Northern California will be home to Black Hawks SC, to debut this fall

TAMPA, Florida – When Javier Pedroza debuts his new team in Major Arena Soccer League 2 later this fall, he will have quite a different perspective on pro indoor soccer.

Pedroza is the new owner of the Soccer Central Black Hawks FC, who will play out of Watsonville, California, just inland a bit from Monterrey Bay, in between the Monterrey Peninsula and Santa Cruz. So while his view in 2025-26 will be from the owner's box, Pedroza also had a birds-eye view of the game, so to speak, between 2013-15 as he spent 18 games in the PASL between 2012-14 as a goaltender for the Turlock Express and Bay Area Rosas.

His best season came for 9-7 Turlock in 2012-13 when he appeared in eight games, and posted a 6-2 record with 6.31 goals against average and an impressive .751 saves percentage. He recorded two assists in his time in the PASL and he played professionally outdoors in Argentina for eight years as well

The team will play its home games at Soccer Central in Watsonville. The Black Hawks name is an homage to an earlier stop in Pedroza's soccer past as well, the name of a club team he played on as a youngster in Watsonville, where he was born and raised. 

“There's a lot of talent in this area, and this is an opportunity to help out youngsters to get them motivated and inspired to grow their game,” Pedroza said. “It's a face paced game. The programs around here a pretty good, and I see a lot of potential in them, so this is an avenue for them to pursue. We will find the right players – you need to go all out – to adjust to the indoor game and think we can be very competitive.”

MASL 2 Commissioner Chris Economides said breaking ground in a new market presents an intriguing opportunity for the league and MASL pyramid.

“Northern California is an exciting area for the MASL family to expand into, and Javier has the background and the passion to make it a strong team,” Commissioner Chris Economides said. “His background in the pro indoor game in particular will serve the league and the club well, and we look forward to watching Watsonville and the surrounding area's help grow the club.”

MASL 2 will start its ninth season of play late this fall with teams from coast-to-coast and three in Mexico including Mexico City, North America's largest city. More information on the league is available at www.masl2.com.