Oct. 17, 2017
By Madeleine Balestrier, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - As a transferring junior, he replaced the Red and White of North Carolina State for a No. 17 Blue and White jersey. Now a senior with graduation dawning, midfielder Cameron Steele continues to find great opportunity in his decision to transfer and play for the Penn State community.
"I absolutely loved it ever since I got here," Steele said. "The community support here is amazing and I loved the group of guys and the coaches I have gotten to meet here. I am so really grateful to be apart of Penn State."
Although Steele transferred from his home state of North Carolina prior to his junior year, he still made an impact in the Nittany Lions' lineup as a latecomer to Happy Valley. Steele appeared in 10 games with one start, while seeing his most action of the 2016 season against the No. 4 ranked Maryland Terrapins.
Steele's minutes and starts have drastically increased in the 2017 campaign as head coach Bob Warming has seen the senior achieve his full potential on and off the field.
"Cam Steele is one of the special ones really," Warming said. "I think that you have a collegiate athlete, a guy who is a fantastic student. He's really dedicated to people off the field, his teammates and other people and just works hard every single day on the field."
So far on the season Steele has played in nine games, started seven games as a midfielder or forward and played 697 minutes. The Nittany Lions still have three regular season games on their slate and Steele already tripled his minutes from last season.
"The legacy you want to leave is the culture, the work ethic and the determination to keep trying to improve every single time that they are on this field," Warming said.
Steele's work ethic and determination play through his drastic increase of appearances in the starting lineup and overall minutes on the pitch throughout the hustle and grind of the 2017 campaign. As a senior, his lead and example speaks volumes to the level of play that other transfers and freshmen must strive for in order to make their own legacy.
"He's really one of the special guys and a great role model for what we want our Penn State players to be," Warming said.
Although Steele made his impact on the Penn State men's soccer team with barely two seasons under his belt, Warming and Steele both see more opportunity for the seniors to leave their mark.
"Even though we haven't gotten the results we've wanted so far we still have a few games left to get momentum going into the tournament and then just take it one game at a time," Steele said.
"That's up to them...we're not done yet," Warming added.
No matter how the season plays out for the Nittany Lions, Steele hopes to continue his soccer journey after the positive legacy that the Blue and White has imprinted on his professional and educational career.
"I really want to keep playing after college," Steele said. "I am just hoping to get my degree then go from there."
For more information on Nittany Lion men's soccer, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com and follow the team on the various social media platforms.