Lyle Martin (born March 25, 1985) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player.

Career

College and amateur

Martin made his debut in the football field in 2004, and played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

California State University, Bakersfield California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Bake ...

, appearing in 79 career games and scoring 29 goals. In his senior year, he earned the 2006 California Collegiate Athletic Association goal-scoring title with 17 goals in 19 matches, which paved the way for him to become the second most single-season goals in school history. During his college years he also played for

Bakersfield Brigade Bakersfield Brigade was an American soccer team based in Bakersfield, California, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after whi ...

of the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

, scoring five goals in 10 games in his rookie season in 2005, and playing in 16 matches and scoring nine goals in 2006.

Professional

Martin was drafted by

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft, but signed instead with the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

. In his first season, in Vancouver he earned 19 starts in 24 games and played 1,657 minutes, and was honored with the Whitecaps Newcomer of the Year award. On October 12, 2008, he helped the Whitecaps capture their second

championship, beating the

Puerto Rico Islanders 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 ...

2–1. On December 18, 2008, the Whitecaps announced the contract extensions of Martin and Wesley Charles for the 2009 season. Martin was released by the Whitecaps at the end of the 2009 season. Martin moved to China with his former teammate

Charles Gbeke Charles Gbeke (born March 15, 1978) is a former professional soccer player who played as a forward. Born in Ivory Coast, he made three appearances for the Canada national team. Gbeke began his career with brief stints with Seattle Sounders a ...

and signed a contract with

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

side Shaanxi Chanba in February 2010. He is the first American footballer to play for a Chinese professional football club. He played as a forward in China and scored his first goal for Shaanxi on 25 April, in a 3–2 home win against

Shenzhen Ruby Shenzhen Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club that competes in the Chinese Super League. The team is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong and their home stadium is the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre that has a seating capacity of ...

. He was released by Shaanxi in June 2010 and signed a contract with

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

side

Hubei Luyin Wuhan Yangtze River Football Club, formerly Wuhan Zall Football Club (), is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based i ...

in July. In March 2011, Martin transferred to Beijing Baxy. He was released in the summer of 2011. Martin signed with NASL club

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadiu ...

on December 19, 2012. On April 10, 2014, Martin signed with

Honors

Vancouver Whitecaps

Championship (1):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

References

External links

player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Lyle 1985 births Living people American soccer players Association football defenders American expatriate sportspeople in Canada Bakersfield Brigade players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players American expatriate sportspeople in China USL First Division players Chinese Super League players China League One players Expatriate footballers in China Beijing Renhe F.C. players Wuhan F.C. players Beijing Sport University F.C. players San Antonio Scorpions players Chivas USA players Expatriate soccer players in Canada USL League Two players Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners men's soccer players North American Soccer League players Chivas USA draft picks Soccer players from California Sportspeople from Bakersfield, California