ST. AUGUSTINE – Former Flagler College women's soccer star Lindsay Zullo has had a successful postgraduate career in professional soccer and now finds herself playing for the Haitian National Team.
The 5-foot-3 forward from Hudson, Florida has spent the last two years training with the Haitian National Team in South Bend, Indiana. The head coach of the national team, Shek Borkowski, is Zullo's head coach for FC Indiana. She has played for FC Indiana the last two seasons.
"Because the Haitian National Team trains outside its own country and in the United States, I am eligible to play," said Zullo. She and nine or 10 of her teammates from FC Indiana are on the national team.
Haiti has endured political unrest, a massive earthquake in 2010 and is one of the poorest nations in the world. With players hard to find, the local federation has allowed, on a limited basis, players from other countries, like the United States, to play for Haiti.
Earlier this summer, Zullo helped lead the Haitian National Team to a first place finish in Group 4 of the Women's Caribbean Cup. The Haitians defeated Suriname 3-0, but then had to face a formidable Cuban National Team. The team played in front of a home crowd of 3,000 Haitian fans and the game was broadcast nationally. Haiti defeated Cuba with the help of an own goal. Haiti has since emerged from the Caribbean Cup to play in October's Gold Cup which is CONCACAF's last stage qualifier for the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada.
Haiti will play three matches in the United States, starting with Guatemala on Oct. 15 at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Missouri. On Oct. 17, they will take on Trinidad & Tobago at Toyota Park in Chicago, Illinois. Haiti's final match will be Oct. 20, at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., against Team USA. The semifinals and finals will be played Oct. 24 and 26.
"It's going to be weird playing against the United States," said Zullo. "It was a dream of mine to play for them, but to play against them…I am excited.
"I have been watching a lot of the players for awhile so it will be a great opportunity to play against Team USA."
CONCACAF is assured of two berths for the 16-team Women's World Cup field, with a third team entering a playoff with a side from another confederation for an additional berth.
Zullo completed her second season this summer playing for FC Indiana, based out of New Paris, of the Women's Professional Soccer League (WPSL). The team plays in the Midwest-Great Lakes Region. Last month, Zullo was selected as a WPSL All-Star for the region.
"We have had a combination of Haitian and local college players at FC Indiana," said Zullo. They made it to the playoffs this summer and lost in the regional finals to the Chicago Red Stars Reserves, whose parent club (Chicago Red Stars) compete in the National Women's Soccer League.
At Flagler, Zullo played in 62 games and scored 20 goals with four assists for a total of 44 points from 2009-12. She was a three-time All-Peach Belt Conference selection, the program's only multi-year all-conference pick. She is one of only two first-team selections, earning that honor in 2011.
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