're winners," said UC Merced men's soccer coach Albert Martins, who was on hand for the signing ceremony. "Both of them have been a big reason for the success here at Livingston. They're great soccer players and when you get to know them you realize they are both great people and great teammates. They're the whole package."

Both of them get the job done in classroom as well.

Sobrevilla has a 3.7 GPA at Livingston and wants to major in biology. Lopez has a 3.6 GPA and wants to major in mechanical engineering.

Sobrevilla felt UC Merced was a great fit.

"It's close to home, it's a great staff, a great education there and all the coaches there are really good. honest and I think they will help me develop into a star player and a person," he said.

Martins says he makes it a goal to go after local talent. Merced County showed it is a soccer hot bed with teams like Livingston, Le Grand and Pacheco making deep playoff runs this past winter.

"Absolutely," Martins said. "We're definitely trying really hard to make the community grow. We're trying to stay local as possible. We've got great talent in our area. We have two of them right here."

This story was originally published April 17, 2018 at 4:15 PM with the headline "'They're winners.' UC Merced stays local with two soccer recruits from Livingston.."