Over there, and particularly around the grounds of the University of Maryland, the sport of lacrosse is followed with passion and enthusiasm, and winning college teams are feted.

Back home in Yarraville, the World Cup-winning 23-year-old is less conspicuous. Mollison is home for a brief break and last week hers was the first face to go up on Maribyrnong College’s achievement wall.

The honour board has four levels, depending on the level of achievement. Mollison is the first to get a ‘‘gold shoe’’, the highest level.

She spent a year at Maribyrnong College to qualify for the US college sporting system and went on to be part of the University of Maryland’s team for the past two years.

In 2005, she was a member of the Australian women’s team which won the World Cup, defeating powerhouse team the United States. And last year, she was in the team that finished second to the US in Prague.

The achievement is no small feat. In Victoria there are fewer than 1000 players; in the US there are close to 250,000. It’s a real David and Goliath battle when the two teams meet.

Mollison said it was a dream come true to play in the US college system.

The pint-size attacker comes from a family steeped in the sport, which has its Victorian roots in the western suburbs.

Her father, Paul Mollison, who coaches the Footscray women’s team and has coached at international level, said Mollison would be a key part of Australia’s 2013 World Cup team.

Maribyrnong College sports director Rob Carroll said work would soon begin on laying synthetic playing fields for soccer, hockey and — with more students following in Mollison’s wake — lacrosse.