Olivares earns fourth straight All-Conference honor
&
amp; business degree at UOP
STOCKTON – If it were not for a soccer scholarship to help pay her way, Gabriella Olivares might not have ended up at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.
But the senior forward took full advantage of her opportunity both on the soccer field, continuing to play the sport she loves, and in the classroom, where the scholar-athlete is about to earn a bachelor’s in business administration.
“It’s been a great four years of soccer,” said Olivares, who was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player this season after another All-Conference selection. “That’s an honor in itself just to know that my teammates think that highly of me.”
Olivares, who scored two goals and added three assists in her senior season, was one of four Tigers named to the Big West All-Conference Team. It was the fourth straight season the Archbishop Mitty product received the honor, making first team as a freshman, second team as a sophomore and junior, and honorable mention as a senior.
“My freshman year I got first-team All-Conference. That was very unexpected,” said Olivares, who led Pacific with 10 points on four goals and two assists in her first year. “The next two years I got second-team All-Conference and got honorable mention this season. I made me realize that (my freshman honor) was a lot harder to achieve.”
The four-year starter recorded five goals and one assist in her sophomore season and a career-high nine goals and four assists in her junior campaign. Olivares is engraved in Pacific’s record books in the top 10 all-time for goals in a season (9), points in a career (50), and most goals in a career (11).
But the individual statistics are not what matter most to Olivares.
“I think it’s been a great experience,” Olivares said. “(What I’ll remember is) just the people I’ve met and friends I’ve made who I’ve become so close to and know will be my lifelong friends.”
The 21-year-old also received honors for academic excellence, maintaining a grade-point-average above 3.0 in her four years. In addition, Olivares received Pacific’s Dan Malley Service Award for leadership due to three years of service and time she contributed to the university and the community of Stockton.
“You organize and coordinate different community service events off and on campus,” said Olivares, who was the president of the UOP Athletic Student Body.
As a pioneer of women’s soccer, Olivares was not only a representative for the Big West Athletic Conference, but was the school’s national rep at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) leadership conference in Florida.
“I’ve always been someone who loves to state my opinion in different situations,” Olivares said. “You have to work together as a team. By leading, you also here everyone’s opinion, not just your own.”
In her conference meetings, Olivares discussed NCAA issues and future legislation that will shape women’s sports in years to come.
“It definitely broadened my horizons as a college student-athlete,” Olivares said.
Pacific went 3-5-1 in the Big Sky Conference and 4-12-2 overall, but Olivares got an opportunity to compete against some of the best women’s soccer programs in the nation such as past national champions, the University of Portland and Santa Clara University.
“Our conference games didn’t go the way we wanted them to, but I think my senior year was one of my best seasons,” Olivares said. “All our teammates got along. We had a great time together. For me personally, I don’t remember the wins and losses. I remember my teammates and my relationships with them.”
Olivares is going to study Spanish in Guadalajara, Mexico over the summer – something she could not do while playing soccer – and then will use her business administration degree to land a job. But no matter what lies ahead, soccer will always be part of her life.
“I’m sure I’ll always play in pick-up games and rec games,” Olivares said. “But (playing collegiate soccer) was only one chapter in my life and I’m ready for the next one.”
