There weren’t many highlights for the St. Patrick boys soccer team this season.
The offensively-challenged Shamrocks only won two games, but the high point of their year was beating rival Notre Dame thanks to a break-out performance by Elmwood Park resident Anthony Sannicandro.
Sannicandro scored the first goal of his varsity career against the Dons on Oct. 7. He followed that with an assist when he stole the ball and found Thomas Krupa, who scored the game-winner in St. Patrick’s 2-1 victory that night.
It was Sannicandro favorite moment of the season, he said, and it provided a glimpse of the sophomore striker’s potential.
“It was just great,” Sannicandro said, of scoring against the Dons. “I didn’t think I would be scoring in the Notre Dame game.”
In fact, Sannicandro didn’t think he would play on varsity at all this season. He began the year on JV, and he said he figured he’d spend the season at that level.
St. Patrick struggled mightily to score goals early in the year, however. Elmwood Park resident Jacob Sadah, who’s a junior midfielder at St. Patrick, said it was discouraging when the team would work so hard defensively to keep itself in games, but then be unable to convert its goal-scoring opportunities.
“We were in such a need of finishers, and that’s one thing that soccer players either have or they don’t have,” St. Patrick coach Kyle McClure said. “Anthony was just a finisher, and we needed that on varsity.”
Sannicandro was pulled up to varsity permanently near the middle of the season. He finished with two goals, which tied him for the team high, and Sadah said Sannicandro’s presence on the field provided the Shamrocks with more belief.
“Anthony was huge for us because whenever he came on the field, he’s just got that energy and that speed that brings more intensity to the game,” Sadah said. “Once he’s out there, he’s working hard and sprinting, [and] everyone else just kind of steps up their game.”
Sannicandro’s speed is his biggest strength at this point in his career. An assistant coach at St. Patrick started calling him Speedy Gonzales, Sannicandro said, and that ability helped him run onto through balls and put pressure on the defense this year.
His competitive nature and confidence are two other strong attributes, McClure said, but the key for him moving forward is to develop more skills as a striker. Sannicandro’s background is very limited when compared to other varsity forwards in the East Suburban Catholic because he’s never played club soccer.
Sannicandro is already started working to improve by going to open gyms at St. Patrick, though, and when he comes home, he said he dribbles a soccer ball in his basement or his backyard every day. He also plans on playing indoor soccer this winter instead of basketball at St. Patrick.
The exciting thing for McClure and the Shamrocks is the impact Sannicandro made this year with limited experience.
“His upside is huge,” McClure said. “He was really our best goal scorer on the team and he has a lot of areas he can improve on. … As he develops his foot skills, his passing ability and more moves with the ball, he’s just going to keep getting better and better.”
