Dubbo’s Vanessa Hart has been making a big impression in women’s college soccer in the United States.
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Hart has been a regular starting midfielder for the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks and was one of four players from her team named in the Ohio Valley All-Tournament team, considered a big achievement for a freshman (first-year student).
Her college qualified for the NCAA Tournament (top 64 colleges in USA) winning the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) against Samford in a penalty shootout after scores were locked 1-all at the end of 20 minutes of overtime.
The Redhawks lost their first game in the NCAA Tournament knockout to 23rd-ranked Missouri Tigers.
Again scores were locked 1-all at the end of regular play
but fell 2-0 in the ensuing shootout.
Hart instigated her team’s 43rd minute goal when, according to her college’s website, she “passed a perfect long through ball to the OVC Offensive Player of the Year Courtney Alexander … who placed Southeast Missouri State’s first ever NCAA tournament goal in the right side of the net to tie the game”.
“I’m extremely proud of my team,” head coach Heather Nelson said after the game.
“We’ve made history this season with only two losses before this game.
“We won (our conference regular season), we won the OVC tournament, and we swept all the awards.
“We have a great group of athletes and we showed a lot of character today.”
Hart moved to the USA earlier this year after earning the Arrive Alive Women’s Super League Platinum Player of the Year Award in 2006 while playing for the Bathurst City Panthers.
She finished Year 12 at
Dubbo College Senior
Campus last year and in the process, led her girl’s open soccer team to the CHS semi-finals and was an Australian Schoolgirls representative in 2005 and 2006.
In 2003 she was a member of the NSW Country team that won the national titles.
At present she is fulfilling a four-year college soccer scholarship and playing against some of the best competition in the world.