There’s a reason why Sara Yamasaki has been on the cover of the Cal State University East Bay women’s soccer schedule card for two straight years: Simply put, she is the embodiment of everything that’s right with college athletics, a student-athlete who is thriving on and off the field.
Yamasaki, 21, enters her senior year at the Hayward school as one of the team’s leaders and standouts, a talented and gritty 5-foot-3 defender who doesn’t give an inch to bigger players—literally. The 2011 San Benito High graduate started all 18 games in 2013 for the Pioneers, who open the season at home against Fresno Pacific on Sept. 5.
Yamasaki, who rarely comes off the field, fell just 20 minutes short of playing every minute of the 2013 season. The only time Yamasaki missed was an overtime period in the team’s 1-1 tie against Cal State Los Angeles.
Early in the overtime period, Yamasaki went up for a header before taking an elbow to the forehead. Yamasaki didn’t suffer a concussion but nonetheless was dazed and woozy, forcing her to sit out the rest of the contest. Not that she wanted to come out.
“I wanted to stay out there,” Yamasaki said. “But I guess cooler heads prevailed.”
However, Yamasaki was back on the field two days later against Cal State Dominguez Hills, albeit with a gigantic knot on her forehead and a puffy black eye. When she was out in the public, Yamasaki received strange looks—no surprise there.
On the athletic field, however, those marks served as a badge of honor.
“It was pretty awesome,” she said. “At that point with the way I looked, opponents were scared to see me play. We were traveling with the men’s team at the time, and they were saying how the marks on my face were so bad ass. All of the coaches said I looked pretty cool, too. In an intense sport like soccer, playing with those marks just showed my passion and my willingness to not give up.”
Simply put, the words “give up” don’t exist in Yamasaki’s vocabulary, a testament to her resolve and upbringing. Recruited out of high school as a midfielder, Yamasaki was inserted to the center fullback position before her junior season for the Pioneers.
The move suited her just fine—she played the position on her club team—and it took advantage of her vision, technical skills and the ability to stay calm on the ball.
“I like controlling the flow of play on defense and seeing the play develop,” she said. “The coaching staff knew they could trust me, and I really liked playing the position.”
Yamasaki’s first memory of soccer wasn’t a pretty one. She recalls being at Cerra Vista Elementary School during one of her youth team’s practices, then puking.
“I was a little girl running around the field, and I’m pretty sure I threw up,” she said. “Not exactly positive, but I think that’s what happened.”
In addition to doing well in school, Yamasaki has already shown her abilities in the workforce. Last year Yamasaki said she was promoted to a regional consultant role for College Works Painting, where she runs a team of 14 branch managers in the Bay Area.
Yamasaki said there’s a reason why she hasn’t spent her summers in Hollister since she arrived at CSUEB: As a business major, she’s focusing on her career and making connections with startup companies throughout the Bay Area.
“I’m taking advantage of all the opportunities the Bay Area has to offer,” she said.
Yamasaki credits her parents, Eric and Lili, for pushing her to excel in everything she did, whether it was with sports or schoolwork. Eric is an engineer and played college baseball at San Jose State, and both of the parents’ steadying presence helped instill a drive in Yamasaki that is evident today.
“I was fortunate my mom was able to stay at home and raise me and my two younger brothers,” Yamasaki said. “I was led down the right path, and I guess I have a fire underneath me in everything I do.”
It shows.
