Gerardo Alvarez, a 2003 graduate of Marmion Academy in Aurora, this week was named the school’s head varsity soccer coach.
Native to Argentina, he grew up with soccer in his blood. It was always more than a sport, it was a lifestyle. In 1991, his family moved to Aurora. He only knew two languages: Spanish and futbol. He broke the single-season school record for goals his junior year, 27, and shattered the same record the next season with 46 goals.
He earned Player of the Year from The Chicago Tribune, Beacon News, Kane County Chronicle, The Daily Herald, and Suburban Catholic Conference. He remains the school’s all-time career scoring leader with 90 goals and 48 assists and in 2017 was inducted into the Marmion Academy Hall of Fame.
He attended Northwestern University, where he racked up 28 goals, 24 assists, and 80 points in his collegiate career to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors and all-Big Ten honors. He led the Big Ten in scoring as a sophomore and was a three-year captain who contributed four goals as a senior in Northwestern’s run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. He played professionally with the Cleveland City Stars of the United Soccer League.
Trading in his cleats for a corporate job, he works as a business relationship manager for JPM Chase in Wheaton. He simultaneously worked as assistant coach at Aurora University, 2009-2012, and at Benedictine University, 2012-2015, during which they won the league championship for the first time. At Benedictine, he completed an MBA, along with an M.S. in management and organizational behavior.
Gerardo Alvarez lives in Yorkville with his wife, Megan Carey (Rosary, 2003), and their four children: Luciana, Valencia, Amalia, and Marco.
— Marmion Academy