Ever since he was a little kid Adrian Alvarez has watched his older brother and his dad leave every last drop of sweat on the soccer field. Now, when the sophomore forward from Little Rock, California, steps onto the field, he channels their energy and their journey as his momentum.
“I’ve got to represent, it means everything I’ve got. I want to continue the legacy of my last name,” he said. For Alvarez, that legacy is about more than just a sport. It’s about celebrating his Latino culture, which is rooted in the essence of soccer. “My inspirations are my parents. They came here as immigrants and had to work to make a better life for us.”
This Hispanic Heritage month, Sept.15 through Oct. 15, Alvarez and his two teammates, Felix Contreras ‘30, and Axel Uriostegui ‘30, on LMU’s soccer team carry more onto the field than just their cleats and jerseys. They each carry the stories of their families who made their dreams possible.
For Contreras, every kick, pass, and attack is a reminder of sacrifice. The freshmen defender describes soccer as the place where he finds love, balance, and hope. Raised in Yuba City, California, Contreras grew up watching his older brother play until injuries paused his career, a moment that inspired him to continue his brother’s dream in his own way. Soccer has taken him across states to even playing on Mexico’s National Team, one of his proudest accomplishments. Inspired by Sergio Ramos, a famous Spanish professional football player and driven by his perfectionist mindset, he hopes to play in the professional leagues For now he’s focused on representing Latino athletes in college soccer.
For Uriostegui, he honors his family through his hard work and the hope to be an inspiration for young soccer players too. “I owe a lot to my family for this,” the freshman midfielder from Las Vegas, Neveda said, knowing he was also going to follow in his father and brother’s footsteps of playing soccer. Outside of soccer, music has become his escape. Artists like Frank Ocean to genres in Spanish like Mexican corridos reflect two sides of his Mexican American identity shaping who he is on and off the field. After having the opportunity to travel and play nationally, Uriostegui earned his spot to play at LMU and is grateful for the journey that brought him here.
Together, Alvarez, Contreras, and Uriostegui embody what Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates such as resilience, gratitude and legacy. Their stories go beyond the adrenaline rush and love of the game. They are reflections of the immigrant families who dreamed and sacrificed to build the foundations for their children to dream even bigger. These three players are upholding a legacy of dreamers before them and inspiring youth now, acknowledging the opportunity and carrying the responsibility of being the representatives for young Latinos on the playing field.
