Christina DiMartino (born November 6, 1986) is an American professional

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 ...

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 ...

. She previously played for the

Philadelphia Independence The Philadelphia Independence was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennsylvania. The team joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion team in 2010 and played its home games at West ...

of the WPS and was a member of the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...

Early life

Born in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to Daniel and Patrice DiMartino, Christina attended Massapequa High School in

Massapequa, New York Massapequa (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Massapequa area. The p ...

where she was a four-year varsity letterwinner and two-time Nassau County Player of the Year. DiMartino was a two-time Parade Magazine High School All-American in 2004 and 2005. In 2004, she was named NSCAA/adidas National High School Player of the Year, NSCAA/adidas High School All-American, and Gatorade State Player of the Year for New York. She was ranked as the number 12 overall recruit in the country and sixth best forward by Student Sports Magazine and Soccer Buzz named her a Top-25 U.S. High School Recruit. DiMartino played for the Albertson Express and helped the club team capture four state championships. The team also won the WAGS Tournament and the Disney Cup in 2004.

UCLA

During DiMartino's freshman year at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, she was the only freshman to start in all twenty-six matches for the Bruins, scoring five goals and assisting on five. Praised for her creativity on the field, DiMartino became one of the nation's top attacking midfielders in women's college soccer, helping the Bruins to four consecutive College Cups throughout her career. DiMartino was a semifinalist for the prestigious

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

in 2007, and was a finalist for the trophy in 2008.

Playing career

Club

FC Gold Pride

DiMartino was selected third overall in the

2009 WPS Draft The 2009 WPS Draft took place on January 16, 2009. It was the first draft held by Women's Professional Soccer to assign the WPS rights of college players to the American-based teams, though other players not previously assigned could be drafted as ...

, going to FC Gold Pride. In her first season with the club, she started 18 games and recorded one assist.

Los Angeles Sol

In January 2010, DiMartino was traded to the Los Angeles Sol.

St. Louis Athletica

After the Sol ceased operations on January 28, 2010; in the ensuing dispersal draft for the players, DiMartino was selected by

Saint Louis Athletica Saint Louis Athletica was an American professional soccer club that was based in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. Athletica started the 2009 season playing its home games at Ralph Korte S ...

. On May 27, 2010, the Athletica folded in the middle of the 2010 WPS season due to financial problems, making all Athletica players free agents on June 1.

Philadelphia Independence

DiMartino was then signed by the

, joining younger sister

Gina DiMartino Gina DiMartino (born July 31, 1988) is an American soccer player from Massapequa, New York. She previously played for the Philadelphia Independence of Women's Professional Soccer and the United States U-23 women's national soccer team. Her ...

on the squad coached by the sisters' former youth team coach, Paul Riley.

FC Kansas City

DiMartino was selected in the fifth round (38th overall) of the

2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft The 2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft took place on February 7, 2013. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 See also *List of NWSL drafts *List of foreign NWSL players References External links NWSL Supplemental Draft to Commenc ...

FC Kansas City FC Kansas City was an American professional women's soccer club based in Kansas City, Missouri. The team was one of the eight founding clubs of the National Women's Soccer League in 2012, and began play in 2013. They were two-time NWSL champions ...

for the inaugural season of the

NWSL The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

but did not play for the team during the league's inaugural season.

International

DiMartino was a member of the fourth-place United States U-20 women's national soccer team that competed in the

2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship The 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship was held in Russia from 17 August to 3 September 2006. It was the officially recognized world championship for women's under-20 national association football teams. Matches were held in four Moscow sta ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, alongside UCLA teammates

Danesha Adams Danesha LaVonne Adams (born June 6, 1986) is an American retired soccer forward and midfielder. She is an assistant coach for the Houston Cougars. She played for Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously pl ...

, Lauren Cheney, Erin Hardy, and

Valerie Henderson Valerie Kay Henderson (born April 19, 1986) is an American soccer goalkeeper currently playing for the Western New York Flash of the National Women's Soccer League. Attended Miramonte High School in Orinda, California where she played all 4 yea ...

. After 2006, she also saw time in the

United States U-23 women's national soccer team The United States U-23 women's national soccer team is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the full Women's National Team. The team competes in a va ...

player pool. Her first appearance for the senior team was during the Four Nations Tournament in January 2008, appearing in a match against Finland and assisting on Lauren Cheney's goal. DiMartino scored her first goal for the senior national team in March 2009 during the Algarve Cup, against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. DiMartino has also made appearances for the U-16, U-17, and U-19 teams.

International goals

Career statistics

Club career

International career

Personal

DiMartino has two younger sisters who have played at the youth national level:

, a member of the United States U-20 women's national soccer team that won the

2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 4th edition of the tournament. It was held in Chile between 19 November and 7 December 2008. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part in the final competition, i ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, and

Vicki DiMartino Victoria Teresa DiMartino (born September 4, 1991) is an American former soccer player from Massapequa, New York. She was a forward for the Western New York Flash in the National Women's Soccer League, and a defender for the United States U ...

, a member of the United States U-17 women's national soccer team that was runner-up at the inaugural

2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is the first women's football U-17 World Cup in FIFA history. It was held in New Zealand from 28 October to 16 November 2008. It is the officially recognized world championship for women's under-17 national ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

.Soccer's a family affair for DiMartino
ESPNRise.com

References

External links

*
US Soccer player profile

UCLA player profile

Philadelphia Independence player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimartino, Christina United States women's international soccer players UCLA Bruins women's soccer players FC Gold Pride players Saint Louis Athletica players Philadelphia Independence players Living people 1986 births American women's soccer players Women's Premier Soccer League Elite players Women's Professional Soccer players Apollon Ladies F.C. players People from Massapequa, New York Women's association football midfielders United States women's under-20 international soccer players Massapequa High School alumni