Coming home: Spree-Kolos’ soccer journey coming full circle at UHV

Graduate senior Kyleigh Spree-Kolos knows the field at The Cage all too well.

In fact, it's one thing she credits for setting the foundation for her love of soccer and dream of playing at the collegiate level at 8 years old as the Victoria native regularly attended the youth summer camps hosted by the UHV soccer team. She spent this summer as a coach at both camps hosted by UHV.

Now her career is coming full circle in her final year of eligibility and first with the Jaguars.

"(The camps) had a major impact on me," Spree-Kolos said. "I looked forward to them every summer. My mom would say, 'It's time to go to camp,' and I would say, 'Awesome! Let's go!' That's where I learned most of my moves, ballwork and shooting. That was honestly my favorite part of the whole camp, Thursdays when we would do our shooting. Now, getting to be a coach out there, it means a lot. They definitely paved my path to being a collegiate player."

The path for Spree-Kolos didn't lead directly to UHV, however.

After graduating from Victoria East, she headed north to San Antonio and fellow Red River Athletic Conference member Our Lady of the Lake University.

While with the Saints, Spree-Kolos netted 26 goals in 46 career matches for the Saints, earning All-RRAC honors in 2020, 2021 and 2022. She helped the Saints to the 2020 RRAC regular season championship.

"I've known her a long time," said head coach Adrian Rigby. "She came to summer camps from the time she was 8 years old. She's been a good player within the conference and got some good accolades."

Once she received her Bachelor's Degree in Kinesiology last year at OLLU, Spree-Kolos still had a year of eligibility left due to the 2020-21 COVID year. Which is why she decided to return home to pursue her Master's of Education at UHV.

She joins Chloe Spencer, who also attended UHV's youth soccer camps, and fellow first-year Jaguar Skylar Shaffer as the three Victoria products on UHV's roster.

"I think it tells you the place the University has in the town," Rigby said. "We have a role in athletics which we can provide opportunities and be good mentors for young kids. We're a positive environment here for the players to grow up in. There's a lot of trust in getting to know families over the years and an honor they want to send their children to come play for you."

The decision was a no-brainer for the former Titan.

"It was very easy," Spree-Kolos said. "When coach Rigby said he had a spot for me, I said, 'Let's go,' because having this chance to play one more year and do it at home, it's almost like a dream. All my family can be here every single game, I'm making new friends who are here in Victoria, and it's on a field I've been playing on since I was 8. It's just very comfortable here."

In seven games with the Jaguars (5-2-0, 2-2-0), Spree-Kolos has made an immediate impact.

She's scored five goals with two assists in seven matches, including a two-goal, one-assist performance in a 4-3 come-from-behind win over Jarvis Christian on the road on Sept. 21. That helped UHV reach the 5-0 mark to start the season for the first time in program history.

Spree-Kolos has found the back of the net four times over the last four games, showing she's starting to hit her stride with her new team.

She feels her time at the UHV camps and four years at OLLU gave her all the tools she needed to have a strong final season.

"All of that helped me prepare for this year," Spree-Kolos said. "I think that has a lot to do with me being comfortable and has allowed me to get the ball in the back of the net."

Now the Jaguars will look to bounce back from its first two losses of the season with a road trip to Onion Creek Soccer Complex in Austin on Saturday to face conference foe Huston-Tillotson (2-4-0, 1-3-0).

UHV won 8-1 over the Rams last season to eclipse the 100-win mark for the program. The Jaguars hold a 10-2-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Rams.

"Last week, we faced two really good teams," Rigby said. "Texas A&M-Texarkana is undefeated for a reason. For us, I thought we had a really good second half. We were unlucky to hit the post that would've made it 3-2. We played well and gained some confidence in the second half, but we're looking to limit the mistakes we make in a game and we'll have an opportunity to win."