Francesco Montanile remembers the feeling well. Almost too well.
After the
Brophy College Prep (Phoenix) boys soccer team lost in the 6A state title game 3-0 on Feb. 10, 2018, Montanile wanted to do everything he could to get his team back the following season and win the championship.
Well, 376 days later, the junior center midfielder in fact helped guide his squad to the title match. This time, Brophy was on the winning end of a 3-0 score against Hamilton (Chandler). Montanile, a team captain, registered the second goal to put the game virtually out of reach.
The goal was Montanile's 15th of the season to go along with 21 assists.
"He just wants to win, I know that sounds weird," Brophy coach Paul Allen said. "Whatever he had to do to help the team win he was willing to do."
That's always been Montanile's mentality. And his team-first attitude was a big reason Brophy captured the state title.
"I think last year was kind of a big awakening in that sense," Montanile said. "Carter Clemmensen (2017 national player of the year) from last year, he scored – I can't even count how many goals he scored – and the fact that we didn't win, that was everything that we lost the state championship.
"This season, I said to myself I don't think I got as many goals or assists as I would have wanted at the beginning of the season but in the end all that matters is that state championship title, and kind of carrying that is an awesome feeling."
Montanile, 17, showed this season how great of an individual and team player he is.
He was one of 150 high school juniors named as Allstate All-Americans in December and will be considered for participation in the Allstate All-America Cup this summer in Orlando.
Former Major League Soccer and U.S. men's national team members Taylor Twellman and Brian McBride will join the likes of former U.S. women's national soccer team standouts and Olympic gold medalists Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain to coach and mentor these promising high school players at the event.
Montanile is extremely humble but he certainly enjoys receiving national recognition for his on-field play.
"It's kind of like everything I've been working for," Montanile said. "Just everything I've been working for in my entire life and to see everything pay off is a big achievement for me."
Francesco Montanile in action during Arizona's Class 6A semifinal game against Chaparral.
Photo by: Darin Sicurello
After not playing a big role on his team as a sophomore, Montanile knew heading into the following season his workload would change. He elevated his game accordingly.
"I knew coming into this year attack-wise we were losing five of our starting attackers and one being the top goal scorer and one being the top assist – we were losing a ton of people," Montanile said. "I knew coming in that I had to try and create things myself, whether it was beating tons of players in scoring, beating a bunch of players in passing it off. I knew I had to get on the ball as much as possible and rely on myself to make big plays and try to put the team on my back."
Primarily a center midfielder, Montanile has the ability to play nearly any position on the field. He can transition quickly to forward or to middle back.
"It makes him more dangerous. It opens up his toolshed," Allen said. "When he goes to college, he'll have multiple positions he can play."
When Montanile competes for his club team, FC del Sol out of Phoenix, he's a forward. In past years, he's played left and right midfield.
"I think that's another part of my game that is a strength is just score smart and knowing what to do, knowing where to be," Montanile said. "I think coach knowing I'm soccer smart and he can put me in a position and I'll know the tactics behind that position and what to do. I think that's something he can rely on to put me anywhere wherever he needs me."
Whatever position Montanile plays, he's always a threat to score or get his teammates involved with a nice assist.
"I kind of see myself as more of a creator than like a goal scorer or something like that," Montanile said. "I like getting the ball, giving the ball, moving around the pitch. I'm a lot quicker, that's one of my talents is beating players one-on-one and taking the ball down the field and getting it off for an assist or something like that. I would definitely say one-on-one down the line that's kind of what I'm good at."
Said Allen: "He loves to attack people and he takes people on and that makes him very dangerous. He's also not one to reward somebody else on his team for making the proper runs."
Montanile, who verbally committed to UC Irvine on Oct. 14, 2018, is hoping to use this summer as a stepping stone as a soccer player. He might attend a couple of camps and is planning on heading to Washington to hone his skills at Crossfire Premier.
"I kind of want to see how they train, how they play in a different area of the country," Montanile said. "I know academies are a lot different from club from what I hear, so I want to try it out. I want to see how I fit in."
After a phenomenal high school season that could be tough to top next season for Montanile. But he knows there's plenty of areas to improve on.
"You can always grow in the offseason not matter how good you do," Montanile said. "There's always more things we can do: come out with a better record, maybe we win a national title next year, stuff like that. … Knowing that there's always something more to get out of it, that's what we need to do next year."
