Ex-Panthers star striker Speck returns to Guam
Published: July 8, 2012
You just can’t keep a good former Guam High girls soccer striker away for long.
Nineteen months after Meagan Speck led the Panthers to their second island championship then transferred to Terry Sanford (N.C. ) High School, the soon-to-be North Carolina-Charlotte footballer returned to Guam. There, she’s working out with her old Guam National side teammates as they prepare for the East Asian Football Championship qualifying tournament July 17-23.
“It feels great to be back on Guam,” Speck said via Facebook after arriving on island on Friday. “I have missed the island and the amazing people.”
She said she was contacted by her old Guam National Team coach Cheri Stewart who asked Speck if she was interested. Speck will train and scrimmage with the team, and “if all goes well and I earn a spot,” she could play in the tournament. Guam National Team will play against Saipan (Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands) and Hong Kong in the qualifier.
“I can’t wait to see the outcome of our handiwork and dedication,” Speck said. If selected, she would rejoin a Guam National Team that features talented high-school stars such as Southern High’s Paige Surber and Notre Dame’s Jonimonay Tedpahogo.
The Guam National Team is sponsored by Paradise Auto Spa.
Speck and her All-Island teammates, goalkeeper Melanie Strudthoff and midfielder Lexi Vermeire, battled their way to the 2010 Independent Interscholastic Athletic Association of Guam title, dethroning five-time island champion Notre Dame 1-0 and joining the Jessica Charles-backstopped 2003 team as the only girls soccer island champions in Guam High history.
From there, Speck moved to Carolina, where she led the Sanford Bulldogs to the Mid-South Conference regular-season title with 25 points and earned Cape Fear-region Player of the Year honors. Speck committed to North Carolina-Charlotte on Feb. 1.
