Sydney Elizabeth Martinez (born September 12, 1999) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

for

USL Super League The USL Super League (USLS) is a planned Division II professional women's soccer league in the United States, beginning play in 2023. The league will be owned and operated by the United Soccer League. History USL announced the formation of th ...

club Brooklyn FC. Born in the mainland United States, she competes internationally for the Puerto Rico women's national team.

Early life

Martinez grew up in

Rincon, Georgia Rincon is a city in Effingham County, Georgia, United States. The 2020 population was 10,934, up from 8,836 at the 2010 census. Rincon is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Rincon, in the southeast area of Effingham Coun ...

, United States.

Education

Martinez attended

Effingham County High School Effingham County High School is one of two public high schools located in Effingham County, Georgia, northwest of Savannah. The school was created in 1956 and serves approximately 2000 students in grades 9- 12 in the Effingham County School Dis ...

in the United States, where she was regarded as one of the soccer team's most important players. After that, she attended the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

, where she posted impressive numbers in her five year career at for the

South Florida Bulls The South Florida Bulls (also known as the USF Bulls) are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sai ...

Club career

Martinez joined

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) ...

club Savannah Spirit in 2021. In 2022, Martinez played for

USL W League The USL W League (USLW) is a pre-professional women's soccer league in the United States which began play in May 2022. It was announced on June 8, 2021 by the United Soccer League with eight founding clubs. It follows the USL W-League, a simi ...

side

Tormenta FC South Georgia Tormenta FC is an American soccer organization based in Statesboro, Georgia, United States. Founded in 2015, the club fields a professional team in USL League One, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, as well as a pre-pro ...

, where she captained the club. She helped the team win the inaugural league championship, and captured the Golden Glove and Finals MVP awards herself. Martinez signed for Norwegian club

IK Grand Bodø Idrettsklubben Grand Bodø is a Norwegian association football club from Bodø, Nordland. It was founded on 12 April 1917. Football Former Liverpool and England international full-back Chris Lawler was player-coach for the club in 1981. Its ...

in March 2023. On June 7, 2024, Martinez was announced as the first-ever signing for Brooklyn FC ahead of the inaugural

season.

International career

Martinez played for the

Olympic Development Program Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

. Martinez was called up to the

Puerto Rico women's national football team The Puerto Rico women's national football team ( es, Selección femenina de fútbol de Puerto Rico) is governed by the Puerto Rican Football Federation (FPF). History On 30 August 2018, in a home friendly versus Argentina, players staged a pro ...

for the third time in June 2023.

Style of play

Martinez has been described as "difficult to shoot over, has good lateral movement, aggressively fights for balls in the box and often flips the field with booming punts".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Sydney 1999 births Living people People from Effingham County, Georgia Puerto Rican women's footballers Puerto Rico women's international footballers Puerto Rican expatriate women's footballers American women's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Norway American expatriate women's soccer players American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Expatriate women's footballers in Norway South Florida Bulls women's soccer players Women's association football goalkeepers Soccer players from Georgia (U.S. state) Brooklyn FC players USL Super League players 21st-century American sportswomen