DENVER – Steven Emory remembers joining a talented MSU Denver soccer team in the fall of 2007, still just 17 years old and unsure of how he would fit in.
 
"I was walking in there as a young freshman, nervous and wanting to prove myself and to see where I would be among the guys," Emory said. "I knew they had a lot of talented players. I remember I subbed in my first home game and played well and kind of earned the respect of my teammates and (Coach) Ken (Parsons) and it progressed from there."
 
Needless to say, Emory really needn't have worried.
 
He would eventually earn All-America first team honors from two organizations as a senior after picking up one All-America second-team accolade as a junior.
 
And he became the first former MSU Denver player to appear on a Major League Soccer roster, with the Colorado Rapids.
 
Emory will be inducted into Metropolitan State University of Denver's Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 5, along with the rest of the 2007 men's soccer team, volleyball star Stefanie Allison (Magalei) and softball record holder Nancy Kogle.
 
The ceremony at the SpringHill Suites on the Auraria campus is at 7 p.m. and follows a 6:30 p.m. social hour. Registration, which includes dinner, is available here.
 
Emory overcame his early misgiving about fitting in right away, but his freshman year did produce some cause for pause.
 
"I was playing against older guys, and the players were faster and more physical," he said. "One game we had was against West Florida, in Florida, and it was a big game. I was 17, and we were playing against a guy who was 31. I'm thinking, 'I'm playing against a man who is almost twice my age.' But that's college soccer sometimes."

Emory played for the Roadrunners from 2007 through 2010 and, in addition to his All-America honors, he was recognized as an all-region first-team player five times over three seasons and also picked up one all-region second team honor. He was a two-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year and added an All-RMAC second-team selection as a sophomore.
 
He is still fourth on MSU Denver's career goals list (38) and ranks third in both assists (23) and points (99). He holds school-record streaks of six straight games with at least one assist and 11 straight games of at least one point. Emory played for teams that were 51-23-11 overall and 35-15-10 in the RMAC while winning one regular-season RMAC title and playing in two NCAA Division II Tournaments.

The 2007 team he joined set a school-record for wins while going 16-3-3 overall and 11-0-3 in RMAC play. The Roadrunners rose to as high as No. 8 in the national rankings and finished the season ranked No. 17 in NCAA Division II after reaching the NCAA Tournament. The team still holds the school record with a 17-game unbeaten streak.
 
After his star-studded MSU Denver career, Emory played two seasons with the Rapids and also played professionally in Finland for Narpes Kraft Football Club.
 
He needed surgery to continue playing however, and instead elected to complete his degree. He lives in the Kansas City-area and works in the health-care industry.
 
Funny, though, that a guy who has played on the same pitch with David Beckham and Landon Donovan still has so many prominent memories of playing for the Roadrunners.
 
"Playing against Fort Lewis, that rivalry we had, I just remember how amped up we were to play them," he said. "Their fans would come from Durango and line the field and heckle us. I remember going there and having them chant in my face, saying I was overrated, so every chance I got to score on them was just pure satisfaction."
 
As a younger-than-usual college kid coming from Fort Collins, Colo., Emory said his years on the MSU Denver campus helped him grow up quickly.
 
"A lot faster than I thought it would," he said. "To be in a small college town is one thing, but MSU Denver is unique because it's urban. It's downtown. The whole town isn't devoted to the university, so you get that diversity and the opportunity to experience other cultures. I was in classes with students who were transfers, or who were parents and had jobs. The classes were smaller, so I got to know my professors well. There was so much value to getting my education at MSU Denver.
 
"I still go to Denver quite a bit, and I'll randomly drive through or take a pass at the stadium. It's great to see the school continue to take off."
 
Now that Emory is set to be enshrined, he put his time at MSU Denver in perspective.
 
"I never would have thought I would accomplish this," he said. "Any athlete representing a school or a team dreams of the highest honors or a championship. But for it to be possible for this award, it's such an honor."