Alex Rose

Bright flashes danced across the television screen in front of a five-year-old Alex Rose. But it wasn’t the colorful children’s cartoons that normally captivate the mind of a five-year-old. It was the immaculate passing, flamboyant style of play and prolific goal-scoring that characterized the Manchester United squad, then led by Cristiano Ronaldo. Sitting next to his dad on a cozy Sunday morning in their Cary, North Carolina home, Rose began to daydream. He pictured himself decked in the iconic jerseys of the Red Devils who so enthralled him. He dreamed of matching Ronaldo’s ability to be perfectly positioned in front of the net. He fantasized about the cheers that would follow his name as he challenged the keeper and became the greatest goal scorer to ever live. And as he shook himself from the dream, he peered out the window to the empty field behind his house.

Lonely, barren and anxious for a purpose, the field called to him. He tugged at his older brother Pierce and together they marched onto the field where they would spend hours upon hours kicking a soccer ball back and forth. They brought to the field not only a new purpose, but gathered the neighborhood kids and gave it new life. When their dad, Robert, installed a goal, the field became the hub for the children’s after school activities. With the support of his parents, Rose spent his childhood with a soccer ball for a shadow.

Rose knew from a young age that he had serious talent and asked his parents to help him get better.

They obliged, enrolling him first in the Lil’ Kickers program and soon after in Next Level Academy, the indoor soccer program conveniently located just up the road. As Rose grew, so did his skills. Next Level established a foundation of clean technique, as well as the mental toughness that he would later need to play elite level soccer.

Rose’s mom, Pam, saw that as the most important development, as well as what set Rose apart, “There was one coach even when they were five and a lot of the parents were like ‘Oh my god, I can't believe he just talked to this five year old like this!’” laughed Pam, “Alex was like ‘bring it on!’ I could just tell that mentally, he could handle the tough coaches.”

Rose’s unique ability to absorb criticism helped him excel. He went on to play for North Carolina FC club teams for the rest of his youth career where his dedication helped him become better and better.

But Rose’s club teams required more than just dedication; they required complete commitment and prohibited playing for school teams. But Rose’s mom fought for his right to play, saying “I know his coach didn't like it but we just did it anyways because it just wasn't fair to be that young and not be able to experience that.” 

Rose played for his middle school basketball team, his club soccer team, and finally, in eighth grade, he tried out for his middle school soccer team. Unfortunately, during tryouts Rose injured his groin. With his love for the game driving him forward, he was anxious to play, but his repeated attempts to return early left him constantly reinjured, ultimately keeping him off the field for a year.

Once he was finally healed, he was able to return to his club team, though only two games were left in the season: his team was in the semifinals for the state championship. Rose refused to let his year out stop him. He scored the game-winning goal in the semifinal match, giving his team a 2-1 victory and a shot at the State Cup. And he didn’t stop there. In the tournament final, Rose scored a hat-trick and his team ultimately won 6-2.

But now Rose faced a new challenge. He was not only transitioning from middle to high school, but also transitioning from his current club team to a new level: the NCFC Academy.

“I didn't know if I was going to make the Academy team or not,” said Rose. “I was really nervous about making it. I kind of just planned on playing for high school my freshman year. But then I ended up making the team so I think that was the big transition from taking it to another level and hopefully trying to play college soccer.”

The Academy directed Rose straight into the arms of national attention. He began scoring goals, and once he started, he didn’t stop. In his four years at NCFC, Rose netted 90 career goals, with at least 25 per season in his last three seasons. He became the top goal scorer in the entire Academy for two years.

With his success, Rose began to set his sights on the future.

“It was a big commitment at first, but I knew it was good in the long run for getting me into a good status for division 1 colleges to look at me,” Rose said. “It definitely helped me out with my career.”

That proved true when Rose was called up to attend an IMG residency program in Bradenton, Florida for a semester in high school. Here, Rose simultaneously took classes and trained with the U-17 national team alongside the best young players in the nation. He played with future soccer stars, including the likes of Christian Pulisic.

“It was a wonderful experience to be able to wake up and play soccer with some of the best kids in the nation and take classes down there,” said Rose. “Just being able to say that I’ve played with some of those guys, it's just an incredible experience.”

From sitting as a five-year-old boy watching his idols on TV to sprinting across the field with the next generation of the world’s best players, Rose’s love for his sport had set him on the road to greatness.

* * *

By 16 years old, Alex Rose was on the path to becoming a young phenom, but uncertainty lay ahead. Where would this journey take him? 

In the summer of 2015, it took him to Palo Alto, California.

With his mom flying back and forth between California and North Carolina for work, she encouraged him to take a trip to participate in a soccer camp at Stanford. Recruitment offers from other universities had begun flowing in, with an offer from Duke coming just a few days before his visit out West.

