Freshman Feature: Megan Mielke
October 01, 2019 | Soccer
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications
STARKVILLE – Megan Mielke has never been one for brakes. She'd prefer to go full speed.
The daughter of an Argentinian mechanic outside of Los Angeles grew up around motorcycles, dirtbikes and quads. Mielke's father often worked on vehicles for some of the local Hollywood stars, and Mielke and her sisters would often go along on his motorcycle trips just to meet them.
The Mielke family would pile in their minivan and drive out to Jawbone Canyon for a weekend of driving through hills and exploring caves. At night, they'd circle up around a campfire before sleeping in their cars.
"There was this really big hill that you had to work years to get up to, and all the really macho dads would go up and drive down it super fast," she said. "I finally got to go down it, and it was probably the worst experience I've ever had. First of all, I'm not a heights person. Second, it was no control. If you brake, you're flipping over. You can't slow down, you just got to keep on going and somehow control yourself when you're going down. It's an experience. It's probably something I'll never do again, but I'm glad that I got to do it."
Spending time in her dad's repair shop piqued Mielke's interest in engineering which helped draw her to Mississippi State. When she visited Starkville, the Southern hospitality sealed her decision.
"I noticed everyone asked me how I was doing all the time, and I really like that because no one in California ever asks you how you're doing," Mielke said. "Back home its fast paced. Restaurants, you're in and out in 40 minutes, but here you can sit in a restaurant for almost two hours because everyone's talking and having a good time."
She still keeps California's high tempo in her personality, despite her love of Southern life.
"I've always been that player where I'm like, 'I want to run. Play me a through ball and run it, let me go,'" she said. "I'm always looking to drive and always go forward. To the last minute, just drive, drive, drive. You can push through it because when driving motorcycles and dirt bikes that's what you had to do, you had to keep going."
Mielke got her chance to run when she came off the bench against UT-Martin, earlier this season. She checked into the match with 20 minutes left to play. Fifteen minutes later, she was celebrating in the 18-yard box with her teammates after State had scored its third goal of the night.
She had received the ball near the Bulldogs' bench just across the midfield line. Looking up, Mielke saw nothing but space in front of her and began penetrating the defense with her dribble. A defender stepped in the way and at the last minute, Mielke tapped the ball through her legs and kept going.
She saw Olivia Hernandez in space and sent the ball out wide. She kept going. Hernandez took the ball forward and sent it straight back to Mielke. She took one touch to play the ball through a gap to Monigo Karnley whose finish was perfect.
"I looked back at the film and was like, 'I ran that far that fast?', she said. "I was exhausted, and then I was like, 'Oh that's why.' I ran that far, and I didn't even realize because my mind was 'Go, go, go," and don't stop until either I or someone else scored."
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC."
STARKVILLE – Megan Mielke has never been one for brakes. She'd prefer to go full speed.
The daughter of an Argentinian mechanic outside of Los Angeles grew up around motorcycles, dirtbikes and quads. Mielke's father often worked on vehicles for some of the local Hollywood stars, and Mielke and her sisters would often go along on his motorcycle trips just to meet them.
The Mielke family would pile in their minivan and drive out to Jawbone Canyon for a weekend of driving through hills and exploring caves. At night, they'd circle up around a campfire before sleeping in their cars.
"There was this really big hill that you had to work years to get up to, and all the really macho dads would go up and drive down it super fast," she said. "I finally got to go down it, and it was probably the worst experience I've ever had. First of all, I'm not a heights person. Second, it was no control. If you brake, you're flipping over. You can't slow down, you just got to keep on going and somehow control yourself when you're going down. It's an experience. It's probably something I'll never do again, but I'm glad that I got to do it."
Spending time in her dad's repair shop piqued Mielke's interest in engineering which helped draw her to Mississippi State. When she visited Starkville, the Southern hospitality sealed her decision.
"I noticed everyone asked me how I was doing all the time, and I really like that because no one in California ever asks you how you're doing," Mielke said. "Back home its fast paced. Restaurants, you're in and out in 40 minutes, but here you can sit in a restaurant for almost two hours because everyone's talking and having a good time."
She still keeps California's high tempo in her personality, despite her love of Southern life.
"I've always been that player where I'm like, 'I want to run. Play me a through ball and run it, let me go,'" she said. "I'm always looking to drive and always go forward. To the last minute, just drive, drive, drive. You can push through it because when driving motorcycles and dirt bikes that's what you had to do, you had to keep going."
Mielke got her chance to run when she came off the bench against UT-Martin, earlier this season. She checked into the match with 20 minutes left to play. Fifteen minutes later, she was celebrating in the 18-yard box with her teammates after State had scored its third goal of the night.
She had received the ball near the Bulldogs' bench just across the midfield line. Looking up, Mielke saw nothing but space in front of her and began penetrating the defense with her dribble. A defender stepped in the way and at the last minute, Mielke tapped the ball through her legs and kept going.
She saw Olivia Hernandez in space and sent the ball out wide. She kept going. Hernandez took the ball forward and sent it straight back to Mielke. She took one touch to play the ball through a gap to Monigo Karnley whose finish was perfect.
"I looked back at the film and was like, 'I ran that far that fast?', she said. "I was exhausted, and then I was like, 'Oh that's why.' I ran that far, and I didn't even realize because my mind was 'Go, go, go," and don't stop until either I or someone else scored."
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC."
Players Mentioned
Saturday, November 15
Saturday, November 15
Saturday, November 15
Monday, November 10