Miguel Berry’s Barcelona roots help power USD to 8-1-1 record in men’s soccer

Opposing soccer players see 6-foot-3 USD senior forward Miguel Berry, no doubt, and view him through the lens of American soccer. Big, strong, slow, must be good in the air.

What they don’t see, or don’t know, is that Berry is the opposite: sneaky fast and better with the ball at his feet.

What they don’t see is a kid who was born in Spain to American parents and grew up playing in Barcelona, in the land of short passes on the ground, with a coach at age 6 who wouldn’t let their team kick the ball forward and mandated that it only went side to side – like windshield wipers, he explained.

Or that when Berry was 7, the same coach had all the forwards play in the back and all the defenders play up top for the entire season to better understand the sport’s cerebral, tactical side and how the positions interact. More losses, more learning.

“We lost 14-nil once,” says Berry, whose family moved to Poway when he was 8. “Parents here, you couldn’t do that. They’d go crazy. They want to win. But he taught us the game, keeping the ball, not forcing it forward. I remember that game because it was such a special experience and you realize how much you learn through those experiences.

“I got to see the other side of the game, the way the game is played over there. I think it helped me in the long run. I think it’s given me a little advantage.”

Or a big advantage. Berry already has eight goals and five assists this season for a USD team that is 8-1-1 and ranked in all three national polls as it opens West Coast Conference play at home Saturday at 7 p.m. against USF. The Toreros largely flew under the national radar until last weekend; a 4-1 win at No. 23 West Virginia that included goals 16 seconds apart tends to get people’s attention.

They have five shutouts, equaling their total for all of last season. They have 20 goals, four more than last season in nine fewer games. They’ve also exceeded the win total of last season’s 7-7-5 team with largely the same roster, just a year older and more mature.

The lone loss is 2-1 against Sacramento State in a game where the Toreros had more shots and possession. The lone draw is 2-2 against UC Santa Barbara, just days after the Gauchos had tied No. 1 Stanford.

The victories include a 3-2 decision at SDSU in the season opener, after trailing 2-1 in the second half. Then Berry scored a pair of goals five minutes apart on spectacular dribbling runs and had a third thwarted by the crossbar.

It was notice that his form over the final 10 games of last season was no aberration, that the late bloomer from Poway High had found a new level to his game. He opened his junior year with one goal on 37 shots and closed it with seven goals in 10 games. This year: 41 shots, 10 games, eight goals.

That ranks him 14^th nationally (San Pasqual High alum Milan Iloski of UCLA is No. 1 with 14 after scoring five against SDSU on Sunday).

“I was always waiting for the breakout year to come,” USD assistant coach Seamus McFadden says. “You have to have the supporting cast, and we didn’t have the supporting cast. This year you have kids who are stepping up who didn’t do as well last year.

“And Miguel just has tools that most kids don’t have around the box.”

McFadden is the reason Berry came to USD. He was the Toreros’ longtime head coach at the time, “retiring” two years ago to swap spots on the staff with assistant Brian Quinn.

McFadden also is a director and coach at the San Diego Soccer Club. Berry joined a team McFadden coached during his junior year of high school, and 46 goals later took it to semifinals of the State Cup tournament.

The following year, most players aged up to college and McFadden didn’t think the remaining roster was representative of Berry’s ability. Instead, he arranged for him to play his final club season at the rival San Diego Surf, reasoning: “You have to do what’s right for the kid.”

But a trust and loyalty were formed, and Berry chose to reunite with McFadden for college even after ACC power Duke showed interest late in his recruitment. His next goal will be the 30^th in his career, moving him into a tie with Patrick Wallen into third place on USD’s all-time scoring list.

Only six goals have come with his head, none this season.

“I think I surprised a few people,” says Berry, who qualifies for Spanish nationality and wants to play there professionally. “I knew it was coming, but it was just going to be a slower, longer process for me. I was always behind physically. But the one thing I always had was good technique, and I think that’s really come in handy in the long run.

“Normally a tall guy in the U.S. is not taught to play like that. You’re taught to use your height. There have been a few times where a center back says: ‘You’re pretty good with your feet.’ And I’m like: ‘You play soccer with your feet, you don’t play with your head.’

“Actually, you play with your brain.”