Racing around the pitch with 500 other kids at the camp, Rose fought to be noticed. And after four days of showing off his skills under the summer sun, Rose was finally on the Stanford team’s radar. Assistant coach John Smith approached his mom and said, “Hey, the coach would like to talk to you. Can you meet us at this golf cart?”

Anxious and confused, Rose and his mom obliged. Smith began leading them on a tour, noting the beautiful campus and the building where Rose would have private chefs cooking for him. As Rose began to fall in love with the school, the thought that ran through his mom’s head on a loop was, “I don’t know what’s happening here!”

As the tour ended, they met up with head coach Jeremy Gunn who drove the group to lunch. Pam, still unsure, instructed Rose not to say anything until they knew what was happening. Finally, Gunn began to explain.

“Alex, you did a great job this week,” said Gunn. “I’m really interested, but what other offers have you gotten?”

Pam chimed in, “Oh, he just got an offer from Duke.”

“Okay, well I’d like to make you an offer right now. I’ll offer you a full ride for four years.” replied Gunn.

Silently, Pam reiterated to Rose that they needed to be patient. Without giving a response, they returned to their home in Cary. But the answer was clear.

“The campus was just unreal, the soccer was there, it’s just top education, everything was there so that definitely drew my interest,” said Rose. He called Gunn and told him that he would love to play for him. With the deal processed, Rose officially committed to Stanford.

He finally had some certainty: he would be able to play soccer in college, and do it for the Stanford Cardinals. The only uncertainty was his acceptance into the school. Gunn reminded Rose that despite Rose sitting as his number one recruiting pick, he had no pull in the admissions process.

To ensure his success, Stanford took the reins. They instructed him to take certain AP classes in high school so that he would meet the requirements for acceptance into the school: a 4.0 GPA, a 28 on the ACT, and no C’s.

With the help of Stanford’s instructions on which courses to take and his own work ethic, Rose easily cleared the 4.0 GPA requirement. But he earned a 22 on his first ACT.

With Stanford’s minimum requirement of a 28 looming over his head, Rose doubled down and spent his entire summer studying. Three times a week, for two hour sessions, Rose sat with ACT tutors equipped to help him get his score up. Even with rigorous studying, though, most people say you’re only likely to improve upon your original score by one or two points. Rose was never one to be held back by expectations. On his second try, Rose earned the required 28.

He checked off two of the required three boxes.

But remember that amazing opportunity to train with the national team?

Well, as it turned out, Rose’s move down to Bradenton proved precarious for his future. The four classes he had taken in Florida couldn’t be transferred back to his high school in North Carolina. Each class only counted for half semester credit so he had to retake the courses when he returned home.

Rose felt confident in his ability to succeed because he knew most of the material already, but struggled to transition back from a life focused on soccer to one focused on school. He earned a fateful C in his junior year precalculus course.

Coach Gunn called. “'Hey, it went through admissions,” he said, “Again, I have no pull in this, I really want you, you're my number one pick but I can't…”

Alex Rose’s commitment to Stanford fell through. He decided that if he wasn’t going to go out West, he wanted to stay local. Growing up with a dad who attended UNC, he had spent a great deal of time in the southern slice of heaven. Rose returned to his roots and now proudly calls himself a Tar Heel.

“I’m absolutely blessed that I didn’t get into Stanford because it’s been awesome here,” said Rose. “Since I stepped on this campus day one it’s been an amazing experience so I’m definitely glad that I ended up at UNC rather than Stanford.”

* * *

Coach Carlos Somoano turned Alex Rose’s world upside down. Somoano barks out orders from the sidelines. He puts his hands on his head in frustration when his team isn’t performing and doesn’t mince words in postgame discussions. His style may be intimidating, but it's certainly effective.

Rose saw its merits early when he was playing alongside former teammate Jeremy Kelly on a U-16 NCFC Academy team. Somoano had taken over as their head coach, and wasn’t afraid to implement tactics that would lead his team to victory.

“We could kind of see that he was not holding back even on high school kids,” said Rose. “We had it at an early age but we understood that it was only trying to get us better.”

With Rose on his team, Somoano faced a new coaching challenge: making him a well-rounded player without detracting from his goal-scoring. Rose’s mindset stood out as something truly unique to Somoano, “From the get-go, there's one thing that was really clear about Rosey: he was always very spirited and very natural in front of goal. He's just always had this instinctual ability to score goals, really. It's really more this obsession than anything else. It's not like you had to teach him that.”

Rose credits Somoano immensely with shaping his game, “When he came into our team, he definitely helped us out a lot and improved me as a player and definitely changed the outlook of the game for my eyes.”

However, the relationship between the pair wasn’t always so, well, rosy. Pam Rose recalls driving a 15-year-old Rose and his teammates home after a particularly brutal practice. After she finished dropping off the rest of the boys, Rose turned to his mom and burst out, “My dream was always to play at Carolina, but after Carlos coaching us, I’ll never play for him. I’ll never ever play for him!”

