By Christopher McLaughlin

Coming to America for the first time, freshman Women’s Soccer goalkeeper Nikola Deiter has adjusted well to both life overseas, and her spot in the starting lineup.

“I’ve never been here before,” says Deiter. “Since I speak English, I haven’t had a hard time fitting in. It’s not too different here than in Australia, but there are a lot of little things.”

Deiter is the fifth Australian player to be recruited by CCSU. It’s through the network of past players that Coach Mick D’Arcy was able to get in contact with Deiter.

“We had heard about Niki through one of our former players. We knew that she was interested in coming over so we got in contact with her,” said D’Arcy.

While Deiter was interested in coming over to play, she was considering other options as well. “I hadn’t really thought about coming over here. I was planning on going to school in Australia, when I talked to my friend Leah Blayney. She had just finished playing for CCSU, and said that they were looking for a goalie so I put together a highlight video and sent it over,” said Deiter.

Deiter has fit in well since making the trek to America and is quickly becoming a vocal leader out on the field.

“Our first impression of her was very good,” said D’arcy. “She has a good strong presence in the goal and is very vocal out there. It’s always difficult for international players to adjust to life in another country, but Deiter has done it very well and has had no problems fitting in.”

In addition to being from another country, Deiter is also a freshman, in college for the first time, with a declared journalism major. While it would be difficult for some, Deiter hasn’t had any issues.

“The coaches have been really good to me since I came here,” says Deiter. “The girls have been good too really making this easy for me.”

While Deiter has taken well to life in America, she is starting to miss home. “I haven’t been home in six months now. I keep busy with soccer and school, but lately I’ve been missing my friends and family.”

Although she is a little home sick, she doesn’t regret her decision to come to CCSU.

“I came here to play soccer. I wouldn’t have had that chance if I stayed in Australia, because University soccer isn’t very big over there and I wouldn’t have played.”

Although she didn’t play for her school in Australia, Deiter played for the Australian under-20 National Team.

“Playing for the national team was fun it gave me good experience. The style of play is a little different, but not too different so it has been easy to adjust,” says Deiter.

Playing for the national team is what made Coach D’Arcy interested in this new recruit. “We knew she was a very accomplished goalie with her background,” said D’Arcy. “Playing for the national team prepared her well; she is still young so we feel she has a ton of potential.”

Although adjusting to life in a new country and fitting in with a new team would occupy the mind of most players, Deiter has some goals of her own for the rest of the season.

“I’m always working on getting better,” said Deiter. “I focus on getting better at my goal keeps and my consistency. I have a presence on the field so it’s important to remain confident in my role.”

Deiter’s improvements haven’t gone unnoticed by her coach either. “She just gets better and better. She came into preseason and hit the ground running. We have her training with the goalkeeper coach Shawn Kelly and it has really been paying off,” said D’arcy.

As CCSU’s season continues, Deiter’s improvements have been noticeable in the box scores as well. She has posted three shutouts this season including two in a row in the middle of October.

Since she still has a long career ahead of her at CCSU, it appears that the goalkeeper position is locked down for a good four years.