The last two-and-a-half years haven't been the most memorable in the life of New Zealand women's soccer international Rachel Doody. In the same match in which she made her international debut for her country - against the Cook Islands at the Oceania Women's World Cup qualifying tournament in Canberra in April, 2003 - she suffered knee cartilage damage which ultimately required minor surgery, but didn't preclude a fully recovered Rachel from playing her part in Auckland's National Women's Soccer League triumph later that year. The following year saw this Mia Hamm fan selected as part of the New Zealand Senior Women's Elite Squad concept, which was first introduced in 2004, and which saw our top players initially enjoying an additional night's training alongside the cream of their peers, before returning to club training sessions twice a week. Rachel has always been a Lynn-Avon United lass, and 2004 was set to be her last campaign with them, as she prepared, with team-mate Hayley Moorwood, to leave on a footballing scholarship to Southwest Baptist University in Missouri in August that year. Moorwood made the flight, but her team-mate could only wave her goodbye with one of her crutches, while propping herself up with the other. For three weeks prior to embarking on the next step in her footballing career, Doody was caught in a bad tackle - ironically at an Elite Squad training session - and it transpired that her other knee was injured as a result. Sadly, it wasn't a minor blow, as anyone who has endured the process of recovering from the beast of all knee injuries - ACL damage - can well testify. It's a six-month rehabilitation process, and that, rather than a successful campaign at SBU, was Rachel's lot until January 2005. With the injury having deferred the realisation of her scholarship by six months, it wasn't until earlier this year that a footballer who holds Ronaldo and Michael Owen in high regard was able to kick a ball in anger once more. She did so at SBU, which was a welcome relief for the thirteen-times-capped Auckland representative, having finally undertaken a move which has seen a long-overdue upturn in her fortunes. “It was a really good experience going to SBU”, she reflected. “Because they were preparing for the spring season, I benefited even further from the emphasis on strength and conditioning training at that time - this was really good for me given I was coming off an injury. “Another thing which helped my recovery this time round was the sheer intensity of our training exercises. We trained twice daily, being up at 5.40am for a 6am start, then, after lectures, getting straight back into it at 4pm. “Part of our spring campaign saw us pay a visit to London for a week to play three matches. We did rather well on that trip, beating Loughborough University and Slough Town, and drawing 1-1 with Charlton Athletic, a team who, a few weeks later, won the English Women's FA Cup”. England international Katie Chapman, the driving force in Charlton's midfield, found herself up against a New Zealand international keen to make up for lost time following successive knee injuries of varying nature. And various reports received suggest that one of the motherland's stars of UEFA 2005 was a distinct second-best in the face of a courageous Kiwi

photo courtesy Graham Hughes / www.proshotz.com

on the comeback trail once more. “It was a tremendous experience”, Rachel says, with typical modesty. “It made me realise that what we want to achieve - World Cup and Olympic qualification - isn't that far out of reach”. When - not if - “Doodsta” and her New Zealand team-mates realise their international footballing ambitions, the Sports Management major will do so while studying at the University of West Georgia. “Our coach at SBU, Pete McGovern, resigned following our London trip, as he wanted to move to California and concentrate on club coaching. Because a lot of us were really there for the coaching, a few of the girls got offers to go to other universities. “Consequently, there's only one New Zealand women's international at SBU now, and Priscilla Duncan will be graduating from there at the end of the year. Pip Meo has gone to Kennesaw State University to replace the injured Sara Clapham, while Hayley is now at Virginia Commonwealth University”. Rachel is one of seventeen new recruits at her new college, several of whom are also international women's players from as far afield as Japan, Eire, Iceland and Sweden. Her new coach at West Georgia is Irishman Gareth O'Sullivan, who has a very strong background in the women's game at Christian Brothers University in Tennessee. “As West Georgia are only just getting into the women's programme, we're targeting to be National Champions in two years' time”, says the NZ Elite Squad player. “We're playing up to three really strong, competitive games every week. We look on it as another challenge, as playing that much and that often, over as short and intense a period as we do, means that we can only benefit as individuals and as a team”. The change of college was quite easy to arrange, so this lover of Mum's cooking - “I didn't realise how much I love it until I went to SBU!” - advises. “You can transfer two years of study across with the right amount of credits, too, which is another positive. “There's only one problem to be wary of, to be honest - you can only transfer once during your scholarship period. Consequently, you have to make sure the college you opt for has a good soccer programme, good recruiting, and has long-term goals, because you won't be able to transfer out again once you've made your decision to switch schools. “So I'm here at West Georgia with three years of study in Sports Management to contemplate. I've actually found the study quite interesting - it's a VERY different set-up to New Zealand. “You have to do some compulsory `General Education' papers, so as these are a good way to ease into the system, I've done a fair few of them to date this year. This semester will see me beginning to focus more on my studies major”. Rachel, who lists as her favourite author Wiki Ihimaera - “Being away makes you much more patriotic and appreciative of where you come from” - is, like many of her peers, “highly interested in playing professionally, after completing my spell at West Georgia. Indeed, my dream would be to play professionally in Europe”. Despite what she's gone through in the last couple of years, Rachel Doody remains crystal clear what her number one priority is, however. “To play for New Zealand again - that, for me, is the ultimate”.