Dodd Comes Full Circle After Becoming Part Of UNCW Lore

Editor's Note: This fall marks the 20th anniversary of the first season for the women's soccer program at UNCW. To commemorate the milestone, UNCWsports.com takes an in-depth look at the history of the program and its legacy since early 1994.

Kelly Dodd, a forward, was a CAA All-Rookie Team selection in 2008 and played in all 20 games with 15 starts. In 2009, Dodd was one of only five players who took played in all 22 games and finished her career tied for fifth in school history in games played (79).

1) Talk about choosing to come to play soccer at UNCW (what was the deciding factor, how many other schools were you looking at?

When I was about 13 or 14 years old, I drove past UNCW with my dad and my sister on our way to a tournament at Veterans Park. As we drove by, I told my dad I wanted to go to school there. In my sophomore year of high school, I met with my club coach to talk about the possibility of playing collegiate soccer. He told me a few coaches had already shown interest in me, and he needed to know what I wanted to do before getting back to them about me. I told him I wanted to be a college athlete at the highest level, and I'd be interested in looking at any school that wanted me to play for them, but I would like him to talk to UNCW specifically, because I really think I'd like to go there. Luckily for me, Paul had been one of those coaches that had already shown interest. I ended up with three great scholarship offers from Western Carolina, Old Dominion and UNCW. It was a difficult choice, but it ultimately came down to knowing that I would love to attend UNCW, whether I could play soccer there or not so I went with my gut and I'm happy I did!

2) What are your first memories about playing soccer at UNCW (preseason training, first game, meeting teammates)?

I was terrified coming into my first preseason at UNCW. I had just badly sprained my ankle playing in the Super Y Nationals the weekend before we were supposed to be at school. I was so upset that I couldn't go through the physical demands of preseason with my new teammates. It was a tough way to start my career. Kelly Renkin, a senior at the time, was also injured to start the season. We formed a quick and lasting friendship since we spent hours in the training room and on the sidelines working our way back to the field. We vented to each other about how frustrated we were, but more importantly we laughed a lot. She's still a good friend of mine to this day! My other first memories are with my roommates. There's something so unique about 10 people going from complete strangers to spending every waking moment together. It's a crash course in friendship and it makes for some great stories!
3) What is one favorite soccer-related memory from your time at UNCW? (Favorite game, a particular season, a great road trip, etc)

My favorite soccer-related memory is easy - winning the CAA Championship in 2009. We were the first UNCW team to win the conference championship. I still get chills when I think about our journey to win it that season. When the playoffs started, we had this collective feeling that this was it. We were going to win it this year. Every game we won led us closer to our goal. It was tied at halftime of the championship game and we were so fired up. We all knew we could win it. We just had to find a way to make it happen. We were playing James Madison and they were a tough, physical opponent. They fouled Stephanie Rose in the box with about 15 minutes left in the game. Erin Pardini, my roommate and best friend, stepped up to take the penalty kick and buried it. We went crazy. The final minutes of that game were the longest of my life. JMU was in desperation mode and brought all 11 players into the attack. All we could do was battle, weather the storm and stay alive, and we did exactly that. When the whistle blew to end it, we all sprinted together into the middle of the field in a jumping and screaming dogpile. It's a feeling I will never forget. When they handed us our championship sign and t-shirts, we huddled together for a picture and Paul was still so excited standing next to me for the picture that he kissed my cheek in the seconds before it was taken. If you look closely at the picture my shoulders are hunched and I'm laughing. Paul and I still joke about that to this day. There was so much joy. We won it on Northeastern's field in Boston, so we had a long way to travel home afterward, but I carried our championship sign with me through the airport. It was the best day.

4) What is your favorite non-soccer related memory from your time at UNCW?

It's hard to pick out non-soccer related memories because so much of my memories at UNCW were because of soccer. However, most of my favorites are in the suite during freshman year. I didn't realize at the time how lucky I was to live with nine other people that had become my family so quickly. We did some of the most ridiculous, but fun things. We played dress-up, we watched movies, we made masks out of plastic cups, we met at Einstein's after class and ate three bagels in one sitting. We went screaming through the suite barking like dogs to try to cover up the dog that we had actually snuck in, we hid behind doors and under beds to scare each other and recorded the screaming reaction on our phones. We tried to fit as many people as we could onto a lofted bed before somebody fell off. Looking back on it, it seems like we laughed constantly that year. It was like spending an entire year at summer camp with your best friends. Our last night in the suite together we pulled all of our beds out into the common room and all slept right next to each other. Those are memories I will never forget, and I am so grateful for those friendships!

5) What was your favorite class at UNCW?

I think my favorite classes at UNCW were the classes in my major. I don't have one particular favorite class, but I loved learning about the students I now work with every day. I have such a passion for human behavior and behavior disorders, so I loved sitting in a class and learning and talking about them.

6) Give us an update on what your currently doing (where are you living, where do you work, etc)

I am currently a Special Education teacher at Cape Fear Center for Inquiry, a public charter school in Wilmington. I am the Behavior Specialist, so I primarily work with students with emotional and behavior disorders and autism. I always tell people that once you live in Wilmington, it's hard to leave. I love living here and I am so thankful for my time at UNCW that lead me to this job at a school that I love.

7) Are you still active in the game of soccer? (play in a league, coach a youth team, watch it on TV)

I'm still very active with soccer. I play in the adult co-ed league at Veterans Park year round. I play 11 v 11 and 7 v 7. I also play on a women's team and I watch soccer whenever it is on television. I'm still grieving about the World Cup being over! I like to think my life with soccer has come full circle. From wanting to play at UNCW driving by at age 13 on my way to a youth tournament at Veterans to playing at UNCW to now playing in adult leagues back at Veterans. It's funny how life turns out.

8) When was the last time you were on the UNCW campus? (What did you notice was different, what was the same, what stood out to you years later)

Although I live in town, I don't make it to campus very often. The last time I was there was for the annual spring 7 v 7 tournament with my fellow alumni. I look forward to it every year. It's a great event. We get to play together again, get to know the current team and reminisce on our time at UNCW with others who know exactly what it was like. Paul is still the same in some ways, but in other ways I'm convinced he's gotten softer with age! I saw the newly renovated suite a few years ago, and I was blown away by how different it looked from when I lived there. The current and future freshmen don't know how lucky they are! The new buildings at the back of campus are gorgeous and I've heard the new recreation center is amazing although I've never been in it. It's definitely changed since my time at UNCW.

9) How many of your former teammates do you still talk to/keep up with? (on social media, alumni get-togethers, etc).

I still keep up with the majority of my former teammates. I see Erica Rodgers, Heather Froehlich and Amanda Holmes in the adult leagues we play in. I keep in close touch with Erin Pardini, Gretchen Scheffe and the other girls from my class. I love getting together with my former teammates at alumni events and catching up on their lives. Thankfully, social media allows me to stay in touch with most of them very easily!

10) What is one thing that you are most proud of from your playing career at UNCW? (can be either a personal or team accomplishment)

I am most proud of our 2009 CAA Championship. I am so proud to say that we were the first women's soccer team to bring a CAA championship to UNCW. It was an amazing thing to be a part of. It was a championship for the 25 of us that won it and for every UNCW women's soccer player that came before us. Every woman that puts on a UNCW jersey and took the field from 1994 until the day that championship was ours played a role in building our program into what it is today. Now every woman that is still wearing one, and will wear one is continuing to grow that legacy. The UNCW women's soccer family is an amazing family to be a part of and I am so thankful for it!

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Dodd Comes Full Circle After Becoming Part Of UNCW Lore