Amber Thomas is off to Lake Erie College, located on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio. Lake Erie is a private liberal arts college that competes in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) in NCAA Division 2. We are hoping our star forward Amber will be able to turn their fortunes around and win their first GMAC title in her time there. 

Amber is from Wellington, New Zealand and signed up with Platform February 2021. Her goal was to use her soccer ability to travel to the US and experience US college soccer all while working towards a university degree.

Amber went to Sacred Heart College and excelled across a number of sports there. However soccer was by far her strongest sport and she had a fantastic 2021 season with Upper Hutt Women’s first team, scoring 11 goals and finishing 2nd top scorer in the Women’s Capital Premier League.

From Amber:

“I have heard so many stories about people going over to America to play football and study simultaneously; it just sounds like so much fun, like what is better than playing football. I have always wanted to take football further but didn’t know how to go about it until my teacher told me that her daughter Maggie Jenkins and how she was trying to get a scholarship in America, but she had played for New Zealand, so it wasn’t too hard for her to get one; however my coach from Wellington United told me about Platform development and how people in my team were doing the same thing which got me thinking I can do this, I have to put in the work.

My goal for the first year is to stand my ground and try my best to score as many goals as I can for Lake Erie and keep my school work balanced.”