Suburban Life Athlete of the Week: Giovanni Alvarez, Morton, soccer, senior

Name: Giovanni Alvarez

School: Morton, senior

Sport: Soccer

Why he was selected: Alvarez scored two goals in Morton’s 4-0 win over Downers Grove North in the Class 3A Morton Regional final. He was voted by readers as the Suburban Life Athlete of the Week. Here is his interview with Sports Editor Joshua Welge.

Welge: How do you feel about the way you guys are playing going into sectionals this week?

Alvarez: We feel good about how we’re playing. Honestly, we look back on when we went to Iowa earlier this month, we look back on the loss [Morton’s only loss], we got a taste of it, and we wanted to bounce back from it. We haven’t lost to any teams from Illinois and we want to keep it that way. That’s our mentality and we’re taking it game by game.

Welge: What happened with your goals in the regional final?

Alvarez: I honestly felt like my shots weren’t going in. I couldn’t do anything about it. It wasn’t my day. I kept passing, and for those goals, I just let the game come to me. They were there for me at the right time.

Welge: There have been some great Morton soccer teams. What makes this team special?

Alvarez: We play with each other outside of school in indoor leagues, Sunday leagues, and this team, the guys are around my age. We know each other in and out and we have that chemistry. Nobody wants to lose, everybody wants to go out and win and wants it more.

Welge: What did you take away from the 2019 state experience when you guys took second in the state?

Alvarez: We didn’t want to go through that again, especially the seniors. I was looking forward to junior year last year, didn’t see COVID coming, senior year now I’m definitely motivated.

Welge: How did you get started playing soccer?

Alvarez: I started playing soccer when I was 3 years old. My uncle started having me play soccer. My dad wanted me to play baseball. I’m glad I stuck with soccer.

Welge: Who is your favorite soccer player?

Alvarez: I like Ronaldinho because of his skills and mentality on the field. He is always motivating the other players and being a leader.