Rewind to December 2006. USF was searching for a women's soccer coach and its administrator flew to Raleigh, North Carolina, site of a premier youth tournament, to interview the three finalists.

Two of them had nationally recognizable names — World Cup experience, Olympic gold medals, all the bells and whistles.

The other was Denise Schilte-Brown, 31, head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University.

"After the interview, he (USF administrator) said, 'Denise, you seem very eager for the job, like you REALLY want this job,' '' Schilte-Brown said. "I looked him in the eyes and said, 'You're absolutely right. I do REALLY want this job.'

"Then he said, 'I just want you to know that you're up against some very big candidates, some very big names.' ''

Schilte-Brown paused and said she could almost hear the competitive switch being turned on in her brain.

"I was like, 'If you want a splash on the Internet, go right ahead and hire one of those women,' '' Schilte-Brown said. "Then I said, 'If you want to win, you need to hire me because I'm at Virginia Commonwealth University and I win double the amount they do in a much harder situation. So you decide which way you want to go.' ''

A few days later, Denise Schilte-Brown was introduced as South Florida's new women's soccer coach.

USF Numbers Speak Volumes

When Schilte-Brown's 17th USF women's soccer team opens its season Thursday night at LSU, the expectations will again be crystal clear. The Bulls are chasing an American Athletic Conference championship, a bid to the NCAA Tournament and a deep postseason run. That's the bar she has set. Nothing new here.

But the opener begins her last dance at USF. On July 15, Schilte-Brown was selected as the first head coach of the new USL Super League Tampa Bay women's soccer team that begins play in August of 2024.

"I'm super excited about the new opportunity, but super grateful for USF and everything we've been able to accomplish in the program,'' Schilte-Brown said. "And it makes me super determined to give it everything I've got so we can have an outstanding season.''

Another outstanding season would seem appropriate.

The numbers say it all: Schilte-Brown has gone 174-94-41 at USF, including three AAC regular-season titles, three AAC Tournament titles and eight NCAA Tournament appearances. USF won a conference title every year from 2017-21, including five straight NCAA appearances during that span. In 2019, the Bulls won a program-record 16 games and reached the NCAA Tournament's third round.

Schilte-Brown will go down as one of the best USF coaches — in any sport.

In the beginning, when there was so much to be built, Schilte-Brown made it happen through sheer will and the force of her personality.

She had panache. Maybe it came from her parents. Her father, who worked in construction, always talked about leaving Canada and starting anew in Florida. It went on for years. One day, her mother challenged him: Why don't you just do it. So he did.

They got on a plane, found a real estate agent and bought a seven-unit hotel on Treasure Island that they transformed into a homey bed-and-breakfast, where the snowbirds always returned, just to see them. They eventually sold it for a million dollars, then kept trading up to bigger and better properties, first to Daytona Beach, then to New Port Richey, working through good times and recessions.

"There's a lesson there,'' Schilte-Brown said. "If you really want something, go for it. Why just talk about it? Why wait?''

After Schilte-Brown finished her playing career as one of the all-time greats at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, the head-coaching job came open. She wanted that position. The athletic director gave her the usual talk about gaining experience. She demanded an interview if the job ever came open again.

It did — one year later, when she was playing overseas.

"He contacted me and was trying to be funny and nice — 'Hey Denise, where's your application?' '' Schilte-Brown said. "He wasn't super serious. I immediately sent off my resume and he flew me in for an interview.

"After the interview, he said, 'I really had no intentions of offering you the job. You're too young. You're too inexperienced. But I'm going to give you a shot.' ''

Schilte-Brown was 23 — and maybe the biggest head-coaching bargain ever ($23,000 salary). She had sold her energy, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. She bounced from UMBC to VCU to USF.

Then — and still now — she was fearless.

"Denise shoots for the moon in everything she does,'' said her husband and associate head coach, Chris Brown. "It's the way she coaches. It was the way she played.''

She Shoots … She Scores!

Schilte-Brown has fond memories of her UMBC college playing career, when she became one of the nation's most productive goal-scorers.

"I think those experiences help my ability to empower my players to great things beyond what God gave them to work with,'' Schilte-Brown said. "I'm small. I wasn't the fastest player. But I played for my national team. I played professionally. I broke records.

