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Craig's Speth heads to Tenn.-Chattanooga

JANESVILLE — Craig High senior Monica Speth is a tribute to determination.

Speth signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play Division 1 women's soccer for the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Speth is the first Craig girls player to sign a Division 1 soccer scholarship since Erika Schansberg signed with Auburn in 1997.

"Monica has been around me since she was in sixth grade," Craig girls soccer coach Bill McCabe said. "She can play all over the field. She is strong to the ball and she can shoot, and somebody recognized it.''

For Speth, a D-1 soccer scholarship is the completion of a long-sought goal.

"It's been a dream working up to it," said Speth, who was the second-leading scorer in the Big Eight last season. "It's been a goal since I met (McCabe) in sixth grade, making varsity and the next step was getting into college and play D-1 soccer.''

Speth filled out questionaires to D-1 programs knowing the chances of getting noticed were slim.

"Coaches get 100s of questionaires," Speth said. "I didn't know what to expect.''

A call from a Chattanooga assistant coach for a video swung Speth into action.

"I just had some home videos," Speth said. "I made a video by myself and sent it to him. I spent hours on it, It took two weeks to make it between school and soccer.''

Chattanooga sealed the deal with Speth after watching her play in a showcase tournament in North Carolina

"The feeling is amazing," Speth said.