Two current Bobcats were born 150 miles apart in the western African nation of Ghana. Junior Constance Agyemang is from Kumasi, the second largest city in the country, while Sophomore Helen Alormenu lived in Accra, the capital, near the southern coast.
Soccer is the country’s most popular sport, but opportunities in the sport are few and far between.
Alormenu received an offer from Texas State while playing for Ghana’s youth national team, and after talking to head coach Steve Holeman, she decided the opportunity was too good to pass up.
“I had this offer when I was playing on the national team. The head coach of the Black Princesses [Ghana’s women’s soccer team] gave [the offer] to me, so I took it and I started talking to Steve,” Alormenu said. “Then I started to do some research about Texas State, and here I am. I have family I cherish here, my friends, my teammates [and] my coaches.”
For Alormenu, traveling over 7,600 miles across the world to come to Texas State was not a decision she made lightly. If it weren’t for her mother, she wouldn’t have made the trip at all.
”It was a very difficult decision to make. Leaving your country, your family, friends and coming to a place you don’t know was really hard for me to do,” Alormenu said. “I had this encouragement from my mom. She’s one of the main reasons why I came to the U.S. She was like, ‘Okay, you just go to college and improve, you have so much time to play soccer anytime you want.’ So I took the chance.”
Agyemang also played in the Ghana youth system, but never crossed paths with Alormenu. Agyemang played the 2024-25 season with Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. The Bulldogs competed in NJCAA’s top division, and Agyemang was their star.
Eventually, fate and quality talent identification from Texas State soccer found a way to bring Agyemang to San Marcos, where she joined the Bobcats before the start of this season.
“[Agyemang] was playing for the U20s while I was playing for the U15s [in Ghana]; this is my first time seeing her in person,” Alormenu said. “We speak the same language, and I feel like… we do understand each other much more often. [Our relationship is] funny, kind of sarcastic, and… we just laugh and go our way.”
Agyemang and Alormenu aren’t the only out-of-country players to call San Marcos home now. Texas State soccer has players from several different countries, including Japan and France. Instead of creating a divide, the diversity has led to a sense of unity on and off the pitch.
“I know it’s really hard to fit in a community, but at Texas State, I think you don’t have to force yourself to fit in, because the people around you are lovely,” Alormenu said. “You have this kind of feeling when you get here; it’s not like you have to fit in. You are already accepted before you show up on the field [and] outside the field.”
Texas State’s outreach to talents across the globe has certainly been felt on the field. In their last match against Troy, six out of the 11 Texas State starters were born in foreign countries.
“We’re always going to look in Texas first, but we scan the globe,” Holeman said. “We get players from throughout the U.S., and if we can’t find the player we need, then we’re going to go international. We have a really good blend of domestic and international players, and I think they play really well together.”
The Ghana duo, in particular, has delivered in key moments this season against some of the best college teams in the country. Alormenu scored a free kick in Texas State’s 1-1 draw against Texas A&M, and Agyemang scored the equalizer against ranked Oklahoma, which helped the team clinch another draw against a top opponent.
“They have that natural connection, having both played for Ghana and both played at the national team level,” Holeman said. “They’re both really, really good players, so they can connect with each other.”
With the team entering conference play, they’ll need Alormenu to continue their good run of form and Agyemang to return to the squad healthy, as she hasn’t played since the team’s match against Baylor.
Even without Agyemang featuring in the past few matches, Alormenu has stood out as a key contributor, but she still has a point to prove to herself.
“I had a tough year, so I’m trying to bounce back, because I do know myself,” Alormenu said. “I will say I have improved pretty much this year compared to last year [in terms of] intelligence, strength and all those things.”
Now that she has those tangible improvements in hand, she’s ready to return the favor that was given to her and deliver silverware to the Bobcat faithful.
“My personal goal is contribute to the team and win conference. We almost won the conference last year, but we have so much chemistry on the team right now,” Alormenu said. “We love each other, we understand each other on and off the field, we help each other; [this team] is too good for me to think of anything else.”
