Vendula Strnadová (born 20 November 1989) is a Czech 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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and made six appearances for the Czech Republic women's national team.

Career

Youth and college

Strnadová attended Las Cruces High School from 2003 to 2007, where she played for the Bulldawgs. She was New Mexico's top scorer in high school women's football in 2004, and a two-time first team all-state selection, helping the team to win state championships in 2003 and 2005. She was also selected to the Olympic Development Program national pool, and led her club team to four state cup championships. In college, Strnadová played for the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

of the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

from 2007 to 2010, helping the team to win four consecutive

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

titles. She scored 23 goals and recorded 17 assists in 88 appearances for the team. She holds the school record for the most matches played, and is eleventh all-time in goals and twelfth all-time in assists for the school (she was fifth in both after finishing her last season). She is also tied for eleventh at the school for points (sixth after finishing her last season). She was included in the

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n third team in 2010, the NSCAA All-Central team in all four years (second team in 2007, first team from 2008 to 2010), the CoSIDA Academic All-America team in 2009 (third) and 2010 (second), and the

/Adidas Scholar All-America team in 2009 (second) and 2010 (first). She also won a number of conference awards, including the Conference USA Freshman of the Year in 2007, Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2011, and was included in the All-Conference team in all four years and the Academic All-Conference first team from 2008 to 2010.

Club

After finishing her college career with the Tigers, Strnadová signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with Atlanta Beat of

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 ...

for the 2011 season. She made her professional debut for Atlanta in the opening match of the season on 9 April 2011, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute for India Trotter in the 4–1 home loss against the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defu ...

. She made one more appearance for the Beat the following month, before being released by the team. She subsequently signed with

Orange County Waves The Orange County Waves was a professional women's soccer team, based in Orange County, California. The team began play in 2011, won the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) National Championship and then folded at the end of its first season. ...

of the

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States. History The WPSL is the longest-running active women's soccer league as it enters its 25th season in 2023. The WPSL is also the largest women ...

. The following year, Strnadová joined Icelandic club Afturelding of the Úrvalsdeild kvenna. She made 18 league appearances for the team, scoring 2 goals, while also making two appearances in the

Icelandic Women's Football Cup The Icelandic Women's Football Cup () is the national women's football cup competition in Iceland. The first edition of the cup was played out in 1981. List of finals The list of finals: By team See also *Icelandic Men's Football Cup Refer ...

. In 2013, she was invited to train with

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 champio ...

of the

NWSL The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

after open tryouts, and was a reserve player for the team. However, she did not appear in the NWSL. From 2014 to 2019, Strnadová played for Czech club

Slovácko Moravian Slovakia, also called Slovácko (, older ''Moravské Slovensko'') is a cultural region in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic. It lies in the historical region of Moravia, on the border with Slovakia (the Slovak region of Záhor ...

in the

Czech Women's First League The Czech Women's First League (), known as the FORTUNA=LIGA for sponsorship reasons, is the top level women's football league of the Czech Republic. The league is dominated by teams of Prague. Slavia Prague won the last championships, Sparta Prag ...

, before retiring from football.

National team

Strnadová played for the Czech Republic under-19 team from 2006 to 2008, including qualification matches for the

UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship or simply UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, is an annual competition in women's football for European national teams of players under 19 years of age. National under-19 teams whose countries belon ...

. She made fifteen appearances and scored two goals for the under-19 team. She made her senior international debut for the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

on 29 May 2009 in a friendly match against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, coming on as a substitute in the 53rd minute for Pavlína Nepokojová. The home match finished as a 2–1 win for the Czech Republic. In total, she made six appearances for the Czech Republic, earning her final cap on 8 March 2017 in the

2017 Cyprus Women's Cup The 2017 Cyprus Women's Cup was the tenth edition of the Cyprus Women's Cup, an invitational Women's association football, women's football tournament held annually in Cyprus. Format The tournament consisted of a group stage, held over three matc ...

match against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, which finished as a 6–2 loss.

Personal life

Strnadová was born in

Liberec Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...

to Jana and Ivan Strnadová. However, she grew up in

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; ; lit. 'the crosses') is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the county seat, seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 United States ce ...

after moving with her family to the United States at the age of 5, as her father got a job at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

. She graduated from the

in 2011 with a degree in

exercise physiology Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

. Her sisters also were footballers, with her older sibling Veronika playing for the

New Mexico Lobos The New Mexico Lobos are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999 ...

and was capped for the Czech Republic national team, while the younger sister Alena, a Czech youth international, also played at Memphis, including alongside Vendula during the 2010 season.

Career statistics

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Strnadova, Vendula 1989 births Living people Footballers from Liberec Sportspeople from Las Cruces, New Mexico Soccer players from New Mexico Czech women's footballers 21st-century Czech sportswomen Czech Republic women's international footballers American women's soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen Women's association football midfielders Memphis Tigers women's soccer players Atlanta Beat (WPS) players Orange County Waves players Afturelding women's football players FC Kansas City players 1. FC Slovácko (women) players Women's Professional Soccer players Women's Premier Soccer League players Besta deild kvenna players Czech Women's First League players Czech expatriate women's footballers American expatriate women's soccer players Czech expatriate sportspeople in Iceland American expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Expatriate women's footballers in Iceland