NICO PASCUAL-LEONE
As a senior soccer captain at Wayland High School (class of 2012), Pascual-Leone was a 20-goal scorer, and earned all-state honors after leading the Warriors to the Division 3 North final.
At Amherst College, he has continued to make big plays, helping to lift the Lord Jeffs, ranked 11th in Division 3, to an 8-0-2 start . Earlier this season, the 5-foot-11-inch junior forward/attacking midfielder exploded for two goals and an assist in a 4-1 victory over archrival Williams.
“Nico’s a special player and a special person who embraces his role and is never satisfied,’’ said Amherst’s head coach, Justin Serpone.
His brother, Andres, is a senior captain at Wayland this fall.
Q. What are your earliest soccer memories?
A. Being coached in Wayland Youth Soccer by my father, Alvaro, who is originally from Valencia, Spain, and played soccer there. He taught me positioning but more importantly to enjoy the game, and I can remember that instead of sleeping with a teddy bear as a very young boy, I slept with a soccer ball.
Q. What was the high point of your high school soccer career?
A. Scoring the winning goal my senior season in the North sectional semifinals in overtime in a 1-0 game against North Andover, which had beaten us in the sectionals the previous year. It was a curling shot to the left top corner.
Q. How was your transition to the college game?
A. It was made easier by 10 seniors who took us under their wing, but everyone seemed to be bigger, stronger, and faster than my opponents in high school or when I played club soccer. It took awhile to figure things out, like not letting the game come to me on defense.
Q. Amherst won the New England Small College Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles last season, but for the second straight year you were defeated by Williams by identical 1-0 scores in the NCAA tournament. What effect did that have on you?
A. That one play can change a game, so I continue to focus on every moment and every little detail because that’s what can make a difference.
Q. What was the most satisfying aspect of the recent win over Williams?
A. There was some consolation, of course, but more important was we did it with several of our graduated seniors in the stands at Amherst.
Q. What is your major and your career goal?
A. Chemistry. I’m on a prehealth track. My father is a neurologist at Beth Israel Deaconess and I would also like to be a doctor some day. When I was in Spain last summer, I visited with and observed two family friends, a pediatrician and a general practitioner.
Q. Is Valencia special to you?
A. Yes. The roof of our family’s house overlooks the ocean, and I love sitting there relaxing, reading or hanging out with friends.
Q. What is your most offbeat college experience?
A. I’m a residential counselor and one of my colleagues last year was choreographing a two-day dance recital. I wound up doing a Latin ballroom dance. I was probably in over my head, but it was great to meet new people, and maybe this year I can get some of my soccer guys to participate.