Checking in with former Northwest soccer standout Vanessa Lara
Jun. 29—Former Northwest Whitfield High School soccer standout Vanessa Lara first heard that Chattanooga Football Club would be fielding a women's team again when her former high school assistant coach encouraged her to try out.
The club was bringing back women's soccer for the first time since 2018, and Amanda Moore, who was an assistant on Lara's teams prior to her 2017 graduation, thought her former player would be a good fit.
"I didn't want to at first, because I wasn't sure if I was on that level," Lara said. The former Lady Bruin was fresh off five seasons of soccer at Point University in West Point. "I give a lot of credit to coach Moore, because she's honestly a big reason I'm on the team. I ended up making the team. It's so amazing because it's a team that's coming back after a few years off."
CFC's women's team resumed play this summer after ceasing operations in 2018. Lara plays midfielder on the revived team. She's on the team along with a few other local products, like Coahulla Creek's Ana Silva and Southeast Whitfield's Briana Hurtado. Kaylee Carpenter and Briana Smotherman from Dalton State College are also on the roster.
It also helped Lara that Chattanooga FC's coach is Randy Douglas, who had seen her game up close while also serving as her coach at Point University.
Lara arrived at Point after her 2017 graduation from Northwest to a bit of a soccer culture shock, she said.
"Going into college, the first thing you notice is how much more serious it is. You have to practice every day, and even then you have to work outside of practice to be able to get a spot," Lara said. "I got a starting position early, so I feel like I had to do even more to stay up with the upperclassmen."
Lara made good on that early action as a freshman.
"I got to score a few goals," Lara said. "I had one like 18 yards out, and that's one that I didn't expect to make, so that was a bright spot of my freshman year."
Lara spent five seasons as a midfielder for the Skyhawks, gaining an additional year of eligibility when the NAIA granted players in sports affected by 2020 COVID-19 cancellations more time to play, capping her career with a goal and three assists in her senior season in fall 2021.
Lara got a degree in biology from Point, and she's looking to getting into nursing school soon.
While she had some free time this spring, though, she served as an assistant for Northwest Whitfield's girls soccer program on a team then led by head coach Moore.
Lara helped the Lady Bruins to a Region 7-4A championship and a run to the state's Final Four.
Lara said the high school game has changed even in the five years between her graduation and her time as an assistant coach for the Lady Bruins.
"When I was in high school, it was so much different, because all these girls now are playing in club ball and other teams besides high school, and I was probably one of the only ones on the team to play club then," Lara said. "I'm so happy that there are a lot of younger girls that are getting more into the game."
Lara's watched soccer grow even more in Dalton since her high school days.
Whitfield County boasted two boys soccer state champions in 2022 — Dalton Academy and Southeast Whitfield — but Coahulla Creek, Northwest Whitfield and Southeast Whitfield all made the deepest playoff run in each respective school's history in 2022.
"It makes me really happy that the girls are having success too here in Soccertown," Lara said.
