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“She just always has been super competitive and had a really big drive,� said her father, Jim Hunter. “I don’t know if that was always in her or that has anything to do with her deafness, but thank goodness she’s got that personality.�

Hunter, a defender with Northern ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ University’s women’s soccer team from 2023-24, began her career at a young age while growing up in Temecula, California, before expanding to other soccer clubs throughout the Inland Empire and Orange County. But first, she had to navigate a different kind of journey.

She was diagnosed with profound deafness at her 1-year-old check-up, when her parents pointed out that she wasn’t hitting certain milestones. The news came as a shock to her family, as she is the only one with deafness.

“Growing up I didn’t feel any different that I had hearing (loss),� Hunter said. “I had a pretty normal childhood and I had a lot of support from my family, which I was very lucky to have.�

Almost six months after that check-up, Hunter got her first cochlear implant, which is an electronic hearing device for people with severe hearing loss. In surgery, a thin wire is placed in the cochlea that sends sounds to a receiver that is placed under the skin behind the ear. After surgery, an external speech processor then attaches to the receiver through a magnetic connection on the outside of the head behind the ear.

Before she turned 3, she had cochlear implants in both of her ears and quickly began speech therapy. She saw a speech therapist for three years, sometimes even four times a week.

“It was very intense,� Jim Hunter said. “We felt like if we just hit it aggressively when she was really young, she would probably be good to go.�

Speech therapy helped Hunter’s ability to speak clearly at a young age, and the obstacles she faced in her childhood involved the hearing devices themselves. She would have to take her devices off to swim, struggle to hear if there was excessive wind interference and risk losing one to the ground if she headed a soccer ball.

Outside of those instances, Hunter was able to have ordinary childhood experiences that allowed her to achieve success on the pitch.

She played club soccer for well-known organizations such as Legends FC and So Cal Blues ECNL while being a part of the Deaf WNT since she was 12. The Deaf Women’s National Team is part of the U.S. Soccer organization’s Extended National Team program.

“I love the girls on that team,� Hunter said. “It’s an honor to play for not only them but my entire country. To represent the U.S. on an international stage is incredible.�

Hunter has had the same two coaches throughout her time on the Deaf WNT, former U.S. Women’s National Team stars Amy Griffin and Joy Fawcett. Griffin and Fawcett were part of the monumental USWNT that brought the United States their first FIFA Women’s World Cup win in 1991.

Griffin, who is the head coach for the team, recalls her efforts to recruit Hunter to both play for the Deaf WNT and collegiately at the University of Washington.

“I was the assistant coach at the University of Washington at the same time,� Griffin said. “She was at all the best (club soccer) tournaments … that’s how I was able to see her play often.�

Griffin was captivated by Hunter’s athleticism and drive, along with her ability to push through everything life has thrown at her.

Hunter has rehabbed two broken legs and dealt with the loss of her mom, Jackie, to breast cancer in 2021. Throughout it all, Hunter’s cup-half-full personality radiates positivity, kindness and smiles.

“She’s always there for people,� Griffin said. “She’s got a smile on her face and she’s willing to work hard. I’m impressed by her and I don’t know who’s the mentor and who’s the mentee.�

Wherever Hunter has played, she has made everlasting impacts, including college soccer stints at two NCAA Division I programs, her freshman and sophomore seasons at the University of Colorado Boulder and her junior and senior seasons at Northern ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ University.

“She leads by example,� said Alan Berrios, NAU women’s soccer coach and Desert Dreams coach. “She’s a person that never makes excuses. She just works hard, you never have to ask her to.�

After rehabbing her second leg break that happened halfway through the 2023 season, Hunter chose to come back and train with the team entering her final season in 2024. But at NAU, seniors weren’t required to train with the team in the spring. Hunter made that effort simply because that’s the type of teammate she is.

Hunter’s most critical team contributions happened when she won a gold medal with the Deaf WNT in Malaysia at the Deaf International Football Association World Deaf Soccer Championship in 2023.

In that six-game tournament, Hunter played five games and tied for second in goals scored (five) and assists (four).

“She was a highlight of the tournament,� Griffin said. “(She was) scoring goals and tackling players and really leading the team and helping us win a gold medal.�

Hunter is preparing to bring back another gold medal for the Deaf WNT as she was selected to the 22-player training camp roster that took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in June.

If selected from that training camp, she will make the official roster that will represent the United States this November in the 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Along with continuing to play for the Deaf WNT, Hunter plays for Desert Dreams FC, an amateur team that is part of the West Region Desert Conference in the Women’s Premier Soccer League. Desert Dreams just finished their season in third place.

Beyond Desert Dreams, Hunter continues to inspire younger generations in the deaf community as she strives to become the first player ever to play for the Deaf WNT and the USWNT.

“You can really do anything you set your mind to,� Hunter said. “Whatever goal you have, go for it, don’t let anyone stop you.