SAN ANTONIO — After four seasons on the pitch for the Rattlers, St. Mary's University Women's Soccer recent graduate
Valerie Hover will take her cleats and talents across the world to play for the West Coast Rangers Football Club.
The Rangers are part of the NRFL (Northern Regional Football League), a semi-professional New Zealand team based in Whenuapai, New Zealand, and are coming off the 2025 NRFL Premier League Championship, winning the title in only its fourth year of existence. The season gets underway on August 22, and Hover will leave this week to begin her training.
"Signing to play with the West Coast Rangers in New Zealand is an absolute dream come true," said Hover. "To have the opportunity to continue playing the game I love at the next level, while experiencing a completely new culture, is incredibly exciting."
Hover played in 79 games during her St. Mary's career, starting in 67. Her 79 games played are tied for second-most in school history, and her 67 starts are tied for sixth-most. She was named to the Lone Star Commissioner's Honor Roll five times, the Lone Star Championship All-Tournament team in 2024 and was a CSC Academic All-District selection as a sophomore. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in May 2026.
"Val is exactly the type of person we look for when recruiting a student-athlete," said Head Coach
Kevin Driggs. "Her work ethic, intensity, and coachability levels are off the chart, and I know she'll take the same to New Zealand. She's a special player, and I'm excited to see what she accomplishes at the next level."
"My time at St. Mary's meant everything to me," Hover said. "Balancing a mechanical engineering degree while playing elite collegiate soccer wasn't always easy, but the incredible community, my coaches and my teammates at StMU pushed me to grow both as an athlete and a student. I'll always carry that Rattler pride with me to Auckland."
