Andrew Mejia is quiet but capable.
As a co-captain, the junior defender motivates his teammates by his competitive nature and hard work on the soccer field.
He grew up in Littleton and started his soccer career when he was four. He got a lot of the inspiration for his hard-working and competitive attitude from his two older brothers, Matthew and Aaron Mejia.
“Both my brothers played soccer —they’re older than me, so I kind of followed in their footsteps a little bit. They definitely pushed me around a little bit in the backyard,” Mejia said. “They were definitely good role models. They were very competitive and were always working to get better, so I kind of got that from them.”
Mejia tried a couple of different sports — basketball and baseball — as a child but the only one that really stuck was soccer.
“I liked basketball a lot when I was younger but I definitely took a little bit to mature in size. So no one wanted a five-foot-nothing kid on their team,” Mejia said.
Mejia attended Mullen High School. As the team captain, he was a stand-out player. He was a three-time letter winner and was named to academic all-state.
Mejia went on to Division I level at the University of San Diego where he only played one year before transferring to MSU Denver.
“As far as soccer, it’s been really good here. I like my teammates a lot — they definitely push me to be better. Out there [San Diego] it was good but I didn’t get along with the coach real well. I think I’m a better fit here.” Mejia said.
MSU Denver head coach Ken Parsons helped play a part in Mejia’s decision to transfer. Parsons has known Mejia’s family, as he coached Mejia’s older brother Aaron, at Regis University.
“Luckily we were able to get him — he’s been a great addition to the team. I remember meeting with him and his dad and he was enrolled at the University of Colorado Denver and I said ‘listen you can’t do this, it will be your third four year school and you will have to sit a year,’” Parsons said.
Mejia has been a great addition as he has accumulated many accolades during his stay at MSU Denver. In 2011 Mejia was named to the first team All Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Daktronics first team All-Central Region, and Daktronics third team All American. This year he was selected as the 2012 preseason RMAC defensive player of the year and is leading the team in assists.
“He is the hardest working guy. His leadership skills are something we need on this team. Just is overall playing ability; he’s the best outside back in the league. All of our attacks come from that outside back,” junior midfielder Brendan Hughes said.
Off the field Mejia is nearly as impressive ,as he is double majoring in mechanical engineering technology and applied mathematics. He is not sure if soccer is in his future, but he has other plans if it doesn’t work out.
“I’d hope so but it is definitely not my top priority. I want to graduate with some good grades. I actually want to go to graduate school for biomedical engineering.” Mejia said.
Mejia is passionate about soccer but is still an average college guy. He likes to hang out and play video games and watch television with his friends.
“He is just a goofball. He is kind of like that guy you would define as a dweeb. He is just always having fun and happy-go-lucky. You would never see Mejia in a bad mood.” Hughes said.
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