Goromonzi causes stir in US college hockey

recently selected to play in the All Star team for North/South Carolina in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II.
Goromonzi (19), daughter of former Premier Soccer League treasurer Joseph Goromonzi, is on a four-year hockey scholarship at Limestone College in the state of South Carolina.
Rachel, a utility player, has won the hearts of many hockey fans in the United States with her outstanding performances which have seen her winning a number of top accolades during her first year at Limestone College this season.
The talented young Zimbabwean player recently made it into the All Star team for North/South Carolina after she broke the programme record for goals in a season with 12 as she scored twice in Limestone’s 6-0 victory over Transylvania on November 6.
Freshman Rachel, who can play as a defender, midfielder and striker, delivered two goals and broke the school single season record for goals in a season as Limestone (11-6) posted a dominating season-ending victory over Transylvania.
Sophomore forward Bernice Jere, also from Zimbabwe, got the scoring started in the sixth minute as she took a pass from junior attacker Kendra Sutherland and converted it into her sixth goal of the year at the 5:46 mark.
For Sutherland, it was her team-leading seventh assist of the season.
Junior defender Kathleen Troutner added to the lead with a goal off a penalty corner at 14:18 before sophomore attacker Tyller Butler scored her third goal of the year off an assist from junior midfielder Abby Rummel with 21:57 gone by.
It wouldn’t be long before the Saints got on the board again as Goromonzi tied the programme record for goals in a season with her 11th.
That score tied the mark set by junior midfielder Sara Parker in 2010.
Her 27 points at that point broke Parker’s single season record in that category.
Already leading 4-0, Limestone kept up the pressure as it would be Parker scoring her 21st career goal at the 36:59 mark to make it a five-goal advantage.
Rachel would strike again for the Saints sixth goal five minutes later and it would be a record setter.
That score was her 12th of the year, breaking Parker’s single season record.
That would be all they would need as they closed out the 6-0 victory for their 11th win of the season.
In fact, Limestone wrapped up its third season with a record setting 11 wins, surpassing last year’s mark of five, thanks to Rachel’s exploits throughout the season.
Rachel, a former pupil at Watershed College in Marondera, moved to Limestone College in August this year where she became an instant hit.
During her first three months at the college, Rachel topped the charts for the overall individual statistics as she made the highest number of shots at goal and she contributed one third of both shots on goal and the total shots on goal for the whole team.
According to the end-of-the-year NCAA Division II statistics for individual players, Rachel ended the season 16th in the chart for goals per game with 12 goals.
She is also ranked 17th in the chart for points per game with 12 goals and five assists which gave her 29 points and a place in the top 50.
Rachel is the only student from Limestone College who is ranked in the top 50 of both the goals per game and points per game rankings.
And that’s a phenomenal record for a young talented athlete who won the Sportsperson of the Year award for 2010 at Watershed College before she moved to Limestone.
At Watershed, apart from playing hockey, Rachel excelled in a number of other sporting disciplines, which include basketball, volleyball, athletics and swimming.
In swimming, Rachel scooped the school’s Victrix Ludorum Trophy for the most outstanding swimmer from 2005 to 2007, and then in 2009.
That was before she travelled to Phoenix in Arizona, United States, in November last year for a field hockey tournament where she caught the eye of a number of scouts from several American university colleges.
She finally won herself a four-year hockey scholarship at Limestone College in August this year after the school’s hockey team’s coaches viewed her video on YouTube.
The video was edited and produced by her father, Joseph.
Rachel, who is also studying for a degree in business administration, is one of four Zimbabwean female hockey players at Limestone College.
The others are Jere, Rufaro Mushavi, both from Harare, and Tanya Jansen of Masvingo.
Rachel Goromonzi Factfile
Position:
Defender, midfielder, striker
Height:
1.67metres
Class:
Freshman (first year student)
Previous School:
Watershed College, Marondera, Zimbabwe
Watershed College:
She competed in hockey, basketball, volleyball, athletics and swimming. Scooped the Victrix Ludorum trophy for the best swimmer in 2005-2007 and 2009.
Was a member of the Zimbabwe national women’s team for the All-Africa Games.
In 2010 she won the Watershed College Sportsperson of the Year and top goal scorer awards.
She was also the first team hockey captain and won the Watershed College Most Valuable Player award.
She was also a member of the Zimbabwe national Under-18 A team and vice captain at the Momentum Hockey Festival in Namibia.
She also played for Mashonaland and Country Districts Under-19 A teams and won the Treverton Best Defender award at the Treverton Hockey Festival in South Africa.
In 2009, she played for the Zimbabwe Under-19 team at the SADC tournament in Harare, Zimbabwe, and was runner-up for the Watershed College Sportsperson of the Year award.
She is a versatile player who can play in defence, midfield and as a striker.
Personal:
Born on 26 February 1992