Name's the same ... minus the baggage

Perhaps a couple dozen fans watched on a chilly afternoon the other day as Alex Rodriguez took the field in Coeur d'Alene.

No strange looks. No catcalls. Nothing.

Unlike the other Alex Rodriguez you may have heard of.

Alexandra Rodriguez is in her second season as a goalkeeper for the North Idaho College women's soccer team. But on the NIC roster, she's listed as Alex, and in the box score, she's Alex.

Some people even call her A-Rod.

But unlike that other A-Rod, she says she has never used performance-enhancing drugs, and has never failed a drug test.

And, she says, she hasn't been subjected to the verbal abuse that, well, that other A-Rod has to endure.

"Everybody in high school called me A-Rod," said Rodriguez - the NIC one - who was recruited to the Cardinals by women's soccer coach Dan Hogan from San Jacinto (Calif.) High. "Dan does occasionally, but when I'm in trouble he calls me Alex. In roll (call in class), some of the guy teachers revert to A-Rod, but mostly it's just Alexandra."

She isn't even the only A-Rod in her family - her sister, Andrea, and her dad, Anthony, also get called that.

"And three of my cousins are also A-Rods," she said.

RODRIGUEZ WOUND up at NIC in big part because her best friend in high school, Russia Robinson, was coming up here to play volleyball. A-Rod and R-Rob actually went to rival high schools - Robinson went to Hemet - and both played club soccer together. Rodriguez also played volleyball in high school - soccer is played in the winter in California.

"It's tough to get girls from California unless there's some other connection," said Hogan, who recruited Rodriguez after watching videotape of her.

"On the videotape you could tell she was a real athletic kid, and Dean (Thompson) is a real good goalkeeper coach, and we thought we could put the two together and make something out of it," Hogan said.

Alex played forward when she first got into soccer, but became a goalkeeper because Andrea, who is 4 1/2 years older, was a goalkeeper as well. At NIC, she was one of three keepers to see action. This year, she was splitting duty until recently, when she became the No. 1 keeper.

Hogan said her biggest asset "is her athleticism. She's really quick, can jump pretty high ... This year, what she's really improved on is her vocal ability. She's gotten good at organizing the team and getting people where they need to be, to prevent shots from happening in the first place."

"Apparently so," Rodriguez said of being more vocal. "I thought I was the same, but I guess not. ... Dan yelling at me to talk more, apparently it worked one day. ... I don't know how (the switch) flipped, but I hope it doesn't turn off."

Rodriguez said she wasn't sure if she wants to play next year. She's had some interest from four-year schools, and Hogan said she'd be a good fit at an NAIA or Division II school.

One thing's for sure - wherever she winds up, it will be back in southern California. She says she's enjoyed her time in and at North Idaho ("I think I'm a lot better student here than I was in high school; I've learned how to be disciplined," she said).

But she won't miss the cold, and she'd like to be closer to her boyfriend, Anthony Rivera. He fights in MMA in California, and turned down a chance to fight at the Coeur d'Alene Casino last month (though Rodriguez said he plans to fight on the next card up here).

BACK TO A-Rod.

Boys in high school would kid her, ask if she was on steroids.

She said she doesn't remember how old she was when she first made the connection.

"I just remember people would say, 'hey, did you know you have the same name as the baseball player?,'" Rodriguez said. "Sure. Now I do."

While the other A-Rod gets pitches thrown at him, and his manager and teammates defend him whether they want to or not, this A-Rod is welcomed by her teammates and coach, and is not subject to abuse.

"Alex has been real good for our program," Hogan said. "I've heard sometimes the other A-Rod doesn't work as hard as he could, and so maybe we got the better of the two."

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.