The last time Kelyn Rowe donned a blue and white Federal Way High School soccer uniform was on a warm spring evening back in 2007.
As a freshman phenom for the Eagles, Rowe banged in a pair of goals and had an assist during the state championship game at Lakewood’s Harry Lang Stadium.
But it wasn’t enough. Pasco downed Federal Way, 4-3, to claim the 2007 Class 4A state title. The loss was a tough pill to swallow, but it really wasn’t as devastating as you would think. That’s because Rowe was going to lead all 11 starters back in 2008.
“We were going to go back and try to win it,” Rowe said.
But things didn’t exactly work out as planned. Rowe, who was a first-team, All-State selection as a freshman, wasn’t back on the Eagles’ roster the following season. Instead, he joined Crossfire Premier SC of the U.S. Development Academy, a national travel league for the country’s top prep players.
“I would make that decision again if I had to,” said Rowe, who scored 14 goals and dished out 13 assists as a freshman. “It was a better decision for my future.”
And Rowe’s future is a very bright one. The 5-foot-8, 150-pound senior fulfilled a lifelong dream Wednesday when he inked his national letter of intent to play soccer at UCLA in the fall on a full-ride scholarship. Rowe committed to the Bruins early in his junior year.
“I have wanted to go there since I was 10 years old,” he said. “That’s when I told my parents and everybody around me that I’m going to UCLA. I always watched them play. UCLA is the dominant college for all athletics. I just fell in love.”
Rowe, an attacking forward, is listed as the No. 8 recruit in the nation by topdrawersoccer.com and highlights UCLA’s top-ranked class. Rowe, who will be joined in Westwood by five other top-100 recruits.
And to make things even a little sweeter, Rowe will be back on the turf at Federal Way Memorial Stadium starting next month after a two-year hiatus. Thanks to a change in Crossfire Development Academy’s schedule, he will be able to return to the field for the Eagles in the spring for one last shot at that state title that eluded him as a freshman.
“I’m really excited about that,” Rowe said. “I really did miss it. The most fun I’ve ever had in a soccer game was in the state finals my freshman year. The crowd was so awesome.”
And that’s saying a lot, considering Rowe has literally been all over the world playing the game. In the past two years, he has travelled to a half dozen countries around the world, including Argentina and Uruguay with the U.S. men’s under-18 national team and a tour of Europe with a select group of high school players.
“In Uruguay, we were on the sidelines and everybody wanted our autograph,” Rowe said. “It was the coolest. Earlier in the day, I had popped a pair of shoes and a kid asked me for them. When I gave them to him, it was the greatest feeling.”
It’s most likely a feeling Rowe will experience again. The hard-working forward is always striving to improve his all-around soccer game and has an immediate goal of getting Federal Way back into the state championship — this time coming out victorious.
After that, Rowe hopes to compile a stellar career at UCLA and eventually play professional soccer in Europe.
“My main goal is to play in the (United Kingdom),” Rowe said about the English Premier League. “That’s my overall big goal and whatever steps I have to do to get there, I will do.”
In other news:
• Federal Way High School senior Molly Campbell signed Wednesday to play soccer in the fall at Saint Martin’s University.
Campbell finished her senior season with four goals and one assist from the midfield. She had a pair of goals during a 4-0 win over Kent-Meridian on Oct. 13.
Saint Martin’s is coached by Rob Walker, who is the head of the Federal Way United youth program, and currently includes Federal Way High School grads Joanne Packer and Cayla Dixon. The Saints finished 12-7-0 last season and play in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
