A South Side teenager has made history as the first student-athlete in Dallas Independent School District to earn an international soccer scholarship.
As excitement mounts for FIFA World Cup matches coming to North Texas, one Dallas teen isn’t just hoping to attend a game — he’s dreaming of playing in one. And he’s already making that dream a reality, etching his name into Dallas ISD soccer history.
Ranking second academically in his senior class, 18-year-old Joe Gonzalez excels both on the soccer pitch and in the classroom.
That combination has made him a first for Lincoln High School and the entire school district.
“I’m going to get my bachelor’s in the UK, at the University of Central Lancashire, and it’s all new, all great,” Gonzalez said. “It’s all glory to God.”
Gonzalez will suit up for FC Macclesfield, a club in the English football league, while attending Lancashire University in England on a full scholarship.
He is the first Dallas ISD student-athlete to earn an international soccer scholarship.
“The goal is to do the best I can,” he said. “To make my mother proud, my family proud, I’m the first generation to go to college, try to make a name for myself. And dedicate it to God.”
“If you opened Webster’s dictionary and looked up student athlete, it would be a picture of Joe,” said Lincoln soccer coach Stanley Haines.
Haines knows Lincoln’s legacy well. NBA Hall of Famer Chris Bosh is the school’s most celebrated student-athlete, where basketball has long reigned supreme — though that may soon change.
“Joe is going to play pro,” Haines said. “I call him ESPN, because we will see him on ESPN.”
Seven years ago, Lincoln High School didn’t even have a soccer team. Gonzalez helped change that, and his journey to professional football in the UK is one he hopes other “Pride of the South” Dallas kids will one day follow.
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