William Aligood
Alan Sanchez started playing soccer because his dad pushed him to, but the son admits he now finds some enjoyment on the field. The freshman midfielder has started all nine games for the men’s soccer team this season, and he leads the team with four goals.
He said he saw the chance to play soccer in college as a way to help the father who showed him how to play the game.
“I thought that maybe [by] doing a sport, I’ll help my father and my mom, [by them] not paying anything into college for [my] education,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez, who played high school soccer in Miami, Fla., said coach George Tarantini played a pivotal role in convincing him to come to N.C. State.
He said he felt like he could relate well to Tarantini because the coach in his 21st year is also Hispanic. He noted once he visited Raleigh and experienced the weather, he liked the school even more.
Sanchez, though, said he never could have imagined such a quick start in his freshman season.
“I didn’t expect for it to be that good,” Sanchez said. “And I never expected to start my freshman year.”
A summer arrival on campus may have helped, according to the 5-foot-11 midfielder. He also said some of his friends who played at other schools helped him understand what playing in college is like.
“I was one of the fittest when I came here. I just knew what to expect,” he said. “My other friends that went to college, they gave me mad tips, gave me a lot of tips to college and [how to] succeed.”
Tarantini said he already had an idea of what to expect from Sanchez before the player even set foot on campus because the coach had followed his progress late in his high school career.
“What Alan brings to this team is [he is] very dynamic and is very talented,” Tarantini said. “I think his ball control skills [are] what we needed in the middle of the field, and I think he’s doing very good with that.”
Fellow freshman midfielder Jorge Mora said midfielders are often setting up other people with their passes, but he said Sanchez’s shooting is good enough to allow him to mix it up between passing and shooting.
“He has a great shot,” Mora said. “And so far he’s used it, and it’s gone his way.”
After last season, the team lost Aaron King, John Queely and Bryant Salter. But Tarantini said Sanchez is helping to fill in the gap those former Wolfpack players left.
“He’s in the same level as those guys. I think it’s hard to tell, because he hasn’t finished the season yet,” Tarantini said. “But all indications [say] that we will get someone in the middle of the field who can keep control of the ball and [who] we can build from for the future.”
Meanwhile, Sanchez said he needs to play faster on the field. Mora noted it’s an area Tarantini has been working on with Sanchez in practice, but he’s confident his fellow midfielder is improving.
“Coach always gets on his case in practice about moving more off the ball and being quicker, playing quicker,” Mora said. “But that will come with time.”
Part of that growing process, junior forward El Hadj Cisse said, is Sanchez realizing just how good he can be. But Cisse said he can already see improvement in Sanchez since they met during the summer.
“He’s still improving everyday, and he’s still growing up. He’s a little kid from high school, so he’s still learning the game,” Cisse said. “And I hope he’ll be better before ACC Tournament.”
So as he takes the field Friday night at Boston College, Sanchez will play, knowing who helped him get started in soccer and what he needs to work on to keep bettering his game.
One day, he said he hopes it will be enough to earn him a chance to play professionally. But if it doesn’t, soccer’s already provided another possible path for his life by bringing him to State.
“If the opportunity comes after college, then I’ll take it,” Sanchez said. “If not, I’m using soccer to get an education and get a degree.”