She only went between the posts because her bothers played a bit too rough at times.
And again when her team were 13-2 down and their No.1 was injured.
That was in 2012. Thirteen years on she is Africa’s No.1, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, WAFCON champion with Nigeria and a star attraction for an [Albion](https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/albion/?ref=au) side who play at the Amex on Sunday.
With her outstanding saves, domination of the penalty area and bold sorties from her box as a sweeper, she has brought a new dimension to the position with the Seagulls.
But, in an honest and extensive interview with The Argus, she has spoken of her amazing story from humble beginnings in Orlu, south-east Nigeria.
She said: “I used to be a striker. I started goalkeeping in 2012. I was scoring many goals and, in my team, I was one of the youngest players.
“There were other big players. That very day we were playing a game and we just had one goalkeeper in the team.
“We were losing 13-2 to the boys under-15 academy and then the goalkeeper got injured.
“Sometimes at home, when I'm playing with my brothers, if I realise they're going to get me injured, I just go to the posts.
“Sometimes they want to play very rough and so I’m just, ‘Okay, I mean I'm a girl. I don't want to get injured. I have to go back to the posts’.
“I just had that idea in me and I walked up to my coach and I told him, ’Okay, I think I can help her out’.
“I took the gloves and went there. I made some good saves and after the game, he called me.
“He was like, ‘I think you can become a goalkeeper’.
“I was like, ‘No, I'm a player. I'm a striker. I don't want to be a goalkeeper’.
_(Image: BHAFC/Kyle Hemsley)_
“And he was like, ‘No, no, no, no, I think you should listen to me’.
“The next day he brought me gloves, he brought me new shoes.
“He encouraged me so I was like, ‘Okay, let me give it a try’ and that was just it.
“I told myself I should try and, if it doesn't work, I'm going to stop.
“It was something in me that I never knew it wasn't me.
“It was working, I was making saves. I became the No.1, so I was like, ‘Okay, I'm going to be here’
“Sometimes I do regret it because I love playing. But all thanks to him. He saw the future ahead.”
Family was and remains hugely important in Nnadozie’s story.
“I've got three brothers and two sisters. My dad used to play in the local league in the village.
“It wasn't so big, because no sponsor, it wasn't televised, but he was he was the village Ronaldo. He was so famous!
“Whenever he was with the ball, everybody was shouting, clapping.
“My elder brother played as well in the local league in the village and my elder sister also played.
“I came from a family of footballers, but then it was very hard back home, becoming a star or coming out from where you are to make it to the top.
“They all failed and they thought, ‘Okay, this is not for the family, it's not for us’
“That was why my dad told me I wasn’t going to play.
“But he saw me playing in the under-17 World Cup and that was how he started believing in football again.
“From the beginning, I wasn’t playing because I wanted to be a professional.
“I was just playing for fun because I grew up as a young girl and everybody around me was playing football. Everybody, everybody.
“So I was like, ‘Okay, I want to do this’.
“It wasn’t until I went to the under-17s and after the World Cup, they gave us some money and I called my mum and I was like, ‘Hey, they gave us some dollars’.
“And she was like, ‘Oh, that's a big money’, so that was in my head.
“I was like, okay, I think I need to leave school and focus more on football.
“That was when I realised football could make you become a great person in life.”
Nnadozie did not grow up following any major leagues on television.
“You know what? We don't even have a TV. Like, nothing.
“I would just go to school, come back, go play with my friends.
“Sometimes my cousin’s brother took me to the viewing centre.
“We paid some money to watch and he needed to beg me and beg me before I even go with him like. I wasn't a football fan.”
Nnadozie was scouted at the under-17 World Cup by Paris FC and moved during Covid, a time she revealed was tough.
“I was very young, alone in my small room. No TV, nothing, you know?
“And that was my first time leaving my family so that was the most difficult time of my life.
“But a big thank you to the team. They were reaching out to me every day - the coaches, the players. ‘I hope you're okay. If you need something, we can come and give you, we can send someone’."
It was from there that her dominant style was spotted by Albion, who worked hard throughout last season to get her on board.
"I just feel like that's my home, that's my area, you know?" she says of her way of dominating the 18-yard box.
"It’s going to be difficult for someone to come to my own house and I’ve got good defenders as well that's very physical, they have got good quality and mentality.
"Someone like Caitlin (Hayes), Charlie (Rule), Moeka (Minami) and the rest. It's just something we are trying to work on as much as we can.
"We are not conceding any goals from the set-pieces, corner kicks, crosses - we are trying to.
"We are not perfect. We're not there yet, but it's something we are trying to build on."
And then come those forays outside the area as a sweeper. A bit of a risk at times, maybe?
"Honestly, it's not. You believe in yourself, and it's just you reading the game.
"You don't just go out because you want to go out.
"When you're going out, you're watching where is the ball.
"Is the ball coming towards my area? Can a player score from that far?
"These are the things you calculate.
"I try to read where the ball is, which of the players is with the ball.
"If she gets the ball, can she play from there to my goal?
"These are the things I try to look at.
"So when I'm playing against a tough opponent, very tough, I know they have a very long kick, they can actually kick from there to my goal, I try to be careful.
"So it's just about reading the game and understanding.”
And going forward for a late set-piece if needed - like a striker?
"If the coaches want me to, why not? Anything for the team.
"But I'm sure we've got good players who can do that. All the players are very good headers."