Eleni Marie Benson ( el, Ελένη Μπένσον; born 12 January 1983) is an American-born Greek former
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 played as a
defender. She has been a member of the
Greece women's national team.
College career
Before college, Benson was a star high school soccer player at
E. O. Smith High School
E. O. Smith High School, (or E.O. Smith) named after a member of Connecticut's legislature and former University of Connecticut president Edwin O. Smith, is a High school, secondary school located in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. E.O. Smith ...
, in
Mansfield, Connecticut
Mansfield is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 25,892 at the 2020 census.
Pequot and Mohegan people lived in this region for centuries before the arrival of English settler-immigrants in the late 17th cent ...
. Benson went on to attend and play for
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
.
International career
Benson played for Greece at senior level in the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
.
Personal life
Benson is married and has added her married name, Rettig, to her American nationality.
See also
*
Greece at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Greece was the host country for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, from 13 to 29 August 2004. As the progenitor nation and in keeping with tradition, Greek athletes have competed at every Summer Olympics in the modern era, alongside Australia, Gr ...
References
External links
*
Yale Daily Newswww.greeknewsonline.com
*
www.ussoccer.com
1983 births
Living people
Women's association football defenders
Greek women's footballers
Greece women's international footballers
Olympic footballers for Greece
Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
American women's soccer players
Soccer players from Connecticut
People from Willington, Connecticut
American people of Greek descent
Sportspeople of Greek descent
Yale Bulldogs women's soccer players
{{US-women-footy-bio-stub