It was a Friday night home game against University of San Diego two years ago. The Long Beach State women’s soccer team took the field without one of their experienced, senior defenders who had suffered a concussion the game before.
Instead, a nearly 6-foot, blonde-haired freshman was inserted into the starting lineup – scared and nervous, but ready.
“That [game] kind of changed me because I wasn’t used to playing in front of all these people, and it’s a totally different atmosphere than a club game,” junior defender Melanie Fox said. “I was playing with all seniors in the back, and they were yelling at me. It was a scary moment, but it really made me break through and realize I can do it.”
Fox had doubted whether she’d be picked to play in that game. The other freshmen had athletic scholarships to play for LBSU, and Fox was just a walk on – not recruited or awarded a scholarship.
But the hard work Fox had put into practices made her stand out to head coach Mauricio Ingrassia. There was no doubt that she would fill the void in the team’s defense.
“She’d been earning it everyday in training,” Ingrassia said. “It was a simple choice to stick her back there.”
In that moment, Fox calmed herself down, pumped herself up and played her game.
“When he said my name, I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve got to step up. I’ve got to do it,’” Fox said. “It was really nerve-wracking, but I think I did well and proved to him that I can play.”
Fox played her first full 90 minutes, and the team earned a shutout win, 1-0 over USD.
“[That] is a big thing for the defense,” Ingrassia said. “That was her first introduction to Division I soccer.”
A year later, in her sophomore year, Fox started every game and recorded the most playing time on the team for the whole season with 1,681 minutes.
“It started when she finally got her starting position and played all the games last year,” senior captain and defender Taylor Nelson said. “I think that’s when it really hit her that she was an impact on this team in a positive way.”
Fox started playing soccer when she was five. She played in the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) and fell in love.
“I have two sisters, so my dad needed someone to play a sport,” Fox said. “He tried us all out with soccer, and I was the only one that was actually good. So, I’ve just been playing soccer ever since.”
Fox played for the CZ Elite Soccer Club in Pasadena where she was a two-time team captain and led her team to the U-15 National Cup Championship. Her club also won the Copa Catalunya Cup in Spain.
Fox said her biggest support and reason for playing comes from her dad who watches every game she plays.
“He doesn’t sugar coat things,” Fox said. “That’s how he taught me to be a leader – just by being real with me, and it has made me mentally tough, which hopefully shows in my leadership.”
For Fox, the words of her father were enough to discredit all others.
“Growing up, some of my coaches didn’t think I was good enough to play in college, and he was the one person who never let me believe that,” Fox said. “He always told me I had the talent and everyone would see one day.”
This year, Fox is one of two juniors who regularly start each game. As her experience grows, Fox said she needs to be able to lead the team, but she struggles with finding her voice.
“On the field, I’m really shy,” Fox said. “It’s kind of hard for me to yell at people and tell them what to do because it’s not really in my nature, but I’ve gotten better at it, and I know next year I’m going to be a senior so I have to step up leading more than I have this year.”
Nelson said that Fox should not wait until she is a senior to believe that she is a leader, because she already is one.
Nelson and Fox have played center back together for the past two years. The relationship they’ve created off the field has helped them lead their back line to becoming stronger.
“She’s one of the best people I’ve ever met,” Nelson said. “She’s always looking out for everyone on the team. If anyone needs help with anything, she’s the first one there. She’s one of my best friends, [and] I love her to death.”
Despite her lack of vocal leadership on the field, Ingrassia respects her talent and said she has her own way of leading.
Fox is one of the three players on the team who has earned Big West Player of the Week honors this season, nabbing Defensive Player of the Week with her performances against Georgia and Denver.
“She just leads by example,” Ingrassia said. “She is a shy person, but she doesn’t shy away from what she needs to do. Her teammates listen to her. So when she has something to say, she’s definitely heard. She’s very important to our team.”
Her days playing as an underclassman relieved some of the duties of having to become a leader because the upperclassmen were there to take that on.
“I’ve always had Taylor there to help me through it,” Fox said. “[A year from] now, it’s just going to be me, [and] it’s going to be hard for me, but I think I can do it. I think I’ll step up.”
Now in her junior year, Fox has to learn to adapt to a leadership role.
“It’s going to be weird honestly because I’m not that boisterous on the field usually,” Fox said. “But this year, I’ve kind of had to step up, and Mauricio’s always talking to me about being a stronger voice on the field.”
Going into her senior year, Ingrassia said the senior-leadership mentality will come to her naturally.
“Everything that you do, you’re doing it for the last time,” Ingrassia said. “So I don’t think she’s going to have a problem understanding that and stepping into that role.”
Fox said she knows what it takes to be that type of leader for this team.
“I just have to not really care because sometimes I think they’re going to get mad if I’m yelling at them, but I [have to think] where it’s just a game and after we can be friends,” Fox said. “On the field I’m just going to tell them, ‘I’m going to have to yell at you.’”
Right now, her voice is a work in progress, but when asked if Fox’s vocal leadership had developed since freshman year, Ingrassia had no doubt.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I didn’t even know what her voice sounded like [then]. I can definitely hear her now.”