Long gone are the days of only one or two Australian goalkeepers heading to college each year, with six on NCAA Division I rosters this season. Interestingly, three of the six are originally from either the US or Canada, with the remaining three born on this side of the Pacific. Reigning College Matildas Player of the Year Claudia Jenkins returns for La Salle, but Rhode Island starter Teresa Morrissey will be right in the hunt for both the Goalkeeper of the Year award as well as the Rachael Doyle Award for Player of the Year.
Jamie CAMPBELL (Freshman, Hartford, Perth)
Originally from Florida but living in Perth in recent years, Jamie Campbell makes the move to Hartford after playing at state league level in Western Australia for Fremantle City. Having also been picked for Western Australian representative teams during her time in Perth, Campbell comes to Hartford with some decent credentials as she looks to break into the lineup from day one. With the Hawks having posted double-digit win totals in each of the past two seasons, Campbell joins a team that is enjoying some success, particularly after reaching the America East championship game in 2019. Supplanting senior stalwart Maia Perez as the starting goalkeeper may be unlikely, but Campbell has a real chance in her freshman year to build a case for starting honours in future seasons.
Talia GROSSMAN (Freshman, USC, Palo Alto)
American-Australian goalkeeper Talia Grossman is one of two Pac-12 recruits in 2020, alongside Stanford midfielder Amy Sayer. Like Sayer, Grossman joins a team with recent championship pedigree, with USC having secured a College Cup title in 2016 with a roster that featured Australian midfielder Lulu Pullar. A talented multi-sport athlete who once featured in Sports Illustrated for her baseball exploits, Grossman comes to USC from Palo Alto as a highly-rated recruit with Young Matildas training camp experience. How long it takes for Grossman to move up the lengthy goalkeeper depth chart at USC remains to be seen, but the Trojans have certainly secured a player who can bolster their stocks in the short-term and emerge as a leader in the long-term.
Aly HAY (Redshirt Freshman, Washington State, Vancouver)
Don’t let the hometown of Vancouver fool you – Aly Hay is an Aussie, and, like Grossman, trained with the Young Matildas during 2019. One of three goalkeepers on the Washington State roster, Hay looks set to move up the pecking order following the graduation of program legend Ella Dederick. Her most likely spot looks as though it will be backing up Texas Tech transfer Marissa Zucchetto, who has experience training and playing with an Aussie already after playing alongside Demi Koulizakis. An epic postseason run saw Washington State reach the College Cup semi-finals in 2019, and despite some key players moving on following their senior seasons, are in a good position to have another crack at a deep NCAA Tournament run in the upcoming season.
Claudia JENKINS (Senior, La Salle, Adelaide)
The reigning College Matildas Player of the Year, Claudia Jenkins comes into her senior season looking to lead La Salle back to the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time since her freshman season of 2017. The former Adelaide United goalkeeper has maintained a save percentage above 78% for the past two seasons, routinely keeping the Explorers in games that they would otherwise have had little chance to secure points from. Despite Jenkins’ best efforts, La Salle’s goals against average sat around the middle of the national rankings, and the 2019 Atlantic-10 All-Tournament Team selection could certainly use some more help from her defence in this final year of her college career.
Teresa MORRISSEY (Sophomore, Rhode Island, Melbourne)
Teresa Morrissey hit the ground running in her opening season at Rhode Island, earning the opening day start and maintaining that position for the majority of the season, working around Young Matildas commitments to start in 10 of her 14 appearances. With a save percentage of 79.2% and a goals against average of just 1.09, Morrissey could certainly not be looked upon as any part of the reason Rhode Island secured only 4 wins from 18 games in 2019. If the sophomore can repeat her form of 2019 and the Rams attack can slot home a few more goals, things could start improving quickly for the Atlantic 10 side.
Grace WATSON CARR (Junior, Hofstra, Sydney)
Having made her first three college appearances in 2019, Grace Watson Carr will be hoping to significantly add to that number in 2020 as she battles incumbent Skylar Kuzmich for the starting spot. With Kuzmich and Watson Carr the only goalkeepers on the roster with college experience, it is almost certain that the former Sydney Olympic custodian will be at least second on the Pride goalkeeping depth chart in 2020. Having secured yet another Colonial Athletic Association title in 2019 before reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Hofstra will be hoping to repeat that kind of success in the upcoming season.
Leave a Reply