Minnesota United

Minnesota United FC midfielder Collin Martin announced Friday that he is gay.

In the following tweet, Martin wrote that he will compete as an out player for the first time Friday against FC Dallas on Pride Night:

Martin added that he has been out to his family, friends and teammates for many years and that their support made coming out publicly "that much easier."

The 23-year-old native of Chevy Chase, Maryland, discussed the meaning of coming out as a pro athlete with Megan Ryan of the Minnesota Star Tribune, saying, "I never thought that was completely important because I thought it'd been done before. But, I mean, you look around, there's still not an out professional athlete in the five major sports in America ... right now. So it's still important."

Per Ryan, Martin is the first MLS player to come out as gay since former Los Angeles Galaxy star Robbie Rogers in 2013.

He is also the first male athlete to come out in one of North America's five major sports since defensive end Michael Sam did before the St. Louis Rams drafted him in 2014.

Martin is in the midst of his sixth MLS season.

He was originally signed by DC United in 2013 after playing his college soccer at Wake Forest.

Martin was traded to Minnesota United in 2017 and has made 17 appearances with the club over the past two seasons.

In six games this season, including three starts, Martin has no goals and one assist.

Martin's first game as an out player will kick off Friday at 8 p.m. ET at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Congratulations to the NSC Minnesota Stars on winning the NASL Championship over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers!

The NSC Minnesota Stars won their first North American Soccer League title against the Strikers on a 3-1 aggregate following a 0-0 draw on Saturday at Lockhart Stadium. Regardless of the rainstorm prior to the match, the Stars weren't going to be denied their NASL Championship. 

After qualifying for the playoffs with a 9-9-10 record, the Stars had to face three of the top four teams in the NASL in their journey of becoming NASL Champions. After defeating the third-seeded FC Tampa Bay 1-0, the Stars thwarted the regular NASL regular season champion Carolina RailHawks from advancing to the NASL Championship Series in a memorable semifinal series. 

In the NASL Championship Series, the Stars faced the hottest-scoring team in the postseason. Prior to facing Minnesota, the Strikers had outscored FC Edmonton and the Puerto Rico Islanders by a combined score of 10-2 in three matches. 

In a series of defense vs. offense, the Stars demonstrated some offensive firepower of their own. In the first leg of the championship series, Minnesota won 3-1 over the Strikers. With the second leg in Florida, the Stars were able to prevent Florida from producing any goals on Saturday night. 

Following the victory, it'll be interesting to see how the monumental win impacts the club in the upcoming months. Currently the Stars are owned by the NASL with the hopes of finding an owner. Time will tell how the Stars' NASL Championship impacts the soccer culture.

“We don’t want to shy away from what we are, and that’s a team that’s owned by the league and looking for the right owner,” Minnesota Head Coach Manny Lagos said in a press release. “I hope the pride we bring back to the state open eyes and gives Minnesotans some pride in this state as a soccer market. We’re looking forward to coming home and sharing this moment with the fans who weren’t able to travel.”

The Stars return to Minnesota at 10:30 a.m. on Monday. Fans are welcome to meet them in Terminal 2 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport and are also encouraged to attend a championship celebration at Brit’s Pub in downtown Minneapolis starting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

Cesar Diaz is a mild-mannered reporter who writes for several online publications. If there's a soccer topic you believe that needs to be written about, please feel free to contact him. Easily accessible, you may contact him CoveringSoccer@gmail.com and at @Covering Soccer. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

Thanks to the North American Soccer League's (NASL) online streaming, many fans watched the Minnesota Stars win the first leg of the NASL Championship Series. The Minnesota Stars had a 3-1 victory over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on Saturday night.

Playing at home in the NSC Stadium in front of 4,511 fans, the Minnesota Stars were able to contain the red-hot Strikers who, prior to Saturday night's contest, had outscored their opponents by a combined score of 10-2 in three matches. By scoring first and stifling their offense, the Stars made it clear that they were not going to allow Fort Lauderdale run all over them at home.

Opening the scoring register for the Stars was Neil Hlavaty, whose free kick produced a goal in the third minute of the first half and gave his teammates a 1-0 advantage. Moments after Stars Andrei Gotsmanov drew a foul, Hlavaty blasted the ball past the wall and past Strikers goalkeeper Matt Glaeser. 

Trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Strikers were evidently unable to find their flow. Despite making adjustments at halftime, the Strikers couldn't find their rhythm as Minnesota continued to pressure them with their defense. 

For a team that many believe are destined to win the NASL Championship Series, the Strikers were tied 1-1 when Minnesota's Justin Davis inadvertently scored an own goal for Fort Lauderdale in the 52nd minute of the second half.

Instead of momentum swinging towards Fort Lauderdale's favor, the Stars retook the lead when Luke Mulholland's goal in the 53rd minute gave his team a 2-1 lead. 

As the Strikers tried to level the match, the Stars sealed the first leg of the NASL Championship Series in the 77th minute when Lucas Rodriguez beat two Strikers defenders and the goalkeeper for a 3-1 advantage with less than 15 minutes remaining. 

By winning the first leg of the championship series, the Stars have a two-goal advantage and are one step closer to hoisting the NASL Championship Trophy, the Soccer Bowl. 

Both teams will travel to Florida where they will meet at the Lockhart Stadium for the second leg of the NASL Championship Series. The match takes place on Saturday, October 29, at 7:30 p.m. EST. 

While the outcome isn't the one Fort Lauderdale would have preferred, they'll have home field advantage where they will have the weather and the support of their fans to give them an opportunity to win their first ever NASL Championship. 

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He also writes for 5 Points Press & USSoccerPlayers.com, your source for American Soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Easily accessible, you may reach Cesar at cesar@latinosports.com and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.