MANCHESTER -- For most professional soccer players, the summer break offers the opportunity to jet off to glitzy locations like Ibiza or Dubai to rest and recharge ahead of the new season. But for Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce , 29, however, this year's offseason was all about expanding her horizons.

"I spent some time with an amazing researcher called Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza," Tullis-Joyce tells ESPN. "She studies stingless bees, and pairs indigenous knowledge with scientific knowledge, so I got to shadow her in the Amazon rainforest which was just incredible. It was a blast, but I was definitely ready to come back to my teammates again and get back down to work."

It is that constant hunger to better herself -- combined with impressive technical ability -- that

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