Campolindo's sister act shines light on bright future for California program

Monica and Tabatha Herrera just completed their freshmen and sophomore seasons, respectively, but together they are vital cogs for a promising North Coast Section program

Campolindo sisters Monica (left) and Tabatha Herrera / Photo: Andy Fuller/Photo360sports

MORAGA, CALIFORNIA — Their season may be over, but the future of Campolindo High School girls soccer program is bright.

The Cougars finished 12-6-3 with a 3-2 North Coast Section Division 2 first-round defeat last week, but with 14 players set to return, coach Luis Pinto's squad has much to look forward to.

For sisters, Monica and Tabatha Herrera, earning the chance to shine as freshman and sophomores was a great opportunity for their young careers, with both as major players. The fact they got to develop together was a major plus.

Older sis Tabath, a sophomore goalie, had a bit of a wider few then her freshman sensation sister, who roams the midfield and plays defense.

"Since I'm a goalkeeper, I can see the whole field," Tabatha said. "So I (was able) to communicate to her as to what I see or what she probably doesn't see herself. So maybe I helped her improve."

Monica, who plays for the Olympic Development Program, seeks help and communication at every level. It's the nature of the sport. Team work and hard work are at the forefront of soccer. Monica, with the help of her sister, is no stranger to any of it. Even at such a young age.

In fact when she got the opportunity to play for the ODP, she made sure to take full advantage of it and used it to turn some heads.

“I tried out for ODP and I originally did not make the team,” Monica said. “I recently got an opportunity to play for them and I think that it's really big for me because I’ve been working and I think going to ODP is really good because you grow as a player. You get to see other players and get a lot of exposure.”

Being a freshman on varsity definitely had its moments of being difficult for Monica, but she also believed that with every game against the top talent, the more skills she had to develop.

“With high school, playing against older girls and all of that, it’s a really big challenge,” Monica said. “I just think that it helps me grow as a player as well. And it’s just something that’s always good for me.”

As one of five freshman on a 24-person roster — Adeline Moran, Madison Powell , Mia Durden and Zoe Putnam were the others — Monica understood the learning curve that comes with being a young prospect on the squad. But, she also saw it as a chance to try and match the bar that she set each and every day. She embraced the challenge whenever she stepped between the lines.

Campolindo sisters Monica (left) and Tabatha Herrera / Photo: Andy Fuller/Photo360sports

“I have a lot of upperclassmen and I think I have to live up to specific expectations,” Monica said. “So that’s obviously something that’s really big for me and I just have to live up to those.”

The jump to playing high school soccer, let alone varsity, was a big one and throughout the winter season, Monica had been able to pick up on several key points that led to success, particularly how important it was to take every aspect of the game seriously.

“I’ve learned that I always have to try my hardest,” Monica said. “I can’t slack off, I can’t come to practice and be like ‘oh whatever, it’s just a practice.’ I always have to try hard because that always goes into games. I have to try hard at games and I really have to do anything with my playing time and just try my hardest.”

Playing club soccer in the offseason, which has the reputation of being much more serious than the high school campaign, helped with her high school season. And the high school season, in turn, will aid her club season.

But even though high school may not get taken as seriously among the players, the ones who do make varsity are the best of the best, which made Monica’s initial adjustment to the high school side more difficult than she expected.

“It’s really hard to adjust I think,” Monica said. “During club, it’s not easy but when I transitioned here, it just took me a little bit and it was just pretty difficult.”

Monica Herrera, a 2028 standout for Campolindo High School in Moraga (Calif.), is an Olympic Development Player has been playing against older players much of her life. / Photo: Andy Fuller/Photo360Sports

While still in the very early stages of her prep career, that has not stopped Monica from looking ahead to her future, citing college soccer, with a possible shot at the pros, as a big goal of hers. However, even with those big expectations that she has set for herself, she is making sure to stay humble and focused on the task at hand, recognizing that she still has a lot of hard work to do in high school before she can get there.

“I just want to go to college and then pro is obviously a really good option,” Monica said. “But again, I just have to work really hard for it.”

Luckily for Monica, a lot of what she has been able to achieve on the pitch and the success that she has experienced, she has been able to share with Tabatha.

Spending the 2023-24 season on junior varsity, Tabatha was able to sit and learn for a little bit behind the Cougars’ senior goalie. Recognizing the talent that her predecessor had, Tabatha knew that she would have to work extra hard to be able to fill the void, also taking pride in knowing that representing your school is a big deal.

“When I was a freshman, it was very hard to work up to being able to be the main goalkeeper because the senior goalkeeper was very good and I looked up to her,” Tabatha said. “So I knew I had to work hard to be able to follow in her footsteps because it was a very big role. And honestly, since you’re representing your school, you really have to try your hardest.”

Now with a full season of varsity experience under her belt, Tabatha learned a lot from her debut campaign as a starter, not only seeing just how much different the two levels are in terms of competition, but also how much she was able to develop and grow as a player.

“It’s a very big jump,” Tabatha said. “JV and varsity, they’re very different in terms of the level of play. JV, in general, is a lot less serious. So when I got to varsity, I learned that I had to take practices more seriously and I had to work harder and that it wasn’t just a practice just to have fun. It was a practice to get better and get better with your team in general so we can win games.”

Campolindo 2027 goalie Tabatha Herrero / Photo: Andy Fuller/photo360sports

A college career is very much on the radar for Tabatha, but she too also knows how hard it is to make it there and recognizes that putting in hard work will be of vital importance if she hopes to see her aspirations come true.

“I’ve definitely thought about going for college, but I definitely think I need to work more on myself because it’s very difficult,” Tabatha said. “Because I think getting to college for soccer is something that requires hard work, not just talent.”