A visit home is often an elixir to a student living abroad and it would be no different for Oscar Umar in the summer of 2014.

This would be the first visit to his native Ghana since enrolling at Villanova in 2011 and an excitement naturally built as he prepared to board the plane to Africa.

“I was so happy to see my family,” he recalls of that reunion.

And yet after seven days of his 21 day stay, Umar felt a kind of tug he hadn’t anticipated.

“After that first week, I realized how much I missed Villanova,” he says now. “This place has served me so well. In many ways, it’s become my second home. I feel blessed and fortunate that I got into this institution and to be part of this Villanova community.”

Umar’s path to Villanova was unique. Soccer took him from his hometown in the north to a soccer academy in the southern part of Ghana before affording him the opportunity to attend the Kent School in Connecticut in 2008. It later won him a chance to play Division I soccer for the Wildcats, where he has thrived for the last three plus seasons.

These days Umar is a senior leader of a Wildcats’ unit that has rallied after dropping three consecutive 1-0 decisions to open the regular season to post two straight victories. Now, Umar and Villanova are set to host a 4-1 Monmouth squad in a key non-conference match Saturday afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex.

“It’s been challenging,” states Umar of setting an internal tone for his mates. “It’s a new role for me and you just want to see how we can get the group together. We didn’t start out the way we wanted to but I think losing those three games gave us an idea of what we have to do as a team. We’ve done a better job of that these last two games.”

Umar’s goal on Sunday at the 84 minute mark was the difference in a 1-0 Wildcats’ win over Albany. It was his first goal of the season and came at a critical point in the match when overtime seemed to be on the horizon.

“Oscar made a big play for us when we needed one,” noted head coach Tom Carlin.

Umar has authored an assortment of decisive moments over the course of his four seasons. As a rookie he and classmate Aaron Dennis were integral components on a Wildcats’ unit that secured the program’s first two postseason victories, over nationally ranked Notre Dame and USF. A year later, Umar helped the Wildcats tie the single season program record for victories (12) while gaining recognition as a third team All-BIG EAST performer.

During his Villanova career, Umar has appeared all over the field – in the midfield primarily but also as an outside back and in the attacking area too. That is owed to an advanced skill set that is the product of development begun far from the shores of the United States.

Soccer’s popularity in Ghana, Umar explains, can be traced to its simplicity. It requires no influx of equipment such as that needed for games like baseball, American football, tennis, lacrosse or even basketball (where a viable bouncing ball is imperative).

“Where I grew up in Africa, all you needed was a space to run around,” he says. “It wasn’t hard to make a soccer ball. We would put together plastic bags to make something to kick around. You don’t have to buy soccer balls.”

For Umar, such improvised games became a draw as soon as his school day was done.

“We loved soccer,” he recalls. “We really didn’t have any other equipment to try other sports.”

Like Moupthaou Yarou, a native of Benin who thrived at Villanova after coming to the U.S. to pursue an education along with his sport of choice (basketball), Umar benefitted from the trail blazed by an older sibling. Umar’s brother, Abdul-Rami, played with a local club team which led to later offers from soccer academies, including one in Holland. Oscar Umar paid close attention and soon had his own chance to pursue a soccer dream.

“I was fortunate enough to get the same kind of opportunity to attend an academy in Ghana,” Umar says.

Once at the Right to Dream Academy, there was a two-pronged approach centered on education and soccer. Umar showed enough potential on the pitch to earn a five year scholarship. It necessitated a move out of his native north to the southern part of Ghana, near the capital of Accra.

It wasn’t long before Umar zeroed in on making the kind of progress that might open doors even farther from his native land.

“The academy offered opportunities for kids to go to the United States who were ready enough to pursue an education and soccer,” says Umar. “When I heard of this opportunity, it encouraged me to work hard for it. I was doing well in school and I was also playing well on the field.

“This was the only opportunity I wanted. When that idea came, I was like, `I’m going to go for it.’”

Four years later, opportunity knocked again. Umar was one of four athletes given the chance to matriculate in America. He eagerly accepted the invitation to study and play soccer at the Kent School in Connecticut. He enrolled as a sophomore and began transitioning to America.

Ghana’s heritage as a former English colony insured that Umar would not be unfamiliar with the language in America. Although he didn’t have to master an entirely new language, there was much nuance to absorb as he adapted to the culture.

“I had a good base after my time at the academy,” he states with a smile, “but the English I spoke in Ghana was totally different from what I heard here. When I first came to the U.S., people were correcting me all the time.”

At Kent, Umar quickly found contentment. He bonded with his host family, the Hirsch’s, and credits them for helping him make a seamless transition.

“I was excited but I was also nervous coming to a new country,” states Umar. “The Kent community welcomed me and that really helped me. I made friends easily because of soccer. My coach and host family both made such a big difference in my life. The Hirsch’s opened their house to me and really helped me transition to the American culture.”

When college appeared over the next horizon, Umar had another decision to make as scholarship offers began to arrive. A visit to Villanova convinced him that his next destination should be a few hours south of Kent, Conn.

“The college process for me was really simple,” he says now. “I was looking for a D I school that was academically good and had a good soccer program. I weighed a lot of options but when I visited Villanova, I saw myself here. This was the right fit for me. I didn’t hesitate to make my decision after I visited.”

On the soccer side, Umar saw a program charting upward.

“I really thought we could help this program rise,” he states.

These days, Umar is intent on seeing that vision through. The early setbacks have not diminished his conviction that the best is yet to come.

“When I first came here, the physicality of college soccer was something I had to work on,” he notes. “Now, I have the experience. I know what it takes to play in a college soccer game. I have improved so that I can really read the game well. I can get into spots and I know what it takes to influence your teammates in a positive way to win games.”

There is, of course, a full season of BIG EAST action ahead beginning on Sept. 27 when nationally ranked Creighton will be on West campus. The `Cats still have their eyes on a strong season in one of the nation’s elite soccer conferences and, beyond that, an NCAA College Cup bid that has yet eluded the program’s grasp despite a series of close calls.

“My focus now is on helping this team in any way I can,” he explains. “If we have success, everything else will fall into place.”

Umar is scheduled to graduate next spring with a degree in Economics. The goal of playing professionally still burns as brightly as it did when he was in Ghana. That will slide atop his agenda once his Villanova career is complete. Then, when the time comes, perhaps in a decade or two, Umar hopes to take what he has learned in his major and apply it in Ghana.

“Professional soccer is my dream goal but I know I cannot play soccer for the rest of my life,” he notes. “The reason I chose my major is that the American economy is one of the most successful in the world. I would like to take what I have learned here back to Ghana someday to have an influence on the Ghana economy in a positive way, to help it grow.”

Umar doesn’t yet have a clear course mapped out for his post-playing days. But he has a general sense of how he hopes things unfold.

“I want to stay (in the U.S.), gain a little experience and then use that experience to give back to Ghana,” he states.

Establishing ambitious goals and attaining them has been a cornerstone of Umar’s journey from Ghana to Villanova. He has no plans to stop chasing them now.