A now 21-year-old Rose looks back on this moment laughingly. Though swearing never to play for him again, Rose has just completed his third collegiate season under Somoano. Having grown up with the rigor of Somoano’s coaching, Rose was prepared for the mental toughness required in college. He has learned to trust his coach. “You gotta learn, you gotta adapt to it.” said Rose. “He just wants to see you working hard and see if you can adapt to his style. If you can work hard, show that you’re working hard, training every day, he’ll give you your chance.”

And at the beginning of his freshman year, Rose got his chance.

Rose was one of the newest recruits for UNC’s men’s soccer team and excitedly donned the Carolina blue jersey. As a freshman, he was already earning minutes in the first few games of the season. It didn’t take long for him to make an impact.

In UNC’s second game of the season against Rutgers, Rose had been offered a starting spot. His family sat excitedly in the stands. “Carlos obviously had the confidence in him to put him in there and it was just amazing,” said his mom. “I always know he has this determination like ‘just get the ball.’ As long as he gets the ball, he'll score.”

She was right. In the 30th minute of the match, teammate John Nelson faced a lone goalkeeper and sent a rocket towards him. The ball curved left but ricocheted off the Rutgers keeper back towards the center of the box. Lying in wait was “fox in the box” Alex Rose, who tapped the ball cleanly into the back of the net. With his family cheering from the stands, Rose proved that the chance Somoano had offered him was well-deserved.

Rose went on to earn minutes in three more games that season before disaster struck.

Driving on his moped through campus, Rose began to round a blind corner. A car pulled out and Rose realized he would either have to hit the car or throw himself to the ground. Rose tilted the moped down and hit the road, earning himself a hole through his foot that put him out for a month.

“It was just kind of different because it was adapting to college life, coming in as a freshman and you’re out there playing and doing well and just all of a sudden you’re just not playing anymore,” said Rose. “It kind of sucks because you’re not out there with your team, wanting to help them out, help them win games.”

Benched for the season, Rose began to spiral. Frustrated at his lack of playing time even after recovering from his injury, he considered drastic measures.

“As a freshman, not playing, get injured, come back and you’re ready to play but you’re still not playing,” said Rose. “You have this arrogant type of manner where you’re like ‘oh well if I’m not playing here, I could be playing somewhere else.’” He was considering transferring.

But things changed when he began to bond with his teammates. He began to see Carolina in a new light. Rose thought, “Okay maybe this isn’t the best decision. This has been an amazing place, I’ve met amazing friends, amazing people here, the education is world class, even if soccer doesn’t work out you’re still getting a degree from UNC which is, at the end of the day, incredible.”

With this realization, Rose decided to recommit himself to his team and his sport. He remained at UNC and eventually things began to look up.

* * *

In the 2019 fall season, Alex Rose scored the team high seven goals, had two assists, and earned 16 points. He had 30 shots, 11 on goal and two game-winning goals. He ended the season with 1,044 minutes and played in 17 games with 15 starts.

UNC goalkeeper Alec Smir has seen how Rose’s raw talent, coupled with his growth every year, has made him an even better player. “It's obvious he just keeps getting better and better each season.” Smir said. “He's always just moving around and he knows where to be at the right time and his ability to score in the box is just really, really good.”

Rose is a prolific goal-scorer and he attributes that to his focus. “There’s 90 minutes in the game so you just gotta be focused all game,” said Rose, “You never know when that one chance is going to pop up right to you so you just gotta be ready and try to be in the right spot.”

But what really matters to Rose is trust. With each pitfall he’s faced, from losing his spot at Stanford to being sidelined by an injury in his freshman season, Rose holds onto this belief. “I have a feeling that all things happen for a reason,” said Rose. “I'm a big believer in that. I think it’s just trusting the coaches and waiting your time and trusting in the older players as well. I knew that good things would come if you just keep your head down and work.”

Though Rose saw these good things manifest for himself last season, his team didn’t. Lacking consistency and unable to find the right formation, the team went 7-7-4 and failed to make the NCAA tournament. This disappointing finish made Rose even more determined to improve next year, “The goal is to win the national championship, ACC championship, and be number one at the end of the season,” Rose said. “Obviously there’s high expectations, high goals here but just to do something, win something as a team.”

With his senior year fast approaching, Rose is beginning to consider his legacy with the team at UNC. “I just want to inspire the guys on our team right now, the guys that are gonna be coming in and the guys that are going to be thinking about coming here,” said Rose. He adds that his goal includes “leaving a good legacy behind that inspires a good Carolina culture that has been with this Carolina soccer program forever”

Most importantly, he is grateful for what soccer has already given him. “It’s affected my life completely,” said Rose. “Throughout all my friends that I’ve met through soccer, the amount of places that it’s brought me to, everything. I’ve always just been in love with the game. It's just been with me all my life. I’m very upset knowing that it could be a year from now that I could never be playing soccer again. I’m just very grateful for it.”