GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Sharyland High junior Isabella Marinaro has built her game by following her favorite professional sides. Rather than just watching casually, Marinaro finds players at her aggressive midfield position and models her game after the way they move, dribble and attack.
She likes to watch Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Paris Saint-Germain and Luis Suarez of Barcelona, but her true favorites are two of Suarez’s teammates: Neymar and Lionel Messi.
“They’re my idols,” Marinaro said. “My top dream is to be a soccer player, so I can follow them.”
Marinaro may be a long way from the pro ranks, but in her third varsity season she’s continued to establish herself as one of the Valley’s best players. She’s scored more than 25 goals for the second consecutive year, including 19 in Sharyland High’s undefeated run through District 31-5A.
Her next challenge is the playoffs, which Sharyland opens tonight with a matchup against Edcouch-Elsa at 6 p.m.
“In my years of coaching, she’s probably got the strongest leg that I’ve ever had in a player,” Sharyland High coach Aaron Clemons said. “This year, she’s really dedicated herself to conditioning and getting in shape and getting stronger and getting faster. It’s come out in her play.”
Marinaro said she’s comfortable putting shots on net from as far as 60 yards out, and that she’s confident hitting her spot from 30 or 40.
Although she spent the past offseason working with the Taylor Sports and Human Performance Lab, she credits her strong leg less to the weight room and more to her time playing at her home in Pachuca, Mexico from age 5 up until she moved to Mission for the start of middle school.
“It’s something I’ve always had,” Marinaro said. “Since I was little, I could kick from anywhere, and it will probably go in.”
Marinaro also counts dribbling, quick thinking and communication among her strengths.
With Marinaro flanked by other proven scoring options in sophomore Kaitie Watson and junior Vanessa Guevara, Sharyland High has been among the Valley’s most potent offenses. Clemons said he would hate to have to come up with a defense for the Lady Rattlers. Watson added that she and Marinaro have split the scoring load from their position at the center of the midfield, with both proving to be threats either passing or finishing.
“Isabella is a fantastic player,” Watson, the 2015 All-Valley Newcomer of the Year, said. “She has a great leg. She can take shots from like the 30-yard line and make them. She’s just an all-around player. She can dribble. She can pass. She can shoot. Anything.”
Marinaro’s vast and varied skillset has her optimistic she will be able to find a home at the college level. Already she’s been in contact with UTRGV and a few schools in Florida, where she spent the first five years of her life after being born in Miami.
Clemons said he had no doubt Marinaro could succeed on that level, even at a position other than her typical midfield role.
“This year I’ve had her play some defense, and it’s crazy to watch her clear a ball,” Clemons said. “It’s crazy. I always tell her, she’s stuck on wanting to play offense, but I said when it comes down to the next level, you might be a great defender.”
If professional soccer never comes to fruition, Marinaro hopes to have a career in the medical side of athletics.
After spending eight months volunteering to transport patients and deliver lab results at Rio Grande Regional Hospital, Marinaro has started shadowing at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance. Typically, she tags along for check-ups on babies in the ICU, where the doctor can explain what’s wrong and how they’re being treated.
“I’m looking into studying medicine in college — pre-med or something related,” Marinaro said. “I want something related to sports, too.”