Mónica Marie Gerardo Morán (born 10 November 1976) is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

player who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. Born in the United States, she had been capped by the Mexico women's national team, appearing at the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted as well as ...

. At club level, she has played in the

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Uni ...

(WUSA) for the

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom may refer to: * Washington Freedom (cricket) * Washington Freedom (soccer) {{dab ...

Playing career

College

Gerardo played with

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

from 1995 until 1998. As a freshman Gerardo contributed to the team's 1995 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament win. She left as the program's all-time leader in goals and points, with 73 and 109, respectively.

Club

In 2000 Gerardo played for

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States. History The WPSL is the longest-running active women's soccer league as it enters its 25th season in 2023. The WPSL is also the largest women ...

(WPSL) team

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

. She was drafted by

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom may refer to: * Washington Freedom (cricket) * Washington Freedom (soccer) {{dab ...

ahead of the inaugural 2001 season of the

(WUSA). In the Freedom's first year, Gerardo scored two goals in 19 appearances (nine starts) as the team slumped to a joint-last placed finish. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

the Freedom performed better. Gerardo posted three goals, starting 10 of her 19 appearances as the team finished the regular season in third place. She also scored a late game-winning goal in the play-off semi-final win over

Philadelphia Charge The Philadelphia Charge was an American women's professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Villanova Stadium on the campus of Villanova University near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History I ...

, which qualified the team for Founders Cup II, where they were beaten 3–2 by

Carolina Courage Carolina Courage was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Fetzer Field on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus in 2001, and then at the soccer-specific SAS Stadium in Cary, North Carolina i ...

. Early in the 2003 season Gerardo announced her sudden retirement from professional soccer, to accept a coaching position with the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

International

A promising

for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

, Gerardo was one of several Californian-born players with Mexican

eligibility Eligibility may refer to: * The right to run for office (in elections), sometimes called ''passive suffrage'' or ''voting eligibility'' * Desirability as a marriage partner, as in the term ''eligible bachelor'' * Validity for participation, as in ...

to be called up by

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

Leonardo Cuéllar Leonardo Cuéllar Rivera (born 14 January 1954) is a Mexican football manager and former player who last acted as the manager of América in the Liga MX Femenil. He was the head coach of the Mexico women's national football team from 1998 to 2 ...

. After scoring five goals in

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

, she played in all three games for Mexico at the

; defeats by

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Gerardo totaled 15 goals in her 30

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with Mexico.

After Futbol

Monica Gerardo is now the principal for St. Marks Lutheran School in Hacienda Heights, California and has held that position since 2019.

Personal life

Born in the United States, Gerardo is of Mexican and Spanish descent through her father and mother, respectively.

References

External links

*
Profile
at

Profile
at

Whittier College Whittier College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic-serving institution, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of spring 2024, had 815 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerardo, Monica 1976 births Living people Mexican people of Spanish descent Sportspeople of Spanish descent Mexican women's footballers Women's association football midfielders Women's association football forwards Mexico women's international footballers 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players Mexican football managers Female association football managers Women's association football managers Sportspeople from Simi Valley, California Soccer players from California American women's soccer players Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's soccer players Washington Freedom (soccer) players Women's United Soccer Association players American women's soccer coaches Whittier Poets women's soccer coaches Navy Midshipmen women's soccer coaches Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer coaches Saint Mary's Gaels women's soccer coaches American sportspeople of Mexican descent American people of Spanish descent Ajax America Women players 20th-century American sportswomen