Soccer as the road to salvation

Lexington's Garcia brings unique style

For 17-year-old Diego Garcia, a transplant from Mexico, soccer paved the way for a successful transition to life in the US. Next year, he will study, and play, at BU. (Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff)

The memories of the soccer games in the backyard still ring clear in his mind: Diego Garcia, along with his father, Manuel, and his older brother, Pablo, playing through pelting rain on a summer day in their native Mexico. His mother, watching the action from the porch, cheering on her sons.

Those are fond and colorful memories from a different time, in a different land. Six years ago, with Diego about to enter the sixth grade, the Garcias moved to Massachusetts.

Through the transition, soccer was his salvation.

"It was really tough at first," said Garcia. "I didn't know anyone, know the language too well, and was coming into a new country. Soccer was how I met people, how I made friends. I joined the middle school team, then the town team, and soon my teammates became my friends inside school, too."

Garcia has developed into one of the best soccer players ever at Lexington High.

This season, the 17-year-old senior fueled the Minutemen to a perfect 18-0-0 mark in the regular season, the first perfect finish in program history. He led the always-competitive Middlesex League in both goals (21) and assists (10).

In the North Division 1 tournament, Garcia scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0, first-round win over Woburn; he then notched the game-winning assist in a 2-1 win over Brookline on Tuesday. The Minutemen were scheduled to play Framingham in a semifinal on Thursday.

Next year, the 5-foot-9, 150-pound forward will suit up at Boston University, a Division 1 program. Wearing a Terrier jersey will carry a special meaning for Garcia. His father is a professor of dentistry at BU, and both of his parents earned their degrees on Commonwealth Ave.

"We bought him BU outfits even before he was born," said Manuel Garcia. "When he came here, he kept playing soccer and it's a big reason why he was able to choose his college. It's a combo of soccer and his grades. In Mexico, sports are not as big in college. This is a very good opportunity for him. We've seen him play in 100 games since he was young, but seeing him play for BU will be very special."

Garcia learned the basics of the game from his brother, a former player at Lexington High who now attends Stonehill College. By age 13, Diego was showing enough promise on the pitch to come and play in the States, a goal for a number of his boyhood friends.

"I go home a few times a year, and my friends are always asking me what it's like to play here," said Garcia. "Most of them will be done playing in high school, and some of them will hope to play in American colleges."

Indeed, Garcia will be the first member of his family to play soccer at the college level.

"It's been fun watching him progress as a player and mature as a person," said Lexington High coach Dan Rudolph. "He plays year-round and is really committed to the sport. He's a very good captain, he sets a really good example. He's very quick, he's good around the goal, and he can score with both feet. What sets him apart, though, is his unselfishness."

A two-year team captain, Garcia brings a unique style of play to the team. Growing up in Mexico, the focus was on footwork and fine-tuning skills. Once he joined his first American team, he added speed and learned to play more physical.

His teammates, however, held high expectations before he even made the Clark Middle School team.

"All we knew was there was this kid coming from Mexico and he was really good at soccer," said senior Dan Smoot with a laugh. "We heard he was an awesome soccer player. He was the talk of the town when he was in middle school. Now, he's become one of the guys we looked up to."

Smoot, in his first year on the varsity, played with Garcia when the two were freshmen on the junior varsity roster. In the middle of that season, Garcia was called up to the varsity. He's been a starter ever since.

"I can't believe I won't be back here next year, and all my friends are going to be in different places," said Garcia. "This year has been so special. It's just incredible [to go undefeated]. Any year would've been amazing, but to do it my senior year is just as memorable."

Nearly as memorable as those rainy days in Mexico.

"I'll always remember playing in the backyard with my dad and brother. We chose one day every summer, a rainy day, and played all day until night," he said. "It was the one day my mother would let us out and play in the rain."

Sapna Pathak can be reached at sportsgalsp@gmail.com