Mulberry, Fla. – After turning in one of the best individual defensive seasons in the history of The Villages High School girls soccer program, one senior proudly represented the Buffalo at the state's best-on-best competition this weekend in Polk County.

Isabella Martinez, a Class of 2026 defensive midfielder for VHS, was selected to participate in the 2026 Florida Athletic Coaches Association's Girls All-Star Soccer Classic on March 13-14 at Mulberry High School.

Martinez was named to the FACA's East squad, playing in a pair of exhibition games that took place Friday and Saturday, respectively, featuring the state's top players.

The senior set a new single-season program record for 121 steals this past winter, surpassing the previous mark set by Gianna DiMaggio (120) during the 2022-23 campaign. Martinez finished with a total of 249 defensive takeaways in three seasons at VHS.

Martinez also scored two goals for the Buffalo this winter to finish with six tallies in her career, while finishing third in minutes played (1,138) this season for VHS.


Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment via email at cody.hills@tvcs.org.