Pursuing academic excellence while playing soccer to the top – Ghana and USAO’s Veronica Owusu’s dream!

Veronica Owusu

Ghana is blessed with many soccer talents. No wonder many Ghanaian scholars in the various colleges and universities in the United States and Canada end up playing soccer for their various schools during their academic pursuit.

One such school benefitting from Ghana’s soccer reserve is the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO).

There were at least four Ghanaians – two women and two men – who represented USAO during last season’s college soccer league.

This profile by Ghana Soccer US (www.ghsoccerus.net) takes a closer look at young female player and scholar Veronica Owusu.

Young Veronica is currently a senior at USAO. As a talented central midfielder, the 21-year old Ghanaian has combined her soccer talents with her academic prowess that has gotten her this far.

She completed Wesley Girls Senior High School in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city in 2012 and got scouted for USAO on 2013.

As Veronica puts it, it is not just her soccer talents that got her an admission at USAO but she was academically good as well.

Last year, Veronica helped USAO to qualify to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Women’s Soccer National Championship after dispatching the likes of Oklahoma City University, South West Assemblies of God, Mid American Christian University, Wayland Baptist University as well as St. Gregory University in their conference.

In 2014, Veronica played in eight games during her second season as a Drover and took pressure off the offensive attack.

2013 was her freshman season and she played in half the games and saw five starts.

Before moving to US, Veronica played for Kumasi-based Ashtown Ladies in Ghana’s National Women’s League.

Veronica who is looking forward to playing professionally in the United States believes she has the potentials to play soccer to the highest level and that she is hopeful that she will play alongside some of the best female soccer players one day.

The possibility of playing for Ghana’s Black Queens one day is also on her cards.

“If the opportunity comes for me to represent my country one day, I will take it”, she said.

However, her current ambition is to focus on her education and play her hearts out for USAO in the upcoming NAIA soccer season scheduled for August.

Her advice for fellow students and female soccer players is simple: “Focus on whatever you want to do and never give up on your dreams”.

READ MORE ON GHANAIAN SOCCER PLAYERS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA ON  Ghana Soccer US