Pope’s East-West appearance to be soccer swan song

Earlier this summer, Fike High graduate Erin Pope was looking forward to playing soccer with her North Carolina Football Club 05 Elite Girls team and in a pair of high-profile all-star games, including the North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game on Tuesday in Greensboro.

But that all-star game has taken on a different meaning for Pope, a three-time all-state player at Fike who had signed to play at Lenoir-Rhyne University in the fall despite emerging as one of the top distance runners in the NCHSAA 3-A ranks in her only year of running cross-country, winter track and outdoor track and field. Pope gave running a shot as a senior and ended up winning two state championships, one in record-setting fashion, in the 3,200-meter run while also rewriting most of the Fike distance records as well. Along with her soccer brilliance, Pope was named the Tom Ham Athlete of the Year as presented by The Wilson Times.

Still, she was committed to and looking forward to playing soccer at NCAA Division II Lenoir-Rhyne — until about a couple of weeks ago.

Pope delivered a bombshell in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon that she had a change of heart and would instead attend Div. I East Carolina University on an athletic scholarship for running, not soccer.

“Yeah, so I’m currently at ECU at orientation,” she said casually.

Pope explained that the change started just two weeks ago. She was in Florida with her NCFC 05 Elite team at the US Youth Soccer Region III Championships and decided that her brief, but highly successful foray into distance running should continue.

“I mean, I won two state championships, so I was like, man, I think I need to explore this whole running thing,” she said.

But in order to do it, an enormous leap of faith was required. Pope said that after she won the 3,200 at the NCHSAA 3-A championship meet in May — setting a meet record in the process — ECU distance coach Billy Caldwell left his card with Hunt High distance coach Rusty Boyette, who helped Pope with her training since cross-country season last fall.

“I knew if they had a spot for her, they would definitely be interested in having her be a part of the team,” Boyette said.

Pope reached out to Caldwell, who said he couldn’t discuss anything with her unless she dropped her National Letter of Intent with Lenoir-Rhyne.

“He was like, ‘I can’t talk to you right now, unless you get out of your NLI,’” she said. “So I had to make the decision to get out of my NLI and lose my scholarship ability before I could actually talk to the ECU coach.”

Boyette said that he talked to Pope and her parents, Heidi and Wes Pope, about her decision.

“We talked about a bunch of different scenarios, what her goals were educationally, what her parents’ thoughts on the matter were and what option would make her happiest,” Boyette said.

Pope, an outstanding student who earned selection to the Farris & Thomas Academic All-Area team, said there was a lot to consider.

“Yeah, it was very stressful week, and I was in Tampa when all this happened playing soccer,” she said.

Pope said that while soccer has been a big part of her life since she was very young, her experiences as a runner this past year made her fall in love with the sport.

“I love to run,” Pope proclaimed. “Like, I’ll do it every day, even twice a day, if they want me to.”

Boyette, the “rival” head coach who recognized early on that Pope had a special talent as a distance runner, was elated that she would continue her career in the sport.

“I am so proud of her accomplishments and so excited to see her compete at the next level, especially when this will be the first time running will be her only sport to have to focus on,” Boyette said.

Pope’s decision made her appearance in the East-West All-Star Game next week take on a whole new meaning. Instead of just one more soccer match on her way to a collegiate career, Tuesday’s game at Grimsley High in Greensboro will be her final competitive soccer match — for the foreseeable future.

“I think I’m just gonna go out there and have fun and definitely try not to get hurt,” she said. “Just go out there and enjoy my last game and not like have any pressure or anything.”

Pope, who will be joined in Greensboro by fellow Fike graduate Kevin Moran playing for the East boys soccer team, is part of the 16-player East roster that will be coached by Fuquay-Varina’s Nick Acosta.

Pope already proved she has what it takes on the all-star stage. She handed out both assists in her North Carolina side’s 2-1 defeat of their South Carolina counterparts at the Clash of the Carolinas girls soccer game June 14 in Pineville.

“It was pretty fun,” she said. “Even though we were from, like, 18 different high schools, we really came together and played well as a team. So that was fun. That actually worked out good. Because sometimes when you do that, it can be chaos.”

Pope said that she played wing at the Clash and felt like that’s where she will be stationed in Greensboro next week.

It will be a bittersweet occasion for Pope, to be sure, with soccer having been part of her life for most of her 18 years. As great as a soccer player as Pope was (one of just two Wilson girls soccer players to earn three all-state selections from North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association), she’s excited about how her new career will unfold.

“I think I need to see what else I can do,” she said. “I’m not done running yet.”

The post Pope’s East-West appearance to be soccer swan song first appeared on Restoration NewsMedia .