February 2, 2011
San Jose, Calif.— Former San Jose State women’s soccer standout, Jackie Cruz, signed a contract last month with the German Association Football club BV Cloppenburg, a professional team located in Lower Saxony.
Cruz will play as a left outside back for BV Cloppenburg. She brings three years of professional women’s soccer experience and becomes the first San Jose State women’s soccer player to sign with a German professional soccer club.
A local product from Notre Dame High School, Cruz played for the Spartans from 2004 through 2006. The defender/midfielder earned preseason All-WAC honors and was selected to the All-Tournament Team at the conference tournament in 2005. A well respected student athlete at San Jose State, she was voted by her teammates as Newcomer of the Year (2004) and Defensive Player of the Year (2005).
«Jackie demonstrated a very good work ethic and had an extreme passion for the game,» said San Jose State’s assistant women’s soccer coach Craig Winans, who was part of the coaching staff while Cruz played for the Spartans.
«She worked extremely hard and refused to quit,» added coach Winans. «Often times she would take the game on her shoulders. She was a dynamic back that could get into the attack, but could play anywhere on the field. The coaching staff here is delighted to see her continue to play and wishes her nothing but success in professional soccer.»
After playing at San Jose State University, the Belmont, Calif., native began her professional career in the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) with the San Francisco Nighthawks in 2007. A year later, Cruz became the team captain of the Nighthawks, which finished third in a very competitive Pacific North division. Later, she would sign with the WPSL California Storm for the 2010 season. The Storm won the Pacific North division and went onto the conference semi finals that same year.
In addition to her standout WPSL career, Cruz would catch the attention of the Puerto Rican National Team in 2008, where she also currently plays as a left outside back.
