By Nate Maki | Sports Writer
Sitting at 4-1 through the first five games of the season, Baylor Soccer is off to its best start since the 2017 season when it opened 4-0-1, in great part due to junior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez.
After transferring from TCU, Alvarez showcased her potential in four games of the 2022 season but didn’t play in 2023. So far, in her brief stint with the green and gold, she’s seen significantly more playtime at Baylor: 405 minutes in the first five games, as opposed to her 181 minute total during her two years at TCU.
“Being a goalkeeper is hard because you only get one opportunity,” Alvarez said. “It’s either a goal or a save; there’s no in-between, so you really have to focus. At the end of the day it’s your mentals that makes the difference.”
Since joining the Bears, she has earned the title of Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week and hasn’t allowed a single goal past since their season opener against Mississippi State, which adds up to more than 400 minutes of playtime without a goal allowed.
“Azul is making huge plays,” head coach Michelle Lenard said. “She’s keeping us in it. There are some saves you’re expected to make as a goalkeeper and some you’re not, but Azul is doing both for us. She’s reliable when she needs to be, and she also shows up in those intense moments when we really need her.”
Outside of the college realm, Alvarez has also played at the international level with the Mexico U20 National Team and has even won a golden glove from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) for her U15 season with Mexico.
“All I have to say is that Azul is back,” fifth-year senior defender Marissa Gray said. “She’s been out for a while with TCU and coming back here, but she is phenomenal. I feel so secure with her back here. There were a couple of corners where I was worried, and she just rises up and gets the ball like she always does. She is a phenomenal player, and a phenomenal leader on and off the field.”
With Baylor, Alvarez has reached some career highs, including breaking her personal record with seven saves during a 1-0 win over Portland on Aug. 24. She also secured the Bears’ 1-0 victory against Texas A&M with a big save in the 89th minute.
“[Beating A&M] was an amazing feeling,” Alvarez said. “I know I wasn’t here last season, but I think this shows how hard we’ve all been working. It’s an amazing experience to win with them.”
Baylor soccer will head out on the road for a pair of matchups: first against SMU (4-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday in Dallas, then to Iowa City, Iowa to clash with the No. 22 Hawkeyes (3-0-2) at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
