Speros headed to Tennessee
- 20 October 2006
Melissa Speros was playing in a Final Four Soccer Showcase game last fall at Texas A&M in College Station, Tex., when her coach suddenly yanked her off the field and handed her a cell phone.Tennessee women's soccer coach Angela Kelly was on the other end of the line.
"She called me and said that she'd seen me play earlier in the day," said Speros, Ephrata's outstanding senior midfielder.
"And then she offered me a full scholarship right there on the spot. She said she needed me and that she really wanted me to come to Tennessee."
Melissa Speros is ready for the move to Tenessee.
Photo courtesy of Andy Babin.
Speros, who plays club soccer for the Pennsylvania Strikers, made an official visit to Tennessee in late September, and she has accepted Kelly's full athletic scholarship offer.
After playing her senior season for the Mountaineers in the spring, she'll be off to Knoxville, Tenn., next fall to study premed or chemistry and to play soccer for the Volunteers in the Southeastern Conference.
Speros, a three-time First-Team Lancaster-Lebanon League All-Star, picked Tennessee over the University of Miami (Fla.).
She also made unofficial visits to Florida State, Loyola (Md.), Pepperdine, UConn and Princeton.
But in the end she chose Tennessee, which is an SEC powerhouse and one of the top-ranked teams in the country.
"Coach Kelly told me that I'd have a family in Tennessee," said Speros, who scored seven goals and dished off four assists last spring for Ephrata.
"The coaches and everyone down there just made me feel so comfortable. I didn't have to make any official visits anywhere else."
Speros also seriously considered Miami (Fla.), but wanted to play in the SEC.
Tennessee has been a powerhouse since Kelly took over the program in 2000.
In the last six years, the Volunteers have won four SEC Eastern Division titles, three SEC regular-season championships, three SEC Tournament crowns, and Kelly is the three-time reigning SEC Coach of the Year.
The Volunteers are 10-3-4 so far this season.
"They don't mess around down there," said Speros, who scored 13 goals and had eight assists in her sophomore season for the Mounts. "It's not that I won't be able to handle it physically," she said, "but it will definitely be a challenge mentally."
Speros said she will continue playing for her club team and for the U-18 Regional Team until she heads to Tennessee.
Her club team will play in tournaments in Florida, Arizona, Las Vegas and in Europe through March, and the Regional Team will play in either Florida or California later this year.
If she plays well, Speros has a shot to make the International Team, which will play in Iceland, also later this year.
Speros plays outside back -- a defensive spot -- for her club team, and that's the position she's expecting to play for the Volunteers.
"They liked my style of play," Speros said. "They liked how I can pass out of the back and attack from the back.
"At the college level, it's tough to defend an outside back who can attack from the 18. And I can attack pretty well."
Well enough to start right away?
"There's no guarantee," Speros said. "But I'm planning on working hard and starting right away. That's my goal.
"It will come down to two things: passing the fitness test to make the team, and playing like I know I can play."
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