FGCU men’s soccer player honors late childhood friend

Even though senior defender Sebastian Soriano has only been playing for the Florida Gulf Coast men’s soccer team this season, he found teammates that bring a smile to his face.

“The team took me in like from the first week,” Soriano said. “So I built a close bond with them from the start.”

Soriano knows the impact teammates can have. They can become your closest friends. Just like Ivan Alarcon, or Mex as his friends called him. The two met playing for Weston Academy when they were kids.

Soriano recalled, “I was the youngest guy. And honestly both of us would always been on the bench. We didn’t play much. And he’d be the at older figure to me that would really push me and keep me going.”

Soriano said Alarcon kept him involved in the sport and pushed him to be better. That’s what made Alarcon’s passing at the age of 17 devastating.

“I remember the last FaceTime calls I had with him and yeah it definitely took a lot out of me,” Soriano said “That was really the first person at that age that I lost.”

Alarcon’s passing changed the way Soriano looked at the game.

Soriano explained, “I felt like I was really playing with a purpose every time. Because before that, honestly I’m playing for fun. I’m playing for myself. I’m playing make my mom happy. But after that, it was more so you know I got somebody that can’t be here.”

That’s why Soriano got a tattoo. Then, on senior night, he wore a shirt under his jersey that read “Long Live Mex.”

When asked what he’d tell his friend if he was here today, Soriano answered, “I’d just tell him Mex, I love you bro. I miss you everyday and I hope you’re proud of me.”