Brandon Joseph Saldaña (born May 20, 1991) is a

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 goalkeeper. Born in the continental United States, he has represented the

Puerto Rican national team Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

. Saldaña has earned three international caps with the Puerto Rican squad. In addition, Saldaña has served as the backup goalkeeper on the

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

men’s soccer team in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Background

Saldaña’s grandparents were born in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

and emigrated to New York City. Saldaña is a second-generation American and grew up in

Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located on Long Island in Nassau County New York. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within ...

with his parents and older sibling.

Early years

Massapequa Terminators

Before beginning his high school career at Chaminade High School (Mineola, NY) Saldaña served as a goalkeeper (May 2004 - August 2010) for the Massapequa Terminators, an elite travel Soccer team. Saldaña traveled both nationally and internationally to compete in Premier Soccer Tournaments.

Chaminade High School

Saldaña attended

Chaminade High School Chaminade High School is a Roman Catholic Marianist college preparatory high school for boys in Mineola, New York, United States. Chaminade’s main campus is also home to Saragossa Retreat Center, one of their three retreat houses. Athletics ...

(Mineola, NY) from August 2005 to June 2009, where he graduated academically ranked in the 90th percentile and served as a goalkeeper on the school's varsity soccer team.

Amherst College

Saldaña attends

(Amherst, Massachusetts) where he is studying for his Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in Mathematics. His anticipated graduation was May 2013 and his long-term goal is a career in financial services. Saldaña serves as the backup goalkeeper on the Amherst College Men’s Varsity Team. Saldaña has appeared in four games this season, allowing one goal and saving two shots in just over 132 minutes of play. In addition to his academic and athletic endeavors, Saldaña is a co-owner and operator of MAStorage, Inc., a storage company providing storage for students at Amherst, UMASS, Mt. Holyoke, Smith and Hampshire Colleges.

“El Huracán Azul”

Saldaña began his international career with “El Huracán Azul” (World Rank 106) in early October 2011 after the starting goalkeeper was injured on Sept. 2 while playing in the World Cup qualifier against St. Kitts and Nevis. Saldañ
was flown down
to tryout and quickly earned his spot in the starting line up. Saldaña earned his first international shutout on October 11, 2011 against team Canada (0-0) at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada.

International games played

* October 7, 2011: Puerto Rico v. St. Kitts & Nevis: 1-1 * October 11, 2011: Puerto Rico v. Canada: 0-0 * November 14, 2011: Puerto Rico v. St. Lucia 3-0

References

American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Puerto Rican men's footballers Puerto Rican expatriate men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Living people 1991 births Puerto Rico men's international footballers Amherst Mammoths athletes {{PuertoRico-footy-bio-stub