Bianca Lorenz-Baptiste (born 15 January 1992) is an English
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 le ...
who plays as 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)
** Sm ...
for
Watford FC
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. They play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football.
The club’s original foundation is 1881, aligned with that of its antecede ...
. She was the top scorer for
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
in 2017.
Club career
Baptiste was born in England in 1992.
She played in the
youth system
In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...
of
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and moved up from the
Enfield Town
Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 156,858 in 2018. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Highway ...
under-16s into their first team for the 2008–09 season.
She is an
attacker
In some team sports, an attacker is a specific type of player, usually involved in aggressive play. Heavy attackers are, usually, placed up front: their goal is to score the most possible points for the team. In association football, attackers a ...
.
[ She played for ten years with ]Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
as a semi-professional until the team decided to go fully professional. The team had done well and in 2017 Baptiste was their top goal scorer when they won the 2016–17 FA Women's Premier League
The 2016–17 season of the FA Women's Premier League is the 25th season of the competition, which began in 1992. It sits at the third and fourth levels of the women's football pyramid, below the two divisions of the FA Women's Super League and ab ...
Southern Division title.[ She also scored two goals in the 3–0 ]Championship play-off
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
win over Northern Champions Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
, which secured promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
to FA WSL 2
The Women's Championship (formerly The FA Women's Championship) is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2 (WSL 2).
WSL 2 replaced the previous level 2 d ...
.
Tottenham were promoted again when they finished second behind Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
in the 2018–19 FA Women's Championship
The 2018–19 FA Women's Championship was the first rebranded edition of the FA Women's Championship, the second tier of women's football in England, renamed from the FA WSL 2 which was founded in 2014. The season ran from 8 September 2018 to 12 M ...
. The management team decided to not include Baptiste in the players they made professional for entry to the top division.[ Seven new players were announced for the team in July 2019.][ Only about half the team was retained and eleven players had to find a new role, including ]Sarah Wiltshire
Sarah Francis Wiltshire (born 7 July 1991) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays for Cambridge United in the English FA Womens National League Division 1 South East and Wales women's national football team, Wales as a midfie ...
and Emma Beckett, who was a recent signing.[ Baptiste felt rejected and considered leaving the game,][ she was labelled "Spurs Ladies Nutrition Coach and Personal Trainer" and that appeared to be her new role in the team.] She did get some support and she was able to find a new home at another London team – Crystal Palace.
During the 2020–21 season she appeared 25 times for Crystal Palace, scoring 14 goals for the club. In a match against Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
she scored two goals, but Bristol replied with four and went on to win the championship.
In January 2022 she was brought on as a substitute for Leigh Nicol during a match with Lewes
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
when her team were losing. She was credited with reviving her team's game leading to a 3–1 victory over Lewes. The manager noted her goal and her contribution after a pass from Molly Sharpe. In the following month, they played London Bees
London Bees is an English women's football club affiliated with Barnet F.C. They play in the FA Women's National League South. The club has been in existence under several names since 1975, originally being called District Line Ladies F.C.. Th ...
and Baptiste either scored or assisted all of her team's five goals.
Baptiste moved early in July 2022 to Watford Women FC to join them for their 2022/2023 season.
References
External links
Personal training
website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baptiste, Bianca
1992 births
Living people
English women's footballers
Women's association football forwards
Arsenal W.F.C. players
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women players
Crystal Palace F.C. (Women) players
FA Women's National League players
Black British sportswomen
English people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines descent