LYNN — With plenty of soccer experience under her belt, St. Mary’s senior and Lynn native Gaby Diaz-Martinez is ready to take the next step at Wheaton College in Norton.
And unlike most seniors heading into college Diaz-Martinez has been itching to join the Lyons on the field after committing well before her senior season.
“I definitely want to make a good first impression heading into the preseason,” Diaz-Martinez said. “Some goals right away are to help the team however I can in the midfield. I just want to get as much time on the field as I can, I know I’m going to be joining some really good players.”
Time spent sharpening her skills on the field is sure to help Diaz-Martinez ease into whatever role she can carve out right away.
During her time at St. Mary’s Diaz-Martinez has split her playing time on the field with her North Shore Elite Club team. After taking a year off from taking the field for the Spartans her junior season, Diaz-Martinez was a part of North Shore Elite’s 17-under team that won the National Cup in Colorado in the summer of 2019.
But her experiences away from St. Mary’s don’t limit the impact her Spartans teammates have had on her game.
“It was such a welcoming environment right away when I came in and I had a great bond with the upperclassmen,” Diaz-Martinez said. “And it became a family more about having fun with the team. We were always having fun playing together.”
Returning to the Spartans for her senior season, Diaz-Martinez didn’t skip a beat as leader in the midfield, said head coach Jim Foley.
“I give her credit after she didn’t play,” Foley said. “She came back and did everything we asked for as aplaymaker solidifying that middle of the field. Gaby is one of the better center-of-the-field kids in the (Catholic Central) League. She led the team in assists and set up plenty of chances for (leading scorer) Kayla Demers up front.”
Some injuries forced St. Mary’s to shake up their midfield during the season but thanks to Diaz-Martinez’s steady presence the Spartans adapted well.
“We were full tilt with Gaby and Emily Egan in the middle,” Foley said. “Then (sweeper) Morgan Mackey got hurt and Gaby was there alone.”
“It was definitely different,” Diaz-Martinez said. “I’m used to Emily in midfield. But my teammates and everyone there stepped up and did their part. We always worked really well together as a whole.”
Heading into Wheaton Diaz-Martinez will major in Boichemistry and also plans to get on the Pre-Law track. On the field she was still busy preparing before the COVID-19 pandemic changed things. Now the emphasis is on cardio work to prepare for the fall season.
“I had been doing a few clinics and had started to get to know some of my other classmates and teammates,” Diaz-Martinez said. “I’ve been trying to play as much as I can and really getting ready for the fitness side of things. I’ve been doing more running than ball work but my club team does do some zoom calls with small drills. Any free time I get I’ve been training and runningt to prepare fo the speed of the college game.”