Former women's soccer standout Maria Martinez has been named an Assistant Coach for the Lightning's Women's Soccer Team. 
 
Martinez represented the Lightning for three seasons as a member of the Lehman College Women's Soccer Team.  The 2025 graduate was a two-time CUNYAC All-Star scored a pair of goals while dishing out four assists during her senior campaign while captaining the squad and leading the Lightning to the CUNYAC Final. In 2023, she scored four goals and led the CUNYAC in with 10 assists.  She started every game her junior and senior year.  She registered her first collegiate goal in 2022 in a 1-1 draw with Yeshiva. 
 
"I'm truly honored and excited to return to Lehman. Lehman has always been a place that helped shape me both personally and athletically, so being able to come back and give back to this amazing community means a great deal to me." Martinez commented, "I'm incredibly grateful for this opportunity and happy to be back home. I'm looking forward to staying for a long time and contributing to the continued growth and success of this amazing community."

As Cristiano Ronaldo once said, "Talent without working hard is nothing." That mindset has always inspired Martinez throughout her journey as both a player and now as a coach. "I'm excited for this next chapter and look forward to helping develop our student-athletes on and off the field while continuing to build something special within the program."

This past fall, Martinez was honored by South Bronx United Soccer Club at the Club's 1th Annual Benefit with the Alumni Award. 
 
The psychology major is a case manager at Bronxworks. She joined South Bronx United (SBU) in 2012 while in sixth grade shortly after immigrating from Mexico with her mother, in search of a better life and opportunities. While excelling on the soccer field with SBU and in the classroom in the SBU Academy, Maria became a referee and coach in South Bronx United community programs.  In 2020, she represented South Bronx United on a global stage traveling to Berlin, Germany to accept the Sport for Good Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in front of athletes, Olympians, and dignitaries.  She is a graduate of South Bronx Community Charter School.    With the assistance of SBU's immigration legal services, she was able to get her legal permanent residency and eventually become a United States citizen in 2022.