Reggae Girl sets sights on American pro league

Nodley Wright, Gleaner Writer

Reggae Girl Omolyn Davis, the winner of the RJR Sports Foundation category award for female football, will move one step closer to achieving her dream of playing professionally when she joins up with a semi-professional team in the United States this summer.

The 22-year-old George Mason University student will represent the Washington Freedom semi-professional team with a view to learning enough and showcasing the qualities that will see her being offered a professional contract in the Women's Professional Soccer league which was founded last year, six years after the Women's United Soccer Association League folded. That league, the first in which all the players were fully paid professionals and which featured the likes of Mia Hamm, Brandy Chastain and Brianna Scurry, had only been founded in February 2000 and had its first game in April the following year this summer with a view to becoming a full professional in 2011.

Waterhouse player

"My dream as a football player is to make it to the next level. The US is now running a pro league and I am looking to book a spot in the league after I graduate next year," said Davis who is pursuing a degree in sports management and who turns out locally for Waterhouse in the Sherwin Williams Women's League.

"The opportunity I have this summer would be the perfect fit for me as the Freedom is a great organisation that already has a professional team. In fact, some days, the Washington Freedom Women's League team will practise with the professional players, so this will be a great opportunity for me to ask questions about the league and what it will take for me to get to the next level," added the former Excelsior High school student who has made quite an impression since transferring from Lindsey Wilson College in 2008.

Due to transfer regulations, Davis had to sit out the 2008 season for George Mason but wasted little time in 2009. With her in their team, George Mason's win record improved from five to 14 with four draws and two losses. The school led the conference in shots, goals, points per game and assists.

Individually, midfielder Davis led the team in points, goals and assists registering 10 strikes and eight assists. Her statistics placed her third in the conference on the goalscoring list and second on the assists list.

She was subsequently named to the first team All-Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America 2010, First-team Eastern College Athletic Conference All-Star 2010, Women's Soccer first-team all Colonial Athletic Association 2010.

"Omolyn is one of the best dribbler on the ball I have ever coached or seen in the college game. She is fantastic about controlling pressure if a defender is tight on her. She has the ability to break by one to several defenders with tricky and cheeky moves. She is a threat to set up a goal at any time because of this," is how Diane Drake, head coach of the George Mason team, summed her up.