Brielle Spencer-Tyree played center-back for High Point University women's soccer team from 2008-2011. She holds the program record for most minutes played and she is now a mathematics instructor at High Point University.

HPU: You hold the HPU women's soccer record for most minutes played, what was your mentality on the field? What can you say about your willingness to play that role, is that something you did in high school and knew you could carry over into the college game?
Brielle: Growing up and playing in high school, I pretty much did play all the time. What is crazy is when I came to High Point the coach at the time told me I had a spot on the team, but it was only a roster spot. She said she couldn't guarantee me anything, but if I wanted to come to High Point I could. I took that as my opening and then once I got to HPU I worked my tail off. It paid off because the very first game we had my freshman year I was presented with the opportunity to start as the center-back. Center-back is a position where there usually isn't heavy rotation or substitution so once I got that chance freshman year I did not want to lose that spot. I was just committed to staying on the field and making myself good enough so they would not take me off the field. 

HPU: During your time here at High Point you won two conference championships and played in two NCAA Tournaments. What stands out to you about those two championships and what do you remember about your two NCAA Tournament experiences?
Brielle: Those are probably my favorite on the field memories with the team. In my sophomore year when we won the Big South Tournament (that was Marty (Beal) and Brandi's (Fontaine) first year as coaches at HPU), we went into the tournament as the lowest seed. We ended up just gutting it out and having three really intense battle games. Then we made it to the final and won on penalty kicks which was insane. That season, all of us felt kind of defeated because we did not win a whole lot and then even in conference play we didn't do a lot of winning. But then we all clicked and we all knew we could rely on each other and we knew what everyone's strengths were during the Big South Tournament. It was awesome to see it all come together late in the season. That year we played North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament. I feel like at least ten to twenty years ago every girl in America's dream was to probably grow up and play at Carolina. We didn't play for North Carolina but to be able to play on that field, against a roster that probably had four or five national team players at the time and we were able to hold them goalless until the 80th minute. We were able to do that because we believed in each other and believed in our defense and we had goalkeeper in Marissa Abbott, who played out of her mind that day. They scored on a fluke goal at the end and went on to win a national championship that year. It was insane to play against them and to play as well as a unit as we did was pretty cool to see. Then the next year going into the Big South Tournament we were pretty good I would say and we had a lot more wins under our belt. I think that was the year we had a five-way tie for first place or something crazy because everyone kept beating each other. But then we just kind of dominated that year, we had some really good games. That was a weird tournament situation because the first day was rained out so we played three days in a row. That tournament was crazy because we won in overtime, on Jillie Johnston's bicycle kick goal which was just amazing. Then playing in the NCAA Tournament which everyone wants to do no matter what sport it is. Playing against Maryland was pretty cool, we scored some goals against them which was awesome. We really hung with them, it was completely different than playing North Carolina the year before. We were so focused on defense and keeping them out of the goal the year before. I don't think we went with the mentality that we could hang with them. Against Maryland, we played way more straight up against them and went in to score and we did. We were very successful for a while against Maryland then we lost. That one was neat because it was like, whoa we can hang with the big dogs now and we can score against them. It was cool to see in a couple of years at High Point the transition we made and how much we better we were beginning to get. 

HPU: Can you talk about being a double major while playing a sport here at High Point and the balancing you had to do?
Brielle: I was a double major in Math and Physics, those are two incredible departments at High Point and they still are now but they always have been. They are extremely supportive of their students. I did not pick math as my major when I first got to High Point but I just felt like after one semester I missed math. I realized I wanted to teach math or at that point even physics so I switched my majors and the rest was history. I found my niche and I found my people. I found something I really enjoyed doing, it was a ton of hard work. My teammates from back in the day would probably tell you that I did not have much of a social life. Being in majors that are that challenging and then mix that with soccer, the keys to success are time management and working your butt off. 

HPU: And you did it all at a high level, you received many accolades including being named the Big South Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year and being selected to the Big South All-Academic Team and the Capital One Academic All-District Second Team.
Brielle: Yeah, I got all A's, I had a 4.0. Those awards were cool and I am very proud of them but that was never anything I had a goal of achieving. I was never focused on what I could do or what I could get it was more like I just want to win as a team, I want to win the Big South. Those were just extra bonuses for me and made me feel better about all the hard work I had put in over those years. 

HPU: Head Coach Brandi Fontaine was an assistant when you played here. What were your experiences with her as a player and what are your thoughts on her time now as head coach?
Brielle: During my time at High Point, Brandi worked a lot with the defense primarily. I had a lot of experience working with her as a player. Something that is great about working with Brandi is that you always feel like she believes in you but also, she wants the best out of you. She believes you can do it, but if you are not doing it she is going to let you know and that is just because she has high expectations for you because she sees your real potential. She wants you to dig down deep and reach that and do all the work you need to do to get there because that's the kind of person she is. During her playing career she worked her butt off and she has obviously worked incredibly hard to get where she is now as a coach as quickly as she has. Being coached by her was awesome. I always felt so supported and she is just so knowledgeable about soccer. When Marty left, I really thought High Point only had one choice. Maybe I'm biased, but I thought Brandi was the only choice. What she can bring to the game, what she knows about the culture at HPU, the kind of culture she can create in a program. She watches soccer in her free time and she is going to push girls to watch soccer in their free time and for them to eat, breathe, and sleep soccer. To see her have some real some success and get the girls to buy into her vision of the program and her style of play was awesome. She is just going to keep making them better. 

HPU: What are you doing now and what is your title? 
Brielle: I am a Mathematics Instructor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences here at High Point University. I did just finish my Ph.D. and I now have the title of doctor in front of my name (she says with a laugh). I teach primarily general education math classes which I love because I get to see students from a variety of different majors and interact with a ton of athletes which I always think is cool because I know their struggle. I love it when all my students succeed but I really love it when my athletes really bust their butt.

HPU: You played at HPU and you teach here, what made you choose High Point for each role?
Brielle: We found High Point and I had always had a goal to play Division I soccer and yet I was then very picky about what I wanted in a school. I wanted a small liberal arts college where could I interact with my professors on a personal level but then also wanted somewhere with Division I athletics that would really invest in me and somewhere I could prove myself. Obviously, the campus when you go there even in 2007 when I was looking at colleges it wasn't anything like it is now but it was still head over heels above anywhere else I toured. I liked the coach who was there at the time but then I liked everyone else I had as well so the coach wasn't necessarily why I made the decision it was more the environment. It was also not that far from home. After finishing my undergrad, I stayed at HPU one extra year and got my master's in arts and teaching at High Point and was able to coach with Brandi and Marty as their grad assistant. I liked seeing High Point from the other side of things during that time. This sounds so cheesy but I just really love High Point and everything about it. I did leave for about a year and taught up in Virginia and then the opportunity to be an instructor at High Point came about and I jumped at the chance. It meant we had to change our life here but my husband and I agreed it was worth it. He said to me one day when we were making the decision about whether I should leave my other job and take this he was like High Point just makes you happy, you love the people, you love the environment there if this is going to be a job where you are much happier then you need to pick it. Why do I love it now that I have done this for six years? I just love being able to give back to the students the way that all of my great professors and instructors did for me. We are able to deliver something at High Point that other places do not do as well of a job of which is the individualized attention we are able to give with our smaller class sizes, really investing in the students and knowing them as students and people and not just a number and a grade. I just really love the math department here at High Point they are the coolest bunch of people I could ask to work with. 
 

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