Sandoval's moxie leads to Larkin's success

Larkin senior boys soccer player Raul Sandoval offered a blunt assessment of his former philosophy on scoring goals.

"The last 3 years all I wanted to do was blast in front of the goal," said Sandoval.

That philosophy, though, was taken out to the trash this season and replaced with one that helped lead Sandoval and Larkin to even greater heights.

"His composure was so much better than the past couple of years," said Larkin coach Ken Hall. "He got patient in front of the goal."

And as they say, patience is a virtue. Sandoval finished his high school career with a team-high 22 goals to go with 14 assists (second on the squad) for a Larkin team that went 20-2, won the Upstate Eight Conference championship for the first time in program history and advanced to a regional championship game before being upset by eventual Class 3A Elite Eight qualifier St. Charles North.

Sandoval also finishes his high school career as an honorary co-captain of the Daily Herald's All-Area boys soccer team. He shares the award this year with Streamwood junior Alex Perez.

Sandoval, a two-time all-Upstate Eight Conference selection, finished his career at Larkin with 63 goals. Hall said that ranks third on the all-time Larkin boys chart behind former Arizona State baseball player Ryan McKenna (1st) and John Takacs (2nd), also former all-area captains.

"He wanted the ball on his foot in the opponent's box," said Hall. "Good things always happened when he got it."

"I want to score and get to the ball, said Sandoval, "but first you need patience. You have to be patient out there."

Besides the patience aspect, Hall felt Sandoval's leadership skills truly blossomed this season.

"He really stepped up as a leader," said Hall. "His leadership skills were exceptional. He dedicated himself to the team game and to the success of the team. After about the second or third game he was double-teamed and sometimes triple-teamed. When that happened he passed and created more chances for his teammates."

Larkin goalie Raziel Somarriba appreciated Sandoval's leadership abilities.

"He's a good leader," said Somarriba. "He does what he needs to do for the team. He pushes everybody to try harder. During practice if we are lazy, he'll yell at everyone to step it up. He is really focused on the team doing well."

Sandoval feels leadership is was a key element of his make-up as a player this season.

"My biggest improvement is being a leader on the team on the field and out of the field," said Sandoval. "That was my biggest accomplishment I did. If you are a leader, guys will look up to you. You have to encourage them to do better, which makes the team better. Being a leader is real important."

Being swarmed by two and three opposing players at a time was something Sandoval had to get used to immediately.

"I had to keep my composure," said Sandoval. "If I didn't, I wasn't going to play the way I wanted to play."

And Sandoval had no qualms getting his teammates involved in the action.

"I had a lot of assists this year," said Sandoval, who enjoys watching Italian soccer player Francisco Totti because of his patience. "Scoring is obviously better. But an assist is important, too. It's the same thing. You are scoring. With assists, you are also doing something for the team."

Sandoval also had an uncanny way of using his head to find the back of the net this season.

"I probably had about 9 or 10 headers," said Sandoval.

Hall was impressed with Sandoval's ability to win balls in the air considering he had to deal with a natural restriction.

"He's probably 5-7 or 5-8," said Hall. "He would get up over guys that were a lot taller than he was. He won a lot of balls in the air. He did an excellent job doing that with his height."

Sandoval said the art of the header isn't something he has paid particular attention to.

"I did not know I was good at it in the air," said Sandoval. "I'm not that tall. After a couple of games I got my jump and thought, 'Oh. I could jump.' I started winning them in the air. I never practiced it. It just came out, I guess."

But that doesn't mean Sandoval dislikes that particular method of scoring.

"Every goal is special," said Sandoval, who plays for the FC Barrington club. "I really like to score the headers."

Sandoval has been involved with the game since a young age. And it's not hard to understand why he continues to play.

"I love it," said Sandoval. "It's a passion for me."

In terms of the team aspect, Sandoval looks back fondly on the recently concluded season.

"We accomplished every goal except the last goal," said Sandoval, who would like to play in college and would like to study criminal justice. "I'm very proud of this team. Unfortunately the end was not that good. But you have to think about the whole season. We went 20-2. It's the best record we've had. And we did it together. I kind of knew it would happen this year."

And Sandoval played a big role in helping make it happen for Larkin.

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