March 28, 2024 | SPORTS | By Grace Ersfeld-O’Brien
Alexis Wessler ’24 and Alex Sandoval ’24 have been best friends since the beginning of their careers on Colorado College’s soccer team. Now, they’re taking on their fifth year together –– a decision which, given their prowess in their sport and key role on the team, was easy to make.
As head coach Keri Sanchez puts it, “Being at this kind of school, you’re really set up to be gone in four years, which means you really need to slow down your graduation.” Both Wessler and Sandoval, she says, are “high-quality players and high-quality people, and both excel in their OBE majors.”
What’s more, there are “a lot of successful programs are doing great because they have so many fifth years… it’s just that much more experience and game time and maturity and strength.”
In Wessler’s own words, “I wasn’t really ready to stop playing soccer yet, and that was the biggest factor.” Sandoval echoes that sentiment, saying “My dad always told me: don’t grow up too fast. Being able to play college soccer is a special thing; I just want to spend more time with Lexi and the rest of the team.”
Sandoval and Wessler’s dynamic on and off the field is rare. They grew up playing for the same soccer club in Colorado, but didn’t know each other well until they became roommates during their freshman year at CC. As far as their chemistry as teammates, Wessler states, “I trust [her]. I know what she’s thinking without her having to say anything, and that trust makes us work so well together.”
Sandoval says, “I trust her more than anybody. We have a lot of chemistry. We know how each other plays, and it’s just… very intuitive, I guess.”
In terms of their personalities, the two complement each other well. Sandoval says, “We have a similar sense of humor, so I can laugh with her about anything. She’s one of those people in your life who you can say anything to and do nothing around and still have a good time with.” Wessler says her relationship withSandoval is unlike any other teammate relatiionship “…with her, it’s definitely special.”
Sanchez says that both girls, being more reserved and introverted by nature, are, “from a coach’s perspective, sort of those quiet, not flashy players. They do all the dirty work, and don’t care about the accolades. If they get a pat on the back, great, but they don’t necessarily need it.”
She elaborates that while both are confident players, getting them to embrace their essential role on the team has been exciting.
“What’s fun is that they don’t really get how good of players they are. We’ve started to tell them; you guys have got to be it for us. Run the show. Because Wes[sler] can make something happen regardless of where she starts, and Wessler makes great decisions on the ball in those high-pressure moments.”
Similarly, seeing them grow as social leaders on the team has been rewarding for Sanchez. “They’ve started to push past that comfort zone and become more vocal leaders than strictly leading by example.”
The pair have seen each other through many obstacles over their time at CC. Coming in, Wessler was strictly a midfielder, and transitioned to center-back because the team needed her in that position, which she says was “a pretty high pressure moment; I just kind of had to adapt to a position I didn’t know how to play.”
“Playing with pressure is a privilege, and the trust I have with Sandoval helps with that,” continued Wessler.
A major roadblock their freshman year was COVID. Because of a stunted first season, “they didn’t get to answer the question ‘what is college soccer?’ their first year,” says Sanchez.
Reflecting on that transitional period, Alexis notes, “We had each other through that, even though we didn’t get to make deeper bonds with other girls on the team.”
Sandoval says, “We had a weird compilation of games in the spring that year, and that was when I tore my ACL.”
Sandoval’s injury was her second time tearing her ACL, following the first in high school. She was out all of sophomore year and got back on the field officially by her junior year.
“I spent hours on end in the training room. That was my recovery process… I don’t think I got clear until about a year after I got surgery, then I slowly eased back into practice.”
Wessler, she says, was a huge support for her at that time. “I just vented, talked about how frustrating the whole thing was, and she took me to my doctor’s appointments.”
Sanchez praises the mental strength of both Sandoval and Wessler in the wake of the injury.
“So, now Wes[sler] had to do her true freshman soccer campaign, without her best buddy, who’s rehabbing again.” And as for Sandoval, she “obviously has amazing perseverance to come back from an injury like that,” especially considering that “tearing the same ACL twice is relatively uncommon.”
Reflecting on what adversity has taught her, Sandoval says, “I think with anything, or with any player, as you get older, you kind of just develop an aura of confidence, maturity, you step into a leadership role. I’ve had some pretty big injuries, so learning how to deal with adversity, having the resilience to get through stuff. Just like learning who I am outside of soccer is a huge thing.”
Both Sandoval and Wessler’s leadership and experience has inspired their teammates, as Kaelin Enga ‘25 says, “Alex has also helped guide me through a couple of tough injuries this past year, which I am so grateful for. Wessler and I were captains in the fall, and she helped me grow in my confidence and truly be myself.”
She notes Wessler for her “humor and kindness,” while saying Sandoval has an “emotional intelligence that makes everyone, including myself, feel really seen and heard.”
Make sure to keep an eye out for these two peas in a pod next year on Stewart Field as they venture into their final collegiate year playing for CC.