The girl with the golden gloves? This Effingham grad led Tormenta to women's soccer title
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From her vantage point outside the South Georgia Tormenta FC goal, Sydney Martinez thought her women’s soccer team was getting rooked and at the worst possible moment – in overtime of the USL W championship game.
An official whistled teammate and close friend Erin O’Hearn for a handball in the penalty box, resulting in a penalty kick. In soccer, scoring on a penalty kick is usually as automatic as Steph Curry sinking a free throw.
“I thought the ball hit Erin’s shoulder, but later when I asked her, she admitted it hit her hand,” Martinez said. “I said, “Girl, you’re trying to take my job. I’m the one around here who’s supposed to use hands to stop shots.'”
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The 6-foot goalie laughs now during a phone interview from Tampa where she plays for the University of South Florida. She doesn’t have to worry about job security any time soon. She earned all-state recognition at Effingham County High School and in college captured second-team All-America honors as a junior.
Because of the outbreak of COVID in 2020, she’ll take advantage of an NCAA ruling that will allow her to play a fifth season at USF this fall.
But first, on a cool July 23 night in Minnesota, Martinez put an exclamation mark on a summer to remember.
Big saves in the biggest game
South Georgia Tormenta FC reached the title game of the USL W, which calls itself a "pre-professional" league for women's players - a competitive summer league for college and high school stars with teams across the country. Tormenta faced the Minnesota Aurora, an undefeated team.
With the score tied 1-1, Martinez made a diving save on the penalty kick, then O’Hearn blocked a shot during the ensuing scramble of the loose ball.
And finally, back in position, Martinez turned aside another point-blank Minnesota shot as the partisan crowd of 6,489 at TCO Stadium, part of the Minnesota Vikings’ training facility, let out a collective groan.
Four minutes later, Tormenta scored and the Statesboro club had a thrilling 2-1 victory. After seven acrobatic saves and 120 minutes of work, Martinez received the game’s Most Valuable Player trophy from league representatives.
“I wasn’t surprised we won, just more ecstatic,” she said. “I had faith, but you can only have so much faith.”
A statistically impressive season
Martinez finished the two-month season as the USL W’s Golden Glove winner – symbolic of the league’s top goalie – after posting an 0.58 goals against average. Last week, she was named to the all-league team – no small accomplishment in a league that consisted of college and professional players in seven different divisions, 44 teams overall.
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Martinez played in 14 of her team’s 15 games and registered six complete-game shutouts and was part of two others as Tormenta went 10-1-4 to win the inaugural women’s title.
She had 17 saves during the three road playoff victories – 1-0 over undefeated Miami City FC, 4-1 against the Greenville Liberty and 2-1 in overtime over undefeated Minnesota.
“I think working out with Tormenta got me in the best shape and I feel like I’m coming back to USF more ready than any other summer,” Martinez said.
Her performance also fans her dreams of playing professional soccer. She’s had more than a taste of the big time during her career. In high school, she earned a spot on the Region III Olympic Development team for her age group and traveled to Brazil. Now in college, she’s been a four-year starter for a program that perennially ranked in the top 25 of Division I.
Tormenta’s playoff run was streamed so her abilities were on display worldwide.
“I hope this will put my name out there,” Martinez said. “(Playing professionally) is still a dream. I’m definitely more prepared to play in big games.”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Effingham grad Sydney Martinez leads Tormenta to women's soccer title
