UNLV Soccer Camps in Las Vegas, Nevada

UNLV Soccer Camps
Men's Staff

Mario Sanchez
Head Coach, UNLV Men's Soccer and Camp Director

In just two years, Mario Sanchez has turned around the fortunes of the UNLV men's soccer program, and has them on a solid track back to their previous level as one of the top programs in the West.

After suffering though a one-win season in 2006 in which he was only able to bring in three of his own players due to roster limitations, the offseason between his first and second years showed that better days were ahead for UNLV. Sanchez brought in very talented class of 11 players, including one of the top recruits in the nation in forward Daniel Cruz.

Sanchez's recruiting efforts paid off immediately, as Cruz was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Year and was a third-team freshman all-american, while another newcomer, Andrew Friel, was selected to the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation second team. Mixing in the newcomers with the veterans, Sanchez guided the squad to a 7-10-3 mark, the most wins since 2002. UNLV also claimed an upset victory over 21st-ranked New Mexico in a 2-1 overtime victory, the program's second win over a ranked team in Sanchez's two seasons, and finished in a tie for fifth in the MPSF with a 3-7 league mark. Two Rebels (Cruz and Lamar Neagle) earned first team All-MPSF honors, and Sanchez was named Co-MPSF Coach of the Year for 2007.

In his first season at the helm of the Rebels, Sanchez was dealt an inexperienced team that struggled at the beginning, but improved with each outing, and finished the year with a 2-0 w

in over 20th-ranked Denver.

Sanchez came to Las Vegas from Akron, where he was an assistant coach for the men's soccer program from 2003-2005. While on the Zips staff, he helped guide them to three NCAA appearances, including an appearance in the Elite Eight in the 2005 NCAA Tournament, where they tied eventual national champion Maryland, which advanced in a penalty kick shootout. The Zips finished the 2005 season with an 18-1-4 record and were ranked No. 1 in the nation for four straight weeks.

UNLV was not Sanchez's first exposure to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, as he was an assistant coach at Fresno State from 1999-2003 until the school dropped the men's soccer program. While in Fresno, he was also a staff coach for the Olympic Development Program Region IV from 2000-2003, and was an ODP coach for the Ohio North ODP program from November of 2003 until leaving for Las Vegas.

Also, in the summer of 2006, Sanchez was named as head coach for the West Region 90s Boys Age Group team. He coached them in an international tournament in Italy in April of 2007, and with a team that included Cruz, he guided them to the semifinals of the 16-team tournament.

Currently, Sanchez is in his third year as the head coach for the U-17 Regional ODP Team.

A 1999 graduate of Fresno State with a bachelor of science degree in business administration, Sanchez was a four-year starter and two-time captain for the Bulldogs. Playing from 1993-97, Sanchez earned All-Far West Region honors in 1995 and 1997. He played for the national champion Central Coast Roadrunners in the United Soccer League from 1996-97, and was a third-round draft choice in the MLS by the Kansas City Wizards in 1998. Sanchez also played for Orange County Zodiac (1999) and Stanislaus Cruisers (2001) in the USL Professional Division.

Sanchez is married to the former Shana Stickel. They have three children, sons Sebastian (4) and Santiago (six months), and daughter Ella (3).

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Chad Brown
Assistant Coach, UNLV Men's Soccer and Camp Director

Chad Brown is in his third year on the UNLV staff after spending the previous seven years as head coach for the Crossfire Premier Soccer Club. He ran two teams in the club program in Redmond, Wash., where he started as the head coach in 1999.

A two-year center midfielder at Fresno State and teammate of UNLV head coach Mario Sanchez, Brown was twice named All-Western Athletic Conference and led the Bulldogs in scoring in both 1997 and 1998. He began his

collegiate playing career at Bellevue Community College, where he was an NWAAC All-State selection while leading it to the 1994 NWAAC Championship. He repeated that feat with Spokane Community College in 1996, leading the school to the NWAAC Championship while being named NWAAC MVP.

After graduating from FSU in 1999 with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology, he joined the Seattle Sounders in the professional A League and helped them to the league finals in 2004-05, and to the league championship in 2005-06.

While coaching the Crossfire Premier Soccer Club, Brown also owned, coordinated and ran operations for First Touch Training LLC, which were soccer training clinics in the Seattle area, from 2003-2006. He has since started running a First Touch Training in Las Vegas as well.