Before the men’s soccer season officially began, senior forward El Hadj Cisse said he felt the ACC’s coaches had overlooked a few key parts of N.C. State’s offense when picking the Wolfpack to finish last in the conference.
One of those key parts, according to Cisse, is the ability of sophomore forward Alan Sanchez to make plays.
“Alan and [sophomore Jorge] Mora are the future scorers of the team. Without those two I wouldn’t be where I am right now,” Cisse said. “Last year Alan was a freshman. Now we see him as a sophomore, where they will be the No. 1 leaders next year. No. 1 in everything, because I’m leaving and we have only three seniors, and they have to take over.”
After leading the Pack in goals (eight) and points (17) as a freshman last season, Sanchez was named second team All-ACC, as well as being part of the All-ACC freshman team. And with Sanchez again leading the team with nine points on the season, coach George Tarantini said he sees Sanchez as an important part of the Pack’s current offense as well as future success.
“Alan is really considered one of the people we can grow for the future,” Tarantini said. “His talent is very evident. He’s struggling here and there a little bit, but I think his best is to come.”
Sanchez is a native of Chile, where he spent the first three years of his life. When he was 3, his family moved to Miami, where soccer became a passion for Sanchez.
Having older friends in Florida that went on to play college soccer helped Sanchez hone his skills for the collegiate level.
“I have a lot of older friends that went to college,” Sanchez said. “And when they came back they gave everybody tips and talked about negatives and positives and what you have to do to be prepared and ready for the college soccer game.”
By high school, his play was good enough to catch the eye of Tarantini in a club tournament in Orlando and receive a scholarship offer.
I saw him in a tournament a long time ago, and we followed him,” Tarantini said. “He played on a good team, and [we] began recruiting him.”
According to Sanchez, Tarantini’s personality and commitment to him as a recruit sold him on N.C. State.
“It was in a tournament in Disney for my club team that I was noticed,” Sanchez said. “And Tarantini had been following me for a year after that, and I was getting a few offers from other schools. But there was something about the way Tarantini talked to me and the fact that he was Hispanic helped a lot.”
Though Sanchez moved from Chile at 3, he still returns regularly to visit, which has provided him with some opportunities he hasn’t received in the United States.
“In Chile, I practiced with a [professional] team,” Sanchez said. “And that was a good experience because I learned a lot of things you can’t experience in the United States.”
And though Sanchez is only a sophomore, Tarantini said the Pack needs his experience and leadership to help turn around a 4-4-3 season and an 0-2-1 start in the ACC.
Sanchez, however, said he does not outwardly consider himself a leader of his team, but would rather lead by example.
“I feel like I just have to work hard like everyone else,” Sanchez said. “I don’t consider myself better than anybody, but I feel that I just have to try. I feel that the difference is that I just have to try like everybody else. I’d rather not say [I’m a leader]. I’d rather just show it on the field.”
Sanchez and his teammates will travel to Winston-Salem for a 7 p.m. game against Wake Forest this Saturday. After losing 2-1 to Radford last Saturday, Tarantini said a win against the Demon Deacons is essential for team morale, as the team has lost by only one goal in each of its four losses.
“Of course I’m disappointed,” Tarantini said. “We talk about the morale, and we talk about the effort and what we need to do. But I’m not entirely disappointed because it’s not over yet.”