Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Hilario Arriaga - Tough to beat

Tony Altobelli

When the final choice had to be made, Orange Coast College men’s

soccer player Hilario Arriaga decided that, home is where the heart is.

“I had a choice between OCC and Santa Ana College when I graduated

from Estancia last year,” Arriaga said. “The coaches at OCC were real

nice to me and they told me that no matter where I decided to go, they

would be there for me no matter what. OCC was also much closer to home so

I picked them and I made the right choice.”

Needless to say, comparing success from the previous year, Arriaga was

picking a longshot in Orange Coast. The Pirates were 3-14-4, while the

Dons were the defending Orange Empire Conference and two-time defending

state champions.

Sure, Santa Ana won the state crown again, but who would have ever

thought the Dons were going to have to beat the Pirates in the state

finals to three-peat?

OCC went 19-4-4 this year and Arriaga was a major factor in a majority

of those wins.

Arriaga was put into the fire right away as the Pirates tried to

rebuild what was once a proud, winning program.

Unlike his senior year at Estancia when the Eagles lit up the

scoreboard en route to the CIF Southern Section Division IV title,

Arriaga was the man in the microscope as shots came his way at a high

clip.

“With Estancia, we dominated whoever we played and I really didn’t get

a whole lot of work,” the Daily Pilot College Athlete of the Month said.

“This year, I was involved more with directing traffic, setting up the

defense and making the big save when we needed it most.”

Never was that more of a case than in the state semifinals against

undefeated and untied Santa Rosa.

With the game tied after regulation and overtime, 1-1, penalty kicks were used to decide the winner and Arriaga used his goalie smarts to get

the upper-hand on the situation.

“I would look into the shooters’ eyes and try to figure out where they

were going to kick,” Arriaga said. “Then, I would lean to the right,

letting them think I was going to dive that way and then, go to the left.

They seemed to be kicking to the left a lot on those PKs.”

That quick thinking allowed Arriaga to make two big saves, while OCC

ripped four shots into the back of the net to send the Pirates to the

state finals.

“I told our guys to do their jobs and I would do mine,” he said. “I

just knew I was going to stop some of those penalty kicks.”

Perhaps his finest match of the year came against Santa Ana at home on

Nov. 6. The Dons, winners of 70 in a row, outshot the Pirates, 26-13, but

it was OCC that pulled out the 3-2 win.

Arriaga had 14 saves in that game, including a sprawling deflection

just seconds before time expired.

“I’ve felt really good all season long,” Arriaga said. “I’ve gotten a

lot of confidence as the season went on and I just had a belief that this

team would go a long way.”

Arriaga compiled a 18-4-2 record this year, while compiling 140 saves.

“It’s been a lot of fun playing with these guys,” Arriaga said. “I’m

really looking forward to next year because we’ll have around 13 guys

coming back from this team. We’re all friends on the field and off so

we’ll be working hard in the offseason to get even better.”