Medina-Mendez Uses Speed To Achieve Success In Inaugural Campaign

Speed — it is an element of sports that can change the outcome of a game. A stolen base, a fast-break score, or an ankle-breaking sidestep. These are all aspects of speed, and a team with speed can be a worthy adversary. Fortunately for the Boston College men's soccer team, Diego Medina-Mendez has speed.

The freshman winger has become a mainstay in the Eagles' lineup, despite his lack of exposure to the quick pace of ACC play. Thus far, this inexperience hasn't stopped him.

"At first, the pace was really fast," he said. "I went in for like 30 minutes and I was pretty tired, but I'm really used to it now."

This is an interesting statement from arguably the fastest player on the Eagles' squad. When asked if he is the quickest player, Medina-Mendez does not instantly deny it. Instead, he says that junior Charlie Rugg is definitely his biggest rival in that category. The two have yet to race, Medina-Mendez said with a laugh, but it is clear that the first-year starter has confidence in his skill set. Regardless of the rank, his quickness has been a great asset for the Eagles.

The freshman has helped head coach Ed Kelly's squad more than he could have ever expected in his first season. He has six goals and one assist for the regular season, putting him in fourth place on the team for points with 13.

Medina-Mendez, though a true catalyst for the squad, still shows the humility of a freshman. He realizes the pressure he has created for himself as an essential member of a nationally-ranked program and is aware of the strides he has been forced to make throughout the season.

"It's all been coming quickly," he said. "I knew I was going to come in here and try my best to start and play a lot of minutes, but I didn't expect to be starting 13 of the 16 games we've been playing and just playing as much as I've been playing."

He first became involved with the sport as a child. He credits one figure as the driving influence behind his love for the sport.

"My dad," he said. "He always talked about how he used to play back in the day and how good he was. So, he signed me up and from then on I just kept playing."

For the Lindsay, Calif. native, playing with and against older competition, as well as in a faster style of game, is nothing new. He has faced more experienced competition for years.

"Since I was younger, I've been playing against people older than me," he said. "When I was 12, I was playing with U-18 teams. So, I'm kind of used to being the smaller guy and just coming in and getting used to the level of play pretty quickly."

Medina-Mendez continued this transition to faster and more mature competition when he transferred to Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts. As a senior, he led the Hoggers to the New England Class A championship. During this campaign, he set the single-season scoring record with 27 goals and 10 assists. Medina-Mendez also showcased his speed on the track. As a senior, he finished third for New England prep school runner in the 400 meters.

When asked if he's used his training from track to increase his quickness on the pitch, Medina-Mendez doesn't see too much of a correlation.

"No, there's no specific training I do," he said. "I just run."

While he's tried to use simplicity such as this in his approach to advance throughout the season, he's still a freshman and has needed time to develop his game on the fly. He's narrowed down several areas where he's needed to adapt to the advanced competition and worked tirelessly to perfect his art.

"Playing the ball a lot quicker has been an adjustment," he said. "Getting rid of it and not dribbling as much. Passing it around and only taking one or two touches."

The speedster also understands his personal skill set, and he tries to utilize these qualities on the pitch.

"Probably my speed and my ability to take people on in one-on-ones, and maybe scoring a few goals," he said of his strengths.

Despite having confidence in these areas, the freshman continues to develop in all facets of his game. Fortunately, Medina-Mendez has great mentorship on a squad dominated by upperclassmen. Players like Rugg, Amit Aburmad, and Kyle Bekker are just some of the players who have helped the freshman get up to speed on the challenges of the rigorous ACC.

"Every time I mess up or do something wrong, they correct me, they tell me what to do and they'll even kind of yell at me, sort of," Medina-Mendez said. "I don't yell back, but I know I messed up. They're just trying to help me out, so it's been great to have them around."

For Medina-Mendez, this mentorship has led to a strong freshman performance and prepared him well for a bright future in the ACC.

It seems that he has the tools to lead this team on its run through the postseason.