Challenge Accepted: The Maeve English Story

Most everybody who comes to Johnson Stadium on an afternoon in the fall knows the name Maeve English. Maeve was born in Greenville, back when the ECU Health Medical Center was still Pitt County Memorial. She went to St. Peter's Catholic School for K-8 and eventually became a star athlete at D.H. Conley High School. She is a local kid who went to the hometown school and became a star. It's storybook, but it's also more complicated than that, in a way that makes The Maeve English Story a little more beautiful.

What fans know: Maeve has been a key member of the ECU Women's Soccer program for the last five years. She's had a prolific career, starting every game she's played and only missing one contest in her time in Purple and Gold.

She's started more games than any other player in ECU history. She's on track to play more minutes in goal than any player in ECU history. She's played her way to the second most clean sheets in program history and has made the third most saves in program history. She's a legend—one of the most decorated players to ever grace the pitch for the Pirates. The numbers, the conference honors, the news stories; after five years it has begun to feel like this all might've been a precast die when Maeve graduated from Conley. Far from it.

From the beginning, recruiting process looked a bit different for Maeve. She didn't decide she wanted to play soccer at the collegiate level until her junior year of high school.

"ECU was really the only place that offered me," she recalls. "I was recruited by [former ECU Head Coach Jason Hamilton]. He came to a couple of my high school games which was pretty out of the ordinary. I was just the local kid down the street, so it made it really easy for him to recruit me."

Maeve didn't play at a larger club like many of her teammates, which is often where high school players begin being recruited. She started at the local club in Greenville and moved up to a larger club in Raleigh during her junior year of high school, so she got a late start in comparison to others. Many of these clubs' travel around the country, allowing their players to be seen by coaches and schools from all over. Maeve didn't get that experience.

When looking back on her recruitment, her mindset and attitude toward the things she could achieve is really the only thing that is different.

"The biggest thing that has changed for me between high school and now is my mindset. I came in as a fifth string keeper, so there were absolutely no expectations to succeed or perform. Obviously as a starter that has changed, but with that lack of expectation, all I knew was that I could put my head down and work as hard as possible."

And she did just that. Maeve is now the starting keeper and has been for the past 5 seasons of her career.

"I just worked toward those expectations," she continues. "We just added a little bit more, a little bit more, and it's like 'Okay. Keep giving me more, let's see how high I can go.'"

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More than just a player, Maeve's an engineering major and team captain, and days are often filled with more than her fair share of soccer and schoolwork. Though the workload is tough and balancing both can sometimes be challenging, she prides herself on taking on a more difficult major and has been able to use her knowledge to help her teammates.

Maeve notes that having a difficult major allows her to connect to her teammates on a different level, and she is not only able to help them on the field but in the classroom as well, saying, "I take pride in being in a more difficult major because I know it's a good example to other people on the team. A lot of girls come to me for help with their homework and I've helped a bunch of girls with their physics classes. I enjoy that part too. I get to share a different side of myself. They can ask some questions about school, but they can also ask me questions about soccer."

Maeve says that she believes pushing herself by going into a difficult major and playing a college sport at this level, pushing herself to be a better version of herself every day makes her a better leader as well.

"Taking on that challenge allows you to be a better leader on the team. I think being a captain and contributing the way I do on the field but also being able to contribute to my academics in a different manner, I've set a pretty high standard for myself."

Though time may be limited between soccer and school, it's family that Maeve says is most important to her.

"I like to make sure my family is involved in really everything… Family is very important to me. I talk to my parents almost every day, so being able to share this experience with them has been amazing."
She says her grandmother, Mottie, is a lucky charm. There is rarely a game you won't see Mottie in the stands, holding her purple and gold sign reading "Go Maeve" and "Let's Go Pirates!" She's become a staple in Johnson Stadium over the years.

"She's my favorite," Maeve says. "She cheers for everybody, it's so refreshing. She'll even come up with the kids that ask for signatures and introduce herself, then tell me they want an autograph."

Maeve hopes Mottie will continue to support the soccer program even when she leaves, saying, "She's going to have to learn the younger and lower classmen on the team so she can make another sign and keep the tradition going."

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As much as the family she was born with motivates her, Maeve is also pushed by the greater soccer family too. Getting a little retrospective on her time at ECU as it comes nearer to a close, Maeve embraces the duty of being a role model for the younger athletes in the community.

At nearly every home soccer game, the local soccer clubs bring out a youth team to be the ball shaggers, a tradition that brings joy to not only those young athletes but the players on the pitch as well.

"I remember doing that when I was little and I remember looking at them and thinking 'Wow, that girl is so cool' and it's definitely so awesome to be able to have that full circle moment and be able to be in the shoes of the people I used to look up to," she says, taking the ever tangible reminder of where she's come from and where she is and using it as a grounding moment.

Greenville, though on the rise, has hardly been a hot spot for soccer historically. Despite those fewer opportunities and in concert with growing evolution of the sport in Eastern North Carolina, Maeve encourages other young athletes to follow their dreams.

"You just have to realize that your path is going to look a little different," she says. "As soon as you accept that and are willing to work toward the goal and potential of success, as soon as you accept that and you're willing to do everything that it takes to chase that, anything you put your mind to is achievable."

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For a highly recruited athlete, moving to play across the country and being the star of the show for all eight-odd games of her career, a player might be excused for getting a little big headed. But for the local kid, coming into college with no other offers, becoming a star in a lengthy career against the odds, it's a different story. It's a story which commands of its main character that she not only lead by example but become an exemplary leader.

But that player can't be who she is without role models of her own. One of the former players Maeve says she looks up to is none other than Amber Campbell. Arguably the greatest keeper in program history—a title being challenged for the first time by Maeve—who currently holds program records for goalkeeper minutes, wins and clean sheets with an impressive 30 in her career. Amber also led the Pirates to the 2008 C-USA Tournament title game, getting the team the closest they've ever been to the NCAA Tournament.

Maeve is on track to break a few Amber Campbell records—record which have stood since Maeve was just six years old. Though this is a very significant achievement, she says she tries not to allow the thought of these stats to get into her head too much.

"I sometimes can get ahead of myself looking at those type of stats, so I definitely try to stay more in the moment and focus on one game at a time and how it can help the team." Despite the records, she chooses to remind herself of what's really important: her team. "I don't want to put the personal accolades above the team. They're cool to achieve but if I don't then that's okay too. I'm worried about putting good performances together and making sure I help the team in the best way possible."

For Maeve, there will be time for the personal later. For now, she wants to take a fighting crack at breaking down the door and getting the East Carolina soccer team after a 30 year wait finally into the NCAA Tournament. That echoes in how she wants to be remembered.

When thinking about what she wants the fans and people of Greenville to know about her time here, her answer is really quite simple: "I want them to know I gave it my all, I left no stone unturned. All of the experiences, both good and bad, have led me to this moment and I have left everything out there for this program. That's really all I can ask for."

So, what's next for Maeve? Well, in typical Maeve fashion, she has no aspirations of taking the easy road forward. She's taking her talents to the pro level.

"I'm never going to be this fit in my life again, so I'm going to try the professional route and see where that goes, hopefully in a positive direction."

She will certainly have a successful professional career. She may not be a high draft choice or make a splashy signing to start, but that's not going to phase the kid out of Greenville. She's used to beating the odds at this point. She relishes the chance to accept a challenge and exceed expectations.

In the meantime, Pirate Nation will have one more chance to see number 31 take her position between the posts in Johnson Stadium in her home career finale at 7 p.m. on Halloween night.

Players Mentioned

Maeve English

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