Adan Gutierrez Leads St. Laurence to Victory

Adan Gutierrez, known to his St. Laurence teammates and coaches as Jett, is making a significant impact on the soccer field. His unique name fits his energetic style of play. About his name, Gutierrez shares, “In the hospital, my dad wanted to name me Jett at the last minute. My mom had doubts because it’s unusual, so it became my middle name. I hope I live up to the name.”

Gutierrez certainly lived up to it on Thursday night. He came off the bench and scored two goals in the last 25 minutes, helping St. Laurence secure a 3-2 Catholic League Blue win over De La Salle in Chicago. Jesus Sanchez also scored for St. Laurence, and Josue Garcia and Pauly Rzadkosz provided assists. Noah Mendez made four saves.

On the other side, Joshua Lawson and Kevin Gates scored for De La Salle, while Kobe Ibarra finished with three saves. The match, played in heavy rain, saw momentum shifts as De La Salle led twice before Gutierrez’s critical contribution.

“We knew if we didn’t win, it wouldn’t look good for us in the CCL,” Gutierrez said. “We needed that win. We needed two goals and I stepped up.” His performance was indeed dynamic around the net. He tied the game with a rebound and scored the decisive goal with a sliding volley, adding to his season tally of seven goals.

Sanchez praised Gutierrez, stating, “Adan plays a big role off the bench in the second half. He’s a dog. That’s our motto, ‘You’ve got to have that dog in you.’ Adan has it.” As a sophomore, Gutierrez played sparingly but scored five goals, learning from senior teammates.

St. Laurence’s coach, Jaime Alonso, described Gutierrez’s progress, “With many returning starters, figuring out where to use him has been a good challenge. He plays various positions. When we need a goal, we put him up top. He has a goal-scorer’s instinct.”

Gutierrez embraces his role, saying, “I see myself as a super sub. I try to make an impact with goals or assists and help my team.”