PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The day Jamaica’s Under-20 Reggae Girlz defeated Cuba to advance to the CONCACAF round in 2013 remains Marlo Sweatman’s signature moment in football.

So remarkable and rewarding was the experience that she just could not pass up the opportunity to transition to the senior Reggae Girlz when an invitation was extended for her to join the camp last month.

Such is her passion and love for her mother’s country of birth that she even decided to mutually part ways with Dutch women’s football club PEC Zwolle upon accepting the invite.

“I stuck with Jamaica because I just like to represent my mother’s country. I feel more welcomed here and now I am playing for the big team. So far it has been great, very professional, because we have a great staff and the girls are super nice and welcoming, so that makes everything easy,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“From the first time I came into the Jamaican set-up I have been talking about the comparison [between Jamaica and the US] — that the talent is the same. I think the Jamaicans have raw talent because they are such good athletes.

“But the difference is the US obviously has funding, so they have the resources and whatever they need, whereas for the Jamaican team we have to fight for everything we get. So you can look at that as a positive because we are going to work our socks off even harder because it is not going to be given to us,” Sweatman added.

Though her mother and father (Beverly and Edward) did not break away in the sporting arena, Sweatman was firm in her attempt to make the generational swing, and as such went on a pursuit for football glory.

Her career took flight from her days at Flint Hill High School where she was a four-time MVP and All-ISL first-team selection and a three-time captain. She led her high school team in assists and scoring in all four years, while dabbling with track, lacrosse and basketball.

From there she became a member of the Jamaica’s Under-20 team, serving as a starter and captain in the midfield in every match in 2012. After that, she represented at the CONCACAF U-20 World Cup qualifier, scoring twice for the black, green and gold.

Since then Sweatman has been a figure wherever she went, earning praises for her exploits at Florida State University (FSU) before transferring to Oregon where she majored in general social science (crime, law and society) prior to graduating last year.

Standing at 5ft 8inch tall, Sweatman’s athleticism in the middle of the park makes her the workhorse of the team, and she is now determined to give off her best to aid in Jamaica’s efforts to secure a senior Women’s World Cup berth.

“It is a little bit easy for me because I just feel a rhythm each time I am going into a game. I just go in, play my game, build a connection with the other people on the field. Whether I am playing for Jamaica, professional or college, my level of intensity is always the same.

“So, for me, my role is to dictate the play and switching the point of attack, so I kind of look at myself as a quarterback. So I am just going to try to make my presence felt and control the tempo of the game,” said the 23-year-old, flashing her trademark smile.

The Reggae Girlz kicked off their Group B CONCACAF Caribbean Women’s World Cup Qualifiers yesterday, whipping Guadeloupe 13-0 in the curtain-raiser at the Stade Sylvio Cator.