Emily Alvarado signs professional contract with Stade de Reims

Emily Alvarado is headed overseas!

The former TCU Soccer captain and record-breaking goalkeeper has officially signed with French Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims , announced via social media earlier this afternoon.

Alvarado joins her former teammate Yazmeen Ryan to complete a duo of pro Frogs from the class of 2021. The 23-year-old keeper will soon become just the third Mexican player to appear in Ligue 1 and the youngest to accomplish the feat thus far.

Of course, playing in Europe is a different beast entirely compared to the competition she faced in college, but Alvarado has plenty of national experience to aid her transition. With the Mexican national team, Alvarado has played in multiple CONCACAF Championship tournaments and received recognition for the best goalkeeper in both the U17 and U20 World Cups.

On top of that, Alvarado earned a call up to the senior team for the 2015 World Cup and has been touring with La Tri this summer.

In other words, Alvarado will be ready for whatever challenges the French league throws at her.

“I felt it was the right option for me. I like the philosophy and the type of play of the team. I believe that here I can grow as a player and as a person . I look forward to helping the team achieve its goals this season,” said Alvarado in an interview with sopitas.

If anyone could walk into a new locker room and have an immediate impact, it would be Emily Alvarado. During her time at TCU, she broke several quantitative records as well as some program firsts as far as accolades go.

For starters, Alvarado finished with a career Goals Against Average of 0.98 and a .808 save percentage. Touting the captain’s armband, she led the Horned Frogs to 32 wins in 58 all-time appearances, racking up 58 saves along the way.

Considering three Horned Frogs earned the honors this past season, Alvarado was one of the first United Soccer Coaches 1st team All-Americans in TCU Soccer history. That was the cherry on top to an already illustrious career, winning multiple All-Big-12 honors while helping lead the Frogs to an Elite 8 appearance this past Spring; another program first.

Other than playing Goalkeeper (obviously), Alvarado’s role for Stade de Reims is still to be determined. The 5-time Ligue 1 champions begin their 2021/2022 campaign against Lyon on August 28.

Best of luck to Emily Alvarado in all of her future endeavors. Stade de Reims got a good one!