This Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagle enjoys being aggressive on the soccer field.
“Physicality, I’m really into contact,” junior soccer player Danya Hart said when asked why she likes soccer. “I wanted to play football when I was younger, my mom wouldn’t let me.”
Hart mentioned how the team has a very tight bond, the Golden Eagles had a 9-5-3 overall record and a dominant 7-3-2 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) record. Cal State L.A. had the second-best record in the CCAA, but lost 0-2 against Sonoma State in the CCAA tournament semifinals.
“We’ve had a fairly successful year, we’ve worked really hard,” she said. “We have a great group of girls this year and everyone just feeds off each other, the vibe is great, just the atmosphere is great.”
Hart had a strong campaign as a sophomore, starting in 19 of 20 games that season. While playing against Cal State East Bay, she earned an assist to a goal and the Eagles ultimately won 2-0.
“No one is going to outwork me,” Hart said. “That’s just the work, the effort that gets put into [soccer] that I like.”
Hart aspires to get into advertisement and majors in Business Administration, Marketing, and Management with a minor in Social Media and Pan- African studies.
“I minored in Pan-African studies because I really want to give back to the community further down the line as far as inequality,” she said.
During the summer, Hart took an Environmental Injustice class; she considered it her favorite.
“Everything is hands-on,” she said. “I got to volunteer, I got to see different people and just talking to different people.”
The most challenging game for Hart was the Eagle’s 2-3 loss against the Dominguez Hills Toros. When mentioning the game, Hart brought up the importance of keeping composure.
“Overcoming that was really just staying focused, not letting stuff get to you,” she said. “I had to overcome that because a lot off distractions and people trying to pull you out of your game.”
Hart, a product of track running parents, was the first person in her family to play soccer when she was seven years old. After asking to play soccer, her mother signed her up.
“It’s very hard on the mind, it’s a mind sport. You have to be mentally strong,” Hart said. “I’m the type of person [where] you’re not going to beat me, you’re not going to make me look dumb.”
Hart’s advice to young soccer players is not to listen to naysayers who down play their talent.
“If there’s something that you want to do, get it done,” Hart said. “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it because you can.”
