Come to a University of South Alabama soccer game and you'll hear a multitude of voices, from coaches yelling to players, fans cheering on the teams and players talking to each other. But stay long enough and you'll hear one consistently above all the others: senior Hannah Godfrey's.

As a center back, the Thornton-Cleveleys, England native is the Jaguars' last line of defense, so communication with her teammates is critical, and as the team captain and unquestioned leader of the team, her voice carries the most weight.

A second-year captain, Godfrey has anchored the Jaguars' back four for the last three seasons and has been a critical part in 33 shutouts over that time, tops in the Sun Belt Conference. She is a two-time all-Sun Belt honoree, and last year was voted the league's defensive player of the year. She has been on the field more minutes than any outfield player on the team in the last three seasons, including every minute so far in 2018.

But beyond the individual stats and accolades, it is Godfrey's leadership that has been her biggest contribution to a program that has won all six Sun Belt championships since she arrived on campus.

Head coach Richard Moodie has pointed out that no matter the score or if the Jaguars are winning or losing, the common factor will be hearing Godfrey directing traffic. He's convinced that she could take someone who's never played the game and coach them through a 90-minute game.

"I don't think about it at all; it just comes out," Godfrey said. "The times when I don't talk, I think I'm having a bad game. I could be having the best technical game of my life. That's huge for a team to have someone that's controlling people. Sometimes I don't even think before I speak, so sometimes it could be wrong, but I'll always try and correct it. If I'm not guiding and helping someone, I'm encouraging someone."

That ability to lead teammates through a game comes from watching soccer her entire life. She accompanied her step-father throughout her childhood to Chelsea games, making the nearly-500 mile round trip from Thornton-Cleveleys to London to see the Blues play at Stamford Bridge.

Obsessed with soccer from an early age, Godfrey played for her hometown team until she joined Blackburn Rovers' Centre of Excellence at the age of 10. After completing her six-year run at Blackburn, she tried out and was offered a spot at Manchester City Ladies. While at Man City, she also played at Accrington and Rossendale College, where she was teammates with Rio and Steffi Hardy, who were recruited to South Alabama in 2014 by then-head coach Graham Winkworth.

After initially dismissing the idea of coming to America to play college soccer, the Hardys and Winkworth convinced Godfrey to make the move. While she was happy at Manchester City, the opportunity here was too good to pass up.

"(Winkworth) came on a recruiting trip to England and watched a game," Godfrey recalled. "Afterwards we had a chat and talked. We discussed different things and he told me everything about it. I came on a visit for five days and saw everything. I've been to America a lot on holiday and loved it, but when I came out here and saw the school, I was surprised I could be living here. The facilities, the weather, everything, he just sold it for me straight away.

"I had to make the decision to stay at Man City or come to America. What I tell people from home is, don't throw away the opportunity – at least try. If you don't like it, you go home. But once you've said no, you've said no – it's gone, so you might as well come out here and see what it is."

Once she got past the typical culture shock of someone living thousands of miles away from home, Godfrey got to work. She quickly realized she wasn't as prepared as she thought.

While English players focus primarily on the technical side of the game, in America, it's all about fitness. In the South, where temperatures will get well into the 90s in August and September, fitness is taken to a completely different level.

Godfrey came into a team loaded with young talent that was coming off Sun Belt regular season and tournament championships. She appeared in 19 contests and started six times, all within the first 13 games of the season. However, she played sparingly after that, seeing no more than 45 minutes of action until the season finale, an NCAA Tournament loss at Florida State.

That freshman year required an adjustment for Godfrey, who growing up was usually the best – and most vocal – player on her team, which typically meant she was a team leader. As one of the less-established players, she learned a lot from captains Nini Rabsatt-Smith and Sarah Hay.

"Everyone knew they were the captains," Godfrey said. "Everyone knew that you would be disciplined and knew that if you broke the rules, there would be consequences. They made sure that the discipline was in order and everyone was doing the right thing. You didn't want to mess up."

