The best place to look for Rachael Goulding is on a soccer field. The problem is, one can never tell where on the field she might be.
That's because Goulding is arguably the most versatile player on the Bobcats' roster. On that roster, the fifth-year senior from Toronto is listed as a defender, but she has played almost every other position as well.
Goulding first played soccer at age 6 and soon outpaced the competition that an all-girls recreational league could offer. Always up for a challenge, she figured if she could play for one team, she could play for three.
I wasn't finding the girls' league competitive enough
so I played in the boys' league and actually one summer I played girls boys and all-star
she said. I was pretty busy as a young child.
During high school, Goulding played defense for Vaughan Azzurri Girls 88, a top-tier club travel team. Vaughan Azzurri took a trip to Barcelona in addition to playing several matches in the U.S. Ohio coach Stacy Strauss took advantage of the team's stateside schedule and scouted Goulding and her teammate, Jasmine Merith.
I saw them play three or four times at tournaments
Strauss said. (Goulding has) improved a lot technically
but even then we knew she was the complete package in terms of speed
size
power
ability on the ball.
Goulding quickly earned recognition as one of the best defenders in the Mid-American Conference and was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team and All-MAC First Team in 2006. She was named All-MAC Second Team her sophomore year.
But her greatest opportunity came the following fall. Goulding tried out and was selected to play for Canada's U-20 Women's World Cup team in Chile. She redshirted the 2008 season to train with the squad for four months in Vancouver.
It was a good experience in terms of soccer
in terms of growing as a person
to take four months and live in a foreign place
