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2003
"Pocket Rocket" Pip Aiming For The Stars
by Jeremy Ruane
 "I want to play professionally in Europe", declared Pip Meo confidently, half-way through a discussion of her life in soccer thus far."In five years time", she went on, "I’d love to be playing soccer in England, and making enough money so I can come back here and live on my earnings".
Most people would consider these statements to be rich in bravado and the ignorance of youth, given they come from someone who has only just turned twenty. But they clearly don’t know Masterton-born Pip.
The first thing you tend to notice about this chocolate-loving soccer star is there ain’t much of her. But what she may lack in inches - she stands at just five foot nothing - she more than makes up for with a cast-iron will and a ferocious determination to succeed against the odds.
And succeed she most definitely has to date - with honours.
Her willingness to push the boundaries, and force people to reconsider their preconceptions of her has, in the last six months alone, seen Pip become a member of the New Zealand women’s soccer team, and be named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association’s (MIAA) Freshman of the Year for her efforts at her current place of study, Southwest Baptist University in Missouri.
They are both honours of which she is decidedly proud, and they sit nicely alongside her appearances for the New Zealand Under-19 women’s team in 2002, and being named in two American University selection teams, one representing the entire Central Region, the other the entire MIAA.
It’s certainly a far cry from her humble beginnings down Masterton way. "I started playing when I was six years old, and was playing in boys’ teams till I reached fourteen.
"During those years, I played for Douglas Villa. I went there of my own accord, and came under the guidance of Bruce Kempson, who was a big encouragement to me - he treated me exactly like one of the boys, and helped me set standards to which I still aspire.
"From there, I went to Wairarapa United in 1998, and spent four seasons playing alongside the likes of Wendi Henderson, Nicky Smith, Michele Keinzley and Nicky Morrison. In my time there, we won the Central League a couple of times, and reached the Uncle Toby’s Women’s Knockout Cup Final on two occasions".
United broke up after the 2001 campaign, so Pip made the biggest move of her career to that point - north to Auckland. "I played for Ellerslie that year, and finished with another runners-up medal in the Uncle Toby’s - I’m determined to collect a winner’s medal one day!!", declares the jet-heeled Meo, whose blistering turn of speed has earned her the affectionate nickname of "Pocket Rocket".
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After a year in the Queen City, Pip’s footballing skills and educational requirements secured her a scholarship at Southwest Baptist University in Missouri, where she has studied and played alongside Ellerslie and New Zealand team-mate Priscilla Duncan throughout 2003.
"It’s hard work at Southwest Baptist, but it’s very good all the same. One of my ambitions here is to win the NCAA tournament, and finish my degree, of course. I’m studying sports management - I’ve got three years to go before I graduate, after which I’d like to work for Nike, as well as play professionally".
As well as her individual recognition on the park, Pip scored nine goals in twenty games for Southwest Baptist in 2003, as the university’s women’s soccer team - the "Lady Bearcats", as they are known - recorded its best-ever finish in its history - eighth - in the NCAA Division Two Central Region rankings.
Her form secured a call-up to the national team, and she played in all three matches at the Australia Cup tournament in Brisbane. "It’s been a pretty good tour", she said of her first international experience with New Zealand’s senior representative side.
"Everything’s been organised for us, and we’ve been treated like professionals. It’s good to have better coaching, too. Now I’ve had a taste, I obviously want more, and my ambitions New Zealand-wise now are to keep earning my place in the squad, and", with a twinkle in her eye, "to beat Australia!!" Yes please!!!
 Away from soccer, Pip’s a sports junkie. She likes playing any sport, watching sports movies, and reading soccer biographies, as well as those of sports stars such as cycling great Lance Armstrong. Roberto Carlos and Ryan Giggs are her favourite players, and, having mentioned the latter, no prizes for guessing which club she supports!!
"I’m also a Simpsons fan, and as well as eating Italian food and hanging out with friends, I like playing with my dog and my little sister, although being in Missouri at the moment, that’s out of the question - I certainly miss my dog, if not my little sister!!", she sniggers mischievously.
The journey from Masterton to Missouri has seen former St. Matthew’s Collegiate School pupil Pip Meo overcome many hurdles to date, and her old school’s motto is a constant reminder to her of what New Zealand women’s soccer’s "Pocket Rocket" can, and hopefully, will, achieve in the years to come.
‘Ad Astra Per Aspera’ - to the stars through endeavour.
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