Four years ago, lifelong soccer player Yesenia Tijerina stopped playing when the pandemic shut everything down. Her classes at UC Davis were taken online at her home in Salinas.
Tijerina started her soccer journey at age 5, playing on a boys’ team in Salinas. Years later, she joined a travel team and played on a girls squad. Then she competed for Alisal High School. Now she wasn’t on a team.
“Going to school online had a big impact on me because in high school I was always staying after school for practice and everything else, and then just completely changed to staying at home and being in online class all day,” Tijerina said. “It was a big toll on my mental health. I didn’t feel like myself and I had to make a decision. I missed playing soccer.”
An opportunity to lace up her cleats again was just a mile from her home. Hartnell College had a strong women’s soccer program for two-year institutions. She reached out to head coach Ivan Guerrero, initially to get help securing classes.
Tijerina recalls Guerrero saying, “You are planning on playing soccer, right?”
“Yes, if you allow me,” was Tijerina’s response.
Tijerina went on to help Hartnell win its first 3C2A state women’s soccer championship in 2021. She played one more season in her hometown, winning the league title before being discovered by UC Merced head coach Roman DuChateau at a sophomore showcase.
“Yesenia played for a really, really good Hartnell program,” DuChateau said. “Her versatility stood out. We knew we wanted to have her and we knew we had to get her. We were very fortunate she decided to become a Bobcat.”
Tijerina said similarities between Salinas and Merced were a final selling point. Both have large Hispanic populations. In addition, more than half of UC Merced’s student body identifies as Hispanic. She returned to the pitch with UC Merced, won championships and became one of the top players in the California Pacific Conference.
“I feel great at UC Merced,” said Tijerina, who is majoring in psychology. “Thinking back, I don’t know how I would have reacted going to a city where I wouldn’t feel as welcomed as I do here. I do feel like I am at home here. Even my teammates, the girls that I am close with, I feel that we share the same values and beliefs.
“I knew this place felt right from the very first time I came here.”
The student who stopped playing soccer after high school found a new home, transformed her collegiate career and helped turn UC Merced women’s soccer into what it is today. Tijerina has started 26 of the 29 games for UC Merced since the start of 2023 and is a centerpiece of the squad’s success, helping lead the Bobcats to their first Cal Pac Tournament Championship and NAIA National Championship Opening Round win a year ago. She is a All-Cal Pac First Team selection and two-time Cal Pac Player of the Week.
She has scored 17 goals in a UC Merced uniform and is on track to break into the program’s top 10 of all-time scorers by the end of the year.
Tijerina played outside back last year, helping anchor the top defense in program history, but her relentless goal-scoring efforts gave DuChateau no choice but to move her to forward this season after All-American forward Trinidad Quiroz decided to redshirt.
Tijerina, who was a defender nearly all her life, has answered the call with 12 goals this season. She is just the fifth player in program history to reach that mark in a season joining Quiroz (2022 & 2023), Jenn Salinger (2017 & 2021), Emily Burnett (2018), and Claudia Diaz (2012 & 2013). Her 12 goals also currently share league-high and rank second on the West Coast.
“I’m extremely proud of Yesi's success this season,” teammate Trinidad Quiroz said. “It's nothing surprising to any of us because we witness it at our training grounds. She's extremely skilled and can play anywhere Coach puts her. Her success in both an offensive and defensive role shows how versatile she is.
“I've loved sharing the field with a player of her caliber. She's one of our hardest-working players and deserves everything coming her way.”
UC Merced is tied for first place in the Cal Pac Conference at 3-0-1 (6-2-2 overall). The Bobcats won their first conference tournament championship a year ago. With three regular season matches left, UC Merced is looking to claim a share of the Cal Pac regular season title for the first time since 2016 or win the league title outright for the first time in program history. Then comes the attempt to repeat as tournament champions and make a run in what would be the Bobcats’ final NAIA National Tournament. Next year, UC Merced enters NCAA Division II and the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
Then comes graduation and an opportunity to give back to her hometown.
“I want to go back to Salinas and just make an impact,” Tijerina said. “There are limited resources for the Hispanic and low-income community, so I want to use my psychology major to help out. I also like working with little kids, so I’m also interested in working in the hospital with kids with mental health disorders.”
Tijerina, born in Tijuana and raised in Salinas, is proud to be Mexican.
“It’s not something I hide and anytime that I can show that off, I will,” she said. "My dad always taught me to be proud to be Mexican and to be proud to be born in Mexico, I’m super proud of it.”
Tijerina’s parents and sister are her immediate family, but she also feels the support of her extended family in Salinas and Half Moon Bay, along with grandparents and an aunt who live in Mexico.
It helps that the Tijerina family loves soccer.
“Obviously soccer is very big in the Mexican culture. So whenever the Mexican national team is on, or even an American team vs. Chivas, we all get together as a family to watch the game,” she said. “My dad makes carne asada and we just eat and enjoy the game.”
As she reflects upon her journey as a student-athlete, she thanks her family for keeping her motivated to become her family’s first college graduate.
“I am super proud of my parents for motivating me every single day to just continue what I started. They remind me that I can’t play soccer if I don’t stay in school, I can’t play soccer if I don’t get good grades,” she said. “Having that motivation from my parents to stay in school and graduate has been the biggest blessing for me.”
“Yesi is the best,” DuChateau said. “She puts her nose down and gets to work. She is a joy to be around and her teammates and our staff love her. She’s another first-generation kid who is a great student. She gets things done and we are so glad that she is with us.”
“I am really happy that I made the decision to play college soccer,” Tijerina said. “I don’t know where I would be now if I didn’t.”
