Oct. 9, 2002

When you talk to senior goalkeeper Melissa Cancio about family and soccer, a big smile comes across her face that could brighten up a dark room. Her loyalty to her family is unheralded and she makes it known that they are the most important aspect of her life. Now as the soccer season has begun and the team has come together, Melissa is right there in the middle, extending her family to 23 other people and bringing her life experiences to the soccer field.

In 1998, Melissa decided to attend Jacksonville University after a stellar soccer career as a goalkeeper at St. Thomas Aquinas high school in which she never lost a game and her team won the State Championship all four years she played. She went to JU with aspirations and hopes but from the get-go her career there was filled with ups and downs as injuries and the love of her family began to wear on her. She started the final 14 games of her freshman season after missing the first 6 with an injury and finished third in the TAAC conference in goals against average as she helped guide her team to the TAAC championship game.

"I knew from the first year in JU that it wasn't the place for me to be [academically]. But I loved the soccer and the girls on the team, they were awesome and that's why I stayed."

Following the season Melissa had shoulder surgery and started to become consistently ill. After visiting with doctors at home, she was later diagnosed with mononucleosis at JU and was forced to sit out her sophomore year with a medical redshirt. The following season she came back strong as she led JU to a perfect 9-0-0 record in the TAAC and helped lead the team to a 2-1 victory in the conference championship against Florida Atlantic University. In the spring semester something happened that would change Melissa forever; her father became deathly ill.

"My dad was sick with encephalitis and in a coma the spring of my junior year. So I went home and was taking care of my family," said Cancio. "It was a pretty hard time. We flew family in and my mom couldn't do anything because she was so distraught. I had to make a lot of decisions concerning the treatment of my dad. They [doctors] wanted to do certain things that I made sure I researched and talked to people to find out if it was best for him. I even made him this 'Dad is going to make it CD' and put it in his room."

On top of making those big decisions, Melissa took charge in the house as well. She would take her brother to school, clean the house, make dinner for her whole family then try to visit her dad and get updates from doctors. Then she received frightening news.

"The doctors told us 'Say your goodbye's tonight because your dad is going to pass away,' and at that moment, soccer didn't matter, school didn't matter. It was like my dad was about to be gone."

With her father lying in the hospital and her family preparing for the worst, a miracle happened.

"He just woke up. It was a miracle; he's been called the 'Walking Miracle' at the hospital because nobody thought he was going to make it. That's where I realized that family was the most important thing. I can't imagine life without them. Family is first all the time."

After a month of taking care of her family, Melissa's coach gave her an ultimatum: withdraw from school and remain with her family or return to school, finish up the semester and stay over the summer to pick up more classes. After the whole ordeal she wanted to get back to school and play soccer, so she took classes and trained all summer. But a week before preseason camp she found a rude awakening; her coach had given her scholarship away. He didn't think she would be able to accomplish everything that was set in front of her. Although it was a shock, Melissa happily packed her bags and returned home to be with the family she loved and cared about and started school at FAU.

"I asked for my release from JU and applied to FAU and Florida International, got into both, but chose FAU because of the medical program. I had a bad year [academically] in school at JU. Because of that it might take a little longer to get into medical school but this is what I really want to do. I'm going to take whatever road I need to get there and if I don't get into med school right away, that's fine but I will one day. I've wanted to be a doctor my entire life and even if it takes me 10 years, I will get there one day."

Being at home allowed Melissa to concentrate on things that were important to her: her brother Michael. He is the apple in her eye and the one person that she would do anything for. Over this past summer she worked extra time to help pay for him to go to St. Thomas because it was such a great experience for her.

"My brother is everything to me. We are eight years apart but he's like my son. I call him my son because I do anything and everything for him. And I was really missing out on him growing up. So being home is amazing, seeing him grow up and being there for him and answering the 'big sister' questions for him is incredible."

But life without soccer began to wear on her, for soccer is her escape from the world. Luckily an old soccer friend was willing to help her out. Brian Dooley, head coach for FAU and Melissa's former club soccer coach, called her and asked if she wanted to play for the Owls. Once the contact was made, assistant coach Tammy Mazza called and called urging her to tryout. The final sale though was when former St. Thomas teammate Trina Maso de Moya talked to her about playing for FAU as well.

"I was undecided on playing until Trina called me up. "'If I play, you play' she said to me and I said 'if you play I'll play.' And that was the final nail in the coffin."

Coming back from not playing an entire year of a sport is difficult for anybody and Melissa was no exception. She had to deal with a new team, new faces, an age difference and the challenge of getting herself physically and mentally ready. Fortunately a warm reception by the team whom Melissa beat in the 2000 conference championship eased her worries and has allowed her to concentrate on her play. One drawback in playing for FAU though is that the Lady Owls already had a starter at the keeper position in all-conference junior Molly Keating. Melissa though has learned her role and accepted it as she tries to help the team in any way possible.

"I was quiet in the beginning but now I'm a loud mouth. It's fun, I'm having such a great time and I love all the girls. That was by biggest and dumbest worry. They are all tremendous girls and such wonderful teammates. It's pretty cool to be part of a different group and a different family.

"I think she [Molly] was nervous though at first with another keeper coming in but we talked about it. I love the competition and she loves it as well and that only makes it better because she steps up. There are things we critique each other on but still encourage at the same time. It's ok; I've accepted it and accepted whatever my role may be."

Her role is enormous. After starting off as the quiet girl on the team, she has become one of the more vocal leaders. You can hear her on the sidelines as she helps direct the defense and gives encouraging words of support, almost like a sister would. She communicates extremely well and has been called "the 12th man on the field" with her sideline coaching being felt by the players on the field. Cries of "let's go guys, let's get together" are all that is heard sometimes from the bench but it's a role that she doesn't mind playing.

Her experiences with her family are now being transformed into advice and knowledge on the soccer field as she tries to help a team win the Atlantic Sun championship for the first time in program history.

"To be out here with these girls, working hard to achieve things that I have already done is awesome because it means that much more now because I've been there and they haven't. I'm trying to get them to experience what I have.

"My experiences with my family, from JU, I became not a leader but...I guess a leader a little bit. I'm out there, I'm encouraging. I realized that soccer isn't just about kicking a ball around, there is so much more to it in the mental and emotional aspect. Physically we can get it done, I think anybody can but mentally and emotionally you have to be in it."

Melissa realizes that she won't be here forever playing with this team, there is only six weeks remaining in the season and she is cherishing every minute of it. Her teammates are cherishing her time with them as well because when she leaves it will be like one of the family is leaving as well.