SANDY, UTAH — Maria Sanchez envisioned what her role would be during the game, scouted the opponent and did exercises on the sideline to stay fresh in case she was asked to take the field in a May 3 match at Utah’s Rio Tinto Stadium.

But after the fourth game of her first professional soccer season, the American Falls native is still waiting her turn. She has recorded no playing time for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women’s Soccer League, the top women’s soccer league in the United States.

It sets up as another barrier for Sanchez to burst through, just like when she went from American Falls High School soccer player to NCAA Division I athlete to Women’s World Cup participant to being drafted by a professional soccer program and making the roster cut.

“Just like any other player, not getting any minutes is very hard,” Sanchez said. “But I understand everybody goes through that. I think how I answer to that will determine who I really am on this team.”

The midfielder received an opportunity to display her skills in preseason games. She picked up where she left off at Santa Clara University with two assists in three games in for the Red Stars in March after leading NCAA Division I in assists during the 2018 college season.

On April 8, the Red Stars announced their roster. Of the seven players drafted by Chicago this year, two made the cut, including Sanchez. She received the news in the Netherlands when she was competing for Team Mexico. Her phone was broken, but she received a notification on her computer and borrowed someone else’s phone to contact the team.

“When I actually got the news that I was being signed, it was actually crazy because the odds of that happening were close to none,” Sanchez said. “So I just felt very accomplished. All the work I put in finally paid off and of course it’s only the beginning of my professional career, but it’s very exciting.”

Sanchez, who wears No. 15 on the Red Stars, lives with Chicago goalkeeper Emily Boyd in a Chicago apartment that is about a half-hour drive from their home soccer stadium. Sanchez's transition to living in a big city was not as intimidating as being teammates with World Cup soccer players who she watched on TV, like U.S. Women’s National Team defender and World Cup champion Julie Ertz, who Sanchez received passes from in the first days of Red Stars practice.

“I’m just working hard, learning from my teammates,” said Sanchez, whose next game is Sunday against North Carolina at home. “We have some of the best players in the world on the team with Chicago, so just learning what I can from them and growing as a player and a person. Kind of seeing what they do to get better every day and just working with them.”

Sanchez’s confidence grows as she becomes acclimated with the environment, and her performances in the exhibitions games helped. She said after that juncture she thought to herself, “You’re a pro. You’re one of them.”

Her last professional soccer game was on the road against the Utah Royals, who play at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah – three hours from American Falls. Her whole family came out to watch on May 3, including her sister Liliana, who donned a Sanchez pro jersey, and her brother Samuel, who she spent her childhood facing off against in soccer.

“Honestly, it means a lot to me. It means that they’re always there to support me, like they have been my whole life,” Sanchez said. “It’s just awesome to have them here and hopefully I’m making them proud with what I’m doing.”

Sanchez did not see the field with her family in attendance, but they visibly rode the wave of emotions of the game that ended with Chicago losing 1-0 and their record falling to 1-1-2.

All of her family members still like the sound of someone saying: professional soccer player Maria Sanchez.

“Unbelievable” and “amazing” were the words her older siblings Samuel and Liliana both used in separate interviews at the game.

“She’s dreamed of this for so long and her being able to finally accomplish that — it makes (my mother) very proud,” said Liliana, who was asked to translate her parent’s words for the Journal.

Sanchez’s family reflected on the beginning of Sanchez's journey, when she brought a soccer ball wherever she went as a child. Samuel said it’s her ball control that has been a constant strength from childhood until now.

“I thought she was really good,” Samuel said. “But you’re never sure – with as much competition as there is — if she can make it that far or not.”

When Sanchez was picked 15th by Chicago in January's NWSL draft, it was a great indication she would.

“I wanted to cry,” said her mother Irene Sanchez. “I wanted to hug her. I thanked God that she was able to accomplish her goal.”