Soccer swooped in and wrapped the little girl up, and she has been taking a magic carpet ride while nestled in the game's love ever since.
Carleigh Simmons could have gone to college anywhere — Harvard, Princeton, a service academy. She had the mind, the sheer intelligence, the grades and academic scores and the discipline to make it happen.
But she was wrapped in a love for the game, working through life thrilled to be playing the game that cradled her and carried her away as a young girl.
And so she chose UTEP.
Simmons, now a senior, and her UTEP teammates will begin a four-game homestand Friday night at scenic University Field, taking on Idaho State at 7 p.