Eddie Villarreal is in his fourth season with the Ave Maria women's soccer program. His main role with the Gyrenes is to work with the program's goalkeepers.
A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Villarreal has long been involved in sports throughout his youth and adult life. While living in Mexico, he won two national championships in the ASOMEX association in 1993 and 1995. In 2004, he moved to the United States to pursue his bachelor’s and master’s degree at the University of Southern Mississippi, while playing and coaching for the Southern Miss Men’s Soccer Club.
Villarreal brings vast knowledge of the game with multiple recognitions. He currently holds the US Soccer Federation B License, USC Advanced National Goalkeeping Diploma, and the UEFA B License from the Football Association of Ireland. He is currently working on his UEFA A License with the Scottish Football Association. Villarreal also obtained a High-Performance Team Management Certificate from Real Madrid University and a Director of Coaching Diploma from the USC.
With his specialization in goalkeeping, he will develop a top goalkeeping program at Ave Maria University. He has been coaching for youth soccer clubs in the Southwest Florida area since 2012, where he served as Goalkeeper Director at Florida West FC until May 2022. At the college level, he was the Assistant and Goalkeeper Coach for the Florida Gulf Coast University Men’s Soccer NCAA Division I team, and at the professional level, he is currently the Goalkeeper Coach for the WPSL North Port Fusion team in North Port, Florida.
During his time at FGCU from 2014-2017, Villarreal received the NSCAA Regional Staff of the Year recognition in 2016, won an A-Sun regular season championship in 2015 and an A-Sun tournament championship in 2016 which led to an unprecedented 2nd round run in the NCAA Championship for FGCU.
Villarreal also spent two years rebuilding the soccer program at Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers, where he won back-to-back district championships as the boys soccer coach for the Vikings. He was named Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2020.
Finally, Villarreal is also a Coach Educator for the United States Soccer Federation, a staff member for the Florida Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program, and has his own private goalkeeping school in Estero, Florida. He and his wife Tatiana live in Estero with their two daughters Eva and Luna, and their adopted cat Petri.
