It’s possible that there hasn’t been a person in Idaho prep history more overlooked than Maria Sanchez. Sure, there were a few of us who knew the slight, left-footed soccer player in American Falls was special. We watched her dart around scoring goal after goal and understood Sanchez was one of the best soccer players we had ever seen.

We knew.

But her family couldn’t afford to pay thousands of dollars for her to play on club teams and in showcase tournaments during the summer. If someone wants to play college soccer, they don’t do it by impressing coaches in high school, especially in the Gem State where the quality of soccer is viewed, at best, as marginal.

That’s why when Sanchez scored 178 goals in her four-year prep career, coaches across the United States ignored the accomplishment. Who cares how many she scored? It happened at the 3A level in Idaho.

If Sanchez wanted to prove to the world outside of American Falls how talented she was, she would have had to hook up with an elite soccer team in Pocatello, Boise or Utah. Only then would someone have taken notice. She never played with those teams, though, and grew up spurned by the soccer community.

Sanchez did have a few people outside of American Falls in her corner. It started with her high school coaches. Liz Roberts coached Sanchez at American Falls her freshman and sophomore seasons. Karissa Fisher took over for Roberts during Sanchez’s final two years.

Fisher, who played for Idaho State, remembers the first time she ever saw Sanchez on the soccer field.

“She’s a pure example of raw talent and pure heart,” Fisher said. “I knew she was a special player and she was going to go and do special things.”

So when Fisher heard Sanchez made the Mexican Women’s National Team and will play in the World Cup next month, she wasn’t surprised at all. Fisher sensed it was possible all along.

Fisher believed in Sanchez enough that three years ago she went to her old coach at Idaho State, Allison Gibson, and convinced her to visit American Falls.

No one would have blamed Gibson if she had been dubious. Never before had she recruited a player who hadn’t been on a club team. But once Gibson watched Sanchez play, she knew — right away she knew.

“It’s a once-in-a-career type of get as far as a recruit,” Gibson said. “The fact that you live somewhere in this country that doesn’t really have a high level of soccer is unusual. Because there are so many places that you could play. And for whatever reason, whatever family issues or financial issues, it wasn’t available to her.”

Sanchez might not have had the same opportunities so many did growing up in soccer. She didn’t participate in Olympic Development Programs or pay for one-on-one training sessions with a specialized coach. Instead, she played with her older brother Samuel and his friends. If Sanchez wanted anyone to pass her the ball she had to be great.

And Sanchez understood other girls were traveling across the United States during summers when she was home in American Falls. That just fueled her.

“It motivated me to get better and to show them that I didn’t need that,” Sanchez said. “That I loved the game (enough) to be at their level on my own.”

Find whatever word that fits — love, passion, exuberance, vigor, enthusiasm. Sanchez simply likes soccer. It’s that simple. Her whole life has been about the round ball on a pitch. Whether she’s by herself, with her brother and friends, the American Falls Beavers, the Idaho State Bengals or her new Mexican teammates, Sanchez is addicted to the game.

It’s an obsession and an infatuation. It’s got her to where she’s going — the national stage at 19 years old. Everybody has childhood dreams but few of us ever see them transform into reality.

Sanchez’s are.

Who knew?

“No coach took the love or the fun out of the game for her,” Gibson said about Sanchez missing out on competing for club teams in the summer. “There was no stress and there was no pressure. It was just pure fun and passion and love and it’s the beauty of watching her play.”