Bruins sign Alvarez to letter of intent

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University women's soccer program, under head coach Andy Nicolarsen, announced today the signing of Karina Alvarez to a letter of intent for the 2015 season. Alvarez becomes the first signee in the 2015 recruiting class. 

Alvarez is the daughter of Jose and Catalina Alvarez and comes to Bellevue from Salinas, Calif. She is currently a sophomore at Hartnell College where she has competed for the Panthers for two seasons under Coach Ivan Guerrero. During her time at Hartnell, she scored 18 goals and dished out 20 assists, helping the Panthers go 13-6-2 in 2014 and advancing into post-season play.

For her efforts on the field, Alvarez earned 2013 and 2014 first team all-conference honors and was a 2014 NSCAA Junior College all West-Region second team honoree as well as the 2014 Coast Conference Player of the year.

"Karina's accomplishments speak to her quality especially when you consider the talent rich California Junior College league where she competed," stated Nicolarsen. "She is creative, very quick on the ball and in the run of the game and possesses outstanding vision. Karina is the type of player that can turn a game in a second. We are thrilled to have her join us next fall and look for her to fill holes in our attack."

Bellevue finished the 2014 season with an overall record of 16-2-0, including a perfect 6-0-0 mark in MCAC play on their way to claiming both the MCAC regular season and tournament championships.

The team advanced to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round for the fifth straight season.