LYNN — For Lynn Native Gaby Diaz-Martinez, soccer has become more of a lifestyle than a fall sport.
“It’s literally 24/7 for me,” Diaz-Martinez, a rising senior at St. Mary’s, said. “I always have three or four practices a week and then usually games during the weekends. I’m always working to get better whenever I have free time too.”
Diaz-Martinez’s level of commitment is paying dividends.
As a center-midfielder for the Spartans, Diaz-Martinez helped St. Mary’s to multiple Division 4 North state tournament appearances. She has also seen success at the club soccer level.
Diaz-Martinez plays for the NEFC North Shore Elite 17-under team that won the National Cup in Commerce City, Colorado earlier this week. It was an experience Diaz-Martinez will never forget.
“We played in Commerce City but we stayed in Boulder,” Diaz-Martinez said. “It was a great experience off the field too. It was beautiful. We went up to the mountains hiking and spent a lot of time together. We walked everywhere we went.”
When it came to competing for the National Cup, Diaz-Martinez and here teammates were no strangers to the high level of play. Last summer, on the North Shore 16-under team, Diaz-Martinez and her teammates also qualified for the National Cup.
“The competition in Colorado is crazy,” Diaz-Martinez said. “There are teams from all over the country and they’re all good. They all have different playing styles and it’s challenging to play against.”
But last summer didn’t end in a celebration. Diaz-Martinez and her team made it to the final in 2018 but lost to California in an overtime thriller that was decided by penalty kicks. The heartbreaking loss fueled this summer’s run.
“Getting back there was definitely our number one goal for the whole year,” Diaz-Martinez said. “We all knew how it felt to lose that last game so it went into everything we did all season. We worked so hard at practice and every game. In our minds there was really no other option but to win.”
That motivation led to another appearance in the final this summer, but things didn’t get any easier. Diaz-Martinez and her teammates fought through another overtime in the final, this time against Dallas, and pulled out the hard-fought win in penalty kicks.
“It was a repeat of last year and we were really nervous,” Diaz-Martinez said. “But this time it went our way. I don’t even know how to explain the feeling. Everything we worked for paid off for us. I couldn’t believe it until we were up on that stage with the trophy and I’ll never forget that feeling.”
After a memorable summer, Diaz-Martinez still has plenty of soccer in front of her. She recently committed to Division III Wheaton College in Norton and will join the Lyons in the fall of 2020.
“It was a weird experience trying to find a school,” Diaz-Martinez said. “I had been working for a while to get offers. The coach for Wheaton (Bobby Desilets) reached out to me so I set up a visit. I ended up touring and I loved it. It felt like a really good fit for me. I’m definitely excited to get started there in the future.”
