BY GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — When coach Elias Moran took over the Edinburg North boys soccer team in 2013, Diego Sanchez, now a senior, said the Cougars didn’t really respect him.
The players were used to a different style of coaching and a different approach to the game. They were unwilling to adapt, and North struggled mightily, going just 4-12.
“It was bad,” Sanchez said. “It was his first year coaching, so I guess people would just, they wouldn’t take him serious. The team wasn’t committed to playing soccer. Everybody was just on their own.”
The next year, things started to change. The seniors who questioned Moran had graduated, and the returners bought in to his style and system. The 2014 team finished the season 9-7, setting the stage for a playoff upset against Laredo United. The momentum only continued to build this year, as North claimed the District 31-6A title with an 11-1 record — a far cry from Moran’s lowly beginnings.
“It was a long year,” Sanchez remembered of his sophomore season. “He wanted to be strict, but people wouldn’t take him strict. So it was just a mess. But thank God, junior year, everything got fixed. And now we’re in the playoffs.”
Developing a sense of family at North was a challenge for Moran, but the core group of seven senior starters who have been with him since the beginning now understand his expectations and how he runs practices.
The Cougars also had to learn Moran’s tactical approach, which can employ three or four different formations depending on the opponent and game situation.
“We believe in the system coach Moran has,” senior Silverio Hernandez said. “That’s something that has made us better over the years. That’s why we’re here.”
Added Sanchez: “It’s a weird system, but it works.”
Many players also had to adjust to new positions. With no natural defenders on the 2013 roster, players who viewed themselves as forwards or midfielders were forced back.
Two years down the road, the Cougars are more comfortable in their roles.
“The same group that struggled the first year is the same group that had success the second year, and it’s the same group that made history in the third year,” Moran said. “That’s why I’m very happy with my team. It’s like we’re climbing the ladder.”
As the team has climbed the ladder, so has Sanchez. He scored four goals as a sophomore, eight as a junior and then nine this season, all the while being North’s top threat.
“Since Day 1, I wanted to be the leading scorer,” Sanchez said. “That was my goal. And I got my goal.”
Sanchez has proven his ability to create offense in numerous ways, converting long free kicks, scoring off the dribble or distributing to his teammates. He said he thought he was a more natural passer at the start of his career, but Moran needed forwards, so Sanchez slid to the front.
“I’m the player that everybody looks for on the field,” Sanchez said. “I’m a really dangerous player.”
Indeed, Sanchez said he is sometimes shadowed by three players from the opposing team. He admitted that the attention can be frustrating, but said he simply runs until “they leave me alone.”
Moran has been impressed with Sanchez’ improved maturity. He said Sanchez spoke to him about moving to Mexico in pursuit of a professional career as a sophomore, but Moran convinced him to stay. Now, Sanchez has “excellent grades” and aspirations of playing college soccer.
“He became a leader,” Moran said. “He demonstrated a lot of growing, not only on the field, but growing more mature as a human being.”
The next rung for Sanchez and his teammates is a deep playoff run. The team’s 23-2 overall mark is the best in school history, but Moran said he doesn’t let the Cougars think much about what they’ve accomplished. The focus always remains ahead, to North’s bi-district game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Brownsville Veterans.
“Our goal and motivation is the big picture,” Moran said. “What I’ve always preached to them is, ‘Let’s make history.’ Let’s stop this tradition of staying in the first round. Lets try to move forward.”