EDWARDSVILLE - Casey Hansen, a midfielder and defender with the Edwardsville High School girls soccer team, has signed a letter-of-intent to play for Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo.
Hansen, a senior on this year's Tigers' team, only had one assist in the 2019 season, but is a very smart player on the back line who can defend and also start an attack with her passing skills, and can start a counterattack very quickly when the opportunity presents itself.
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"I'm hoping to bring my soccer IQ and my passing skills to be able to get the offense going," Hansen said in an interview that followed the ceremony, "and hopefully help back in defense."
Hansen had some family ties to Truman State, formerly known as Northwest Missouri State University, and having family and friends in the Kirksville area also helped her in making her decision on where to go to school.
"Both my parents (Jeff and Michelle Hansen) went there, so they wanted me to go and look," Hansen said, "and it just felt like home. We have family and friends up there, so I've been around the area and the town."
The strong tradition of both men's and women's soccer at Truman State also played a role in helping Hansen decide to play for the Bulldogs, who compete in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, one of the nation's best NCAA Division-II athletic conferences.
"Yeah, I am," Hansen said. "They definitely have built up a successful program," Hansen said, "and the coaches are awesome, and the team's really close with each other, so really excited to go compete, and hopefully make a difference in the GLVC. I'm really excited, and I'll get to play against some of my former teammates who are going to schools in the GLVC, also."
Edwardsville head coach Abby Federmann thinks that Hansen will bring much to the table to Truman State's club.
"Casey is a remarkable player," Federmann said. "She's got great vision on the field, her soccer IQ is at the top of the charts. I can guarantee she's going to give 100 percent, and is quite coachable, and will learn from her coaches, and support them in any way she needs to."
Hansen considered some other GLVC schools, along with a pair of St. Louis area schools, but Truman State was her first choice all the way. She plans on majoring in exercise science, and hopes to receive her certification as a physician's assistant after graduation.