The following offseason is where it all changed for Godfrey. She realized that having all the technical ability in the world didn't matter if she couldn't make it through a grueling 90-minute contest. After a talk with Winkworth, a difficult lifestyle decision made all the difference in the world.

Gone were fast-food items, pizza, Starbucks and the unlimited options the cafeteria provided. In were healthy foods, normal portions and meal-prepping.

"I weighed out all my food, I counted everything I ate, I logged everything," Godfrey said. "I was obsessed. It wasn't to a point where I was crazy or anything, but I was obsessed with it because I enjoyed it and I knew it was making me better.

"From spring break and all throughout the summer, I was a different person. I made the best change I could have possibly made. When I came here for my sophomore year, I was totally different. I was ready, I was fit and that's when my sophomore year began."

All of that hard work paid off. She started 21 times and appeared in all 22 games, while logging a team-high 2,022 minutes as the Jags claimed two more Sun Belt titles and went to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.

She experienced another big change after that season when Winkworth departed for Arizona State. Replacing him was Moodie, and it didn't take long for him to notice Godfrey's potential.

"She was our captain and leader from the day that I met her," Moodie said. "I knew she was going to be that player. Why? Because she was the first player that stuck around after practice to train extra after our first practice session. She's a young lady that wants more."

Godfrey felt like she was ready but was still caught off guard when Moodie informed her that the team and the coaches had voted her captain.

"At the time I was so overwhelmed and shocked that I'd gone from this little freshman that didn't really play and all my hard work had paid off," Godfrey said. "I was ready for the challenge."

The role came with new responsibilities. It meant not just staying close to her friends but being a team leader to everyone, setting a professional standard for everyone to follow. She acts as a go-between with the players and staff, often taking care of issues that arise before the coaches hear about it.

"The biggest compliment I can give her is she leads by example, in or out of the locker room," Moodie said. "She trains extra, she lives right, eats right and will give nothing less than 100 percent in every activity we do, whether it's film room, to yoga, to practice every day. It's hard not to respect a young lady that has that mentality and attitude."

"It comes naturally, but I always want to do the right thing," Godfrey stated. "Everything I do, whether it's on or off the field, I'm always thinking, is this going to affect my soccer or my teammates. Even if that means living a very boring life not doing anything. I'd rather be the one getting As and studying, doing everything I can do right. I'm not perfect, but if I do everything I can control and do it right, then I know that people are going to look up to me. Getting a 4.0 and doing well on the fitness test helps me, but it pushes people around me to do better."

With Godfrey in her final season at South Alabama, she has made an effort to see that assistant captain Justice Stanford will be prepared for the role her senior year, involving Stanford in team talks, meetings and decisions that affect the entire team.

Godfrey's journey from little-used freshman to team captain has played a huge role in how she conducts herself. Her climb up the ladder has been used to help teammates go through difficult stages, giving Godfrey life experience she can pass on to younger players.

"Those people that have played 90 minutes all their life, it's hard to listen to them say 'Everything's going to be fine,' Godfrey said. "They don't understand, so coming from someone that really does get it and understands how you feel right now, I've been through everything you've done, that just makes what I say more valid."

Seeing that soccer has been in Godfrey's life since the age of 2, it is no surprise that she wants to make this into a career. With the women's game on the rise, she has plenty of options after she graduates in May, and could follow former teammates Rio and Steffi Hardy, and Tiina Trutsi overseas to a professional league. After that, she has her eyes set on a graduate degree and a path into coaching.

First, she has to finish out the final two months of her college career, hopefully leading South Alabama to another conference crown. When the whistle blows in her final game, it's up to Moodie to find someone to fill Godfrey's shoes.

"She bleeds red, white and blue and loves the University and the soccer program itself," Moodie said. "She's undoubtedly a phenomenal soccer player; that part no one can argue because of the accolades she's won. Hannah Godfrey the person is even better. She's huge for our team and we're going to miss her next year for sure."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Upper 90 Club, the soccer specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All gifts to the Upper 90 Club go directly to support the South Alabama soccer program. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/upper90

—USA—