Eastern Kentucky has a steal in DaPisa

There is no mystery where Jessie DaPisa will likely be next Thursday.

In front of the TV -- along with millions of others across the country -- watching the season premiere of the top-rated CSI (Crime Scene Investigation).

"I love mysteries and I love a whole lot of aspects of being the person behind the scenes," said DaPisa, who plans to study forensic science at Eastern Kentucky.

But there is no intrigue to the other reason DaPisa is going to Eastern Kentucky. The senior at Rolling Meadows is already a three-year varsity starter on the soccer team and was an all-area selection last spring.

The outside midfielder has 13 goals and 31 assists in her varsity career and has played on regional championship teams the last two years.

DaPisa, who currently plays for the Eclipse Select club team, will also be entering her second year as a captain for Meadows.

"She's just a great kid," said Meadows coach Jeff Adkins. "If I had more kids like her, and I've been fortunate I've had a lot of kids like her, it makes your job a lot easier."

After all, Adkins never has to worry about DaPisa being eligible. It's not as if she spends all of her spare time watching TV since she's ranked 13th in her senior class with a weighted 5.38 grade point average on a 5.0 scale.

She was named Meadows' 2006 chemistry student of the year as it became one of her favorite subjects thanks to teacher Todd Schaap. She is on the student council and has been the assistant editor of the yearbook staff.

"You have to keep your stuff organized and get things done ahead of time," DaPisa said.

Such as committing in the spring to an Eastern Kentucky program that is just in its third year of existence.

"It wasn't necessarily a priority," DaPisa said of the early commitment. "It's definitely a big relief off my shoulders with all of the club girls starting to commit at that time. Most of them had committed to Division I schools."

For DaPisa, it was the achievement of a long-pursued goal. She started playing at age 5 after watching her older sister Megan and older brother Jason play for the Arlington Aces.

Megan also was a four-year varsity defender and two-year captain for Meadows. She also played at Minnesota State and recently left for Kenya for a two-year stint with the Peace Corps.

When Jason got to Meadows he switched fields to football and was a starting linebacker on its 2004 Class 7A state semifinalist. He's now a junior at Illinois and studying engineering.

Jessie's parents Bob, who played baseball and wrestled at Glenbard West in the early 1970s, and Terry never played soccer. But Bob coached his kids' park district teams.

"I grew to love it," Jessie said.

And Adkins has loved having the DaPisas around.

"I've known the family for a long time," he said. "Sometimes you get one kid where you say, 'What happened to that one?'

"But that's not the case with that family. They're all good athletes and good kids."

It's also fairly clear how Jessie DaPisa's teammates feel about her since Meadows' players pick their captains.

"I have in my head what type of leaders I want on the team and she's checked off on all those things," Adkins said. "She's a good person on and off the field and someone the team respects."

DaPisa said she might be a defender at Eastern Kentucky. Adkins said she could play anywhere but will likely stay in the midfield at Meadows because of her versatility.

And she hopes soccer helps her follow in the real-life footsteps of CSI stars William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger.

"Everything fit into place," DaPisa said of Eastern Kentucky.

Nothing mysterious there.