Hieke Zijlstra (born 12 August 1981) is a Dutch

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 ...

. She played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or striker for clubs in the Netherlands, the United States and England, and has represented the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

national team.

Club career

After starting her career in the

, Zijlstra moved to America in summer 2003. She played for the

Chicago Cobras The Chicago Cobras, are a former USL W-League team based in Chicago, Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of ...

and

Charlotte Lady Eagles Charlotte Lady Eagles is an American women's soccer team, founded in 2000. Between 2002 and 2015 the Lady Eagles were a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada, and a memb ...

, but rejected a scholarship in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

to sign for

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

club Bristol Academy in August 2004. Zijlstra returned to the

in 2006, where she continued to play.

International career

Zijlstra made her debut for

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in a 3-2 win in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

on 4 October 2000. She scored two goals in 10 appearances, the last of which came against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

on 10 June 2003. She also went to the

2001 Summer Universiade The 2001 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXI Summer Universiade, was an international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, between 22 August and 1 September. A total of 6,757 athletes from 165 nations took part in 12 spor ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, playing three matches, scoring one goal and winning a silver medal.

International goals

:''Scores and results list the Netherlands goal tally first.''

Personal life

Zijlstra is a devout Christian.

External links

Profile

References

1981 births Living people Dutch women's footballers Expatriate women's footballers in England Netherlands women's international footballers Bristol Academy W.F.C. players People from Zuidhorn Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Women's association football midfielders Dutch expatriate women's footballers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United States Dutch Christians Footballers from Groningen (province) 20th-century Dutch women 21st-century Dutch women Charlotte Lady Eagles players USL W-League (1995–2015) players Chicago Cobras players {{Netherlands-women-footy-bio-stub