The student news site of Carlmont High School in Belmont, California.

Scot Scoop News

The student news site of Carlmont High School in Belmont, California.

Scot Scoop News

The student news site of Carlmont High School in Belmont, California.

Scot Scoop News

From Carlmont to Cal in pursuit of soccer

After 14 years dedicated to playing the sport she loves, senior Melissa Wood will continue to play soccer at the collegiate level.

Wood verbally committed to play for UC Berkeley in November of her junior year.

Photo Credits to Kellan McDonough
Photo Credits to Kellan McDonough

“Soccer motivates me everyday, there is never a day where I don’t want to go out and play,” said Wood.

UC Berkeley’s women soccer program is highly regarded in Division I. It is showcased in the Pac 12 conference, and the team has made 19 NCAA appearances.

Wood said, “The recruiting process was complicated, it took a lot of time and work to call and get their attention since they couldn’t contact me first.”

In Division I college sports, coaches can not initiate contact with a recruit until after Sept. 1 of their junior year in high school.

“Don’t be discouraged when you don’t get contacted. Because [for me] the Cal coach never replied to my emails, it took 20 phone calls just to get in touch with him. They are just very busy, and if they don’t pay you a lot of attention, it’s not because they don’t want you on their team,” said Wood.

With her verbal commitment, Wood has made the decision to sit out from this year’s school season of soccer: “I really wanted to play, but I’m accident prone, so I couldn’t risk getting injured before signing in February,” said Wood.

Former teammate Simone McCarthy said, “[This year] is really going to be different without her because you could always count on her to make something happen, but were going to have to work well without her, and we’ll see how far that goes.”

“I’m looking forward to the diversity at Cal, and the high level of soccer,” said Wood.

Junior Veronica Pontis, center defender on Carlmont’s soccer team, said, “Melissa lead not only by example, but by her passion and her intelligence of the game. [The team] misses her! We wish her good luck in all of her future soccer engagements.”

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The student news site of Carlmont High School in Belmont, California.
From Carlmont to Cal in pursuit of soccer