St. Pete native Kaylan Marckese signs with Tampa Bay Sun

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Soccer has taken Kaylan Marckese across the globe, but for the St. Pete native, there’s no place like home.

“Driving over the [[Howard Frankland] bridge every day is special,” Marckese said. “Being able to go to the movies with my dad or have coffee with my mom. To be able to incorporate that into my daily life again is just special and something I really missed.”

The 26-year-old goalkeeper began her professional career overseas. After stints in Iceland and Denmark, she signed with one of the biggest clubs in the world — Arsenal.

“I think I was a little shocked at first that club was associated with my name but it’s an opportunity you can’t keep up. They’ve been historic in the community and the fanbase surrounded by it made it really special,” she said.

After an ACL injury cut her second season with the Gunners short, Kaylan found herself wanting more.

“I kind of lost some of my identity and through my injury, I found a desire to find a passion and a purpose,” Marckese said.

That desire to find a purpose outside of soccer led her back to where her soccer journey began and sign with the Tampa Bay Sun.

“I think what we’re doing here just aligns so perfectly and hits home with that and I feel like I can be more than an athlete here and we have such an opportunity in the community with this club to do that and I was just drawn to it,” she added.

“I mean she’s got so much experience,” Sun head coach Denise Schilte-Brown said. “Plus, she’s really capable in almost every facet of the game you’d want your goalkeeper to be capable in. She’s a great distributor, she’s great with her feet, she’s a good shot-stopper, and then brings great experience in [the] goal that’s going to help us a lot.”

Kaylan hasn’t been cleared to play just yet but she’s hopeful can make her return in time for the start of the regular season.

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