Monterey to Durham: Alejandro Robles’ Journey to Becoming a Champion

By Cameron Beall
Special to UNHWildcats.com

In his two seasons as a UNH Wildcat Alejandro Robles (Monterey, Mexico) is a two-time America East Champion and two-time reigning America East Goalkeeper of the Year. He has also been consistently ranked in the top 10 in the nation in goals against average during both seasons. It's tough to imagine how someone could see so much success in such a short amount of time, but he's been on this road for far longer than his UNH resume will show.

Robles, now 25, began his journey about 10 years ago when he started playing with Club Tigres UANL in Monterey, Mexico at the age of 15. The graduate student made a complete lifestyle change when making the move to America, but he now has as decorated of a resume as anybody could ask for including earning his MBA.

It wasn't until he was 21 years old when Robles began to look into coming to America to play college soccer. The goalkeeper cited the Wildcats' previous success as one of the main reasons why he chose Durham to be the next stop on his journey.

"I knew before I arrived here that they were champions of the America East, so I was really attracted to this program. I knew that the coaching staff was really good," explained Robles.

He also explained how the program has improved so much because the school has dipped into the talent pool from a lot of different countries. The Wildcats currently have representation from Mexico, United Arab Emirates, England, France, Italy, Sweden, Brazil and Spain.

Despite having so many international teammates, Robles said the American players made his transition easier after spending so many years in Mexico.

"You can learn English in your country but once you come to the United States it's pretty different."

In terms of the disparity between Mexican and American soccer, Robles says there is definitely a clear difference in his eyes.

"Here in America, you can see really tall and athletic players. In Mexico you see a different style of play. There are smaller players that are more technical," explained Robles. "It was really challenging for me changing from Mexican style and coming here to America. I thought I was a tall guy but then I came here, and everyone is taller than me."

Since joining the program, the team has been as successful as it ever has, and they even reached their highest national ranking ever getting as high as No. 10 in the nation. Robles has recognized what's made this year's team so special.

"I think we became a family since the beginning of the season."

Robles thinks that all the adversity the team had to endure brought them closer together and forced them to focus on their collective goal.

"It just makes us more compromising to the team during the season, sacrificing social things and family things, and be 100% into soccer all the time," said Robles.

This is something that head coach Marc Hubbard has subscribed to as well. During his media availability following the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, Hubbard noted that this year's team has an advantage that none of his others have had. This year's group has been together as a team since September and has played through an entire spring season compared to a team normally only playing through the fall.

As UNH continues to prepare for their matchup with the University of Kentucky on May 2, Robles is preparing knowing this may be one of the final times he suits up for the Wildcats.

"At the end of the day I have two dreams, one is to become a professional soccer player, and I'm already 25 so I think I need to make a decision. On the other hand, I have really good job offers from my MBA," explained Robles.

When he looks back at his time in Durham, he will have a lot to be proud of. Two-time America East Champion. Two-time America East Goalkeeper of the Year. 2021 America East All-Tournament Team. One of these will stand out among the rest for Robles, however.

"All awards are really special to me but winning that conference final has been the best for me because it's a team award, it's a team effort and we celebrate that together."

The Wildcats will take on Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, May 2 at noon on YouTube.

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