Megan Ogiltree is a midfielder for the Francis Marion women’s soccer team. Her position places her in the middle of the field where she is in charge of both offensive and defense during a game.

Ogiltree said that her favorite position to play is forward because she loves the feeling of scoring against an opponent. However, through the years she feels that her coaches have found her more useful at the midfield position because of her vision for the game.

“I can see the field really well, so I help the team connect,” Ogiltree said.

One thing that she really likes about playing the midfield position is the endless possibilities for passing.  Unlike some positions in the game, Ogiltree said that the midfield position is not limited in space.

Ogiltree said that she is always talking to her teammates when she is out on the field. To her, communication between players on the field is an important part of the game.

Ogiltree said that one of her favorite things about FMU is how well she fits in with the women’s soccer team.  She finds it important to have friends around to support her because she came to FMU from Toronto, Canada.

Ogiltree first started playing soccer in Canada when she was three years old. She said that she owes her love for the sport to her parents who got her started in recreational soccer when she a child

Ogiltree also started playing hockey when she began playing soccer and only stopped playing hockey 14 years later when she started attending FMU.

“It’s a different feeling playing hockey versus soccer,” Ogiltree said. “I did hockey for fun and I had fun doing it, but soccer is something that I care so much about.”

She said that her love for soccer and the available opportunity for playing soccer at a college level was what ultimately helped her decide between the two sports.

Over the 16 years that she has been playing soccer, Ogiltree has donned jerseys for several different schools and leagues.  She started out playing in recreational leagues when she was younger and then, as she got older, she started playing for soccer clubs before joining her high school varsity team.

During the four years that she was on the varsity team she won two championships. She also earned the most valuable player honor twice.

Before Ogiltree decided to attend FMU, she received offers from other colleges and universities.  Her first experience with FMU took place in Canada when she met the university’s women’s soccer coach at a tournament.

Ogiltree said that she chose FMU because they offered the classes that she wanted to take at the time.  South Carolina’s warm weather was also an important part of her decision.  Ogiltree said that when she first came to South Carolina to visit the campus she knew that it felt right to her.

Now that Ogiltree is at FMU she is majoring in mass communication.  She said that she is interested in the public relations track that is offered as a part of the mass communication degree. She has not made up her mind as to what kind of job she is specifically looking for after graduation, but she knows that it will be in the public relations field.

The women’s soccer team is placed in Division I, unlike all of the FMU’s other sports that play at the Division II level.  Ogiltree said that her favorite thing about playing for FMU is all of the competition that the players face competing against schools like Oklahoma, Duke, and NC State.