"When I was a young coach, I kind of had an ego knowing that I'm better than most of my players. I could do it better. When we played, I was the best player. It's crazy to see your demise. I was first pick. Then second pick. Before long, I was seventh pick. And I'm frustrated. Now at USF, it's like, 'Oh no, we're stuck with coach.' I guess I was used to be OK.''

Schilte-Brown roared with laughter.

She was better than OK.

A lot better.

Schilte-Brown, a native of Grimsby, Ontario in Canada, became a Hall of Famer at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. As a striker from 1992-95, Schilte-Brown still holds UMBC career records for points (148), goals, (55), assists (38) and shots (219).

She was the Big South Conference Player of the Year as a senior in 1995 and a three-time first-team all-conference selection. The only reason why Schilte-Brown wasn't a first-team all-conference pick as a 1992 freshman, when she had nine assists and 23 goals, including five in her second college game? The Retrievers weren't yet in a conference.

"Even if you didn't know much about soccer, if you saw one of our games, you knew that Denise was the best player on the field,'' said Jerry Milani, the former UMBC sports information director. "She was dynamic. She was fantastic. She was so much fun to watch.''

"Denise played with this special kind of confidence, swagger and charisma,'' longtime UMBC men's soccer coach Pete Caringi said. "She knew how to find the back of the net. She wanted that ball, but not in a selfish way. She wanted her team to succeed and the obvious way for that to happen was Denise doing her thing.''

Schilte-Brown loved the spotlight from an early age. Her first few seasons were spent playing on her brother's team in a co-ed league, but when the family moved to a new town and she first entered an all-girls league, she was dominant.

She was initially confused when letters came pouring in from American colleges, which offered scholarships. Her father figured it out first. Soccer provided an opportunity and Schilte-Brown had her pick of several schools.

She considered UNC-Greensboro, Campbell and Butler, among others, but UMBC had everything she was seeking, including the ability to wear uniform No. 2. Schilte-Brown became one of the main catalysts as the Retrievers matured into a Division I program that soon earned a conference home.

"I really loved my freshman year because I scored 23 goals (still a UMBC single-season record) and nobody had a scouting report on me,'' Schilte-Brown said. "I was an unknown. It became harder after that. I was the hunted. People were looking to take me out or shut me down, And I needed to adjust to that.

"I was definitely the type of player who wanted the ball and didn't mind the attention. It was natural for me to play with that kind of confidence. It's an interesting dynamic for females because people would say after you score five goals, maybe you should share the ball. You get painted as a ball-hog. The coach would encourage you to pass more, but I was like, 'Wait, that is not who I am. I'm not successful because I always look to pass.' I definitely had confidence in myself. Every season I had, I walked out there like I was going to score 50 goals.''

Schilte-Brown transformed that confidence into being hired as UMBC's head coach. She shifted to VCU, where she spent seven seasons, then parlayed that into the job at USF.

She's considered one of the nation's top coaches in women's soccer. Now she's a sage veteran, someone who used to play the game. And there's part of that former life that she occasionally misses.

"I loved the responsibilities of scoring goals,'' Schilte-Brown said. "I think most athletes miss that feeling of sore muscles, what it's like to get hit, how your body feels when you have completely exerted yourself.

"It was a great feeling. Oh, it's absolutely great to win as a coach. But the feeling of scoring goals and winning with your teammates, that's something that never completely leaves you. It was so darn fun. But you learn to have a different kind of fun as your life changes.''

The Next Chapter

Schilte-Brown, the mother of teenage twins, has rolled effectively with those changes. Perhaps because of her husband's influence, she's more thoughtful, not quite as headstrong, using her raw emotion and passion in more effective ways. She's more of a critical thinker, more calculating in the messages she delivers to players.

"But you can't take the genuine out of Denise,'' her husband said. "She's always so genuine. She cares. She just does.''

Schilte-Brown said some of her fondest USF moments have been spent with Michael Kelly, the vice president of athletics. She has had her share of hard conversations and uphill battles, including being told no for things she really wanted. Kelly brought a different side, one that made it even more difficult to leave USF.

"Michael's the kind of guy who's not afraid to sit you down in a room and say, 'I care about you, I care about your family, I want you to be happy and you are super valued here,' '' Schilte-Brown said. "I don't know how you lose in a situation like that.

"But the other part is you always keep pushing. You're always looking to improve. I've always been intrigued by coaching in professional soccer. Sometimes, you evaluate the situation, you follow your gut instinct, you make a decision and you don't look back. That's the way I've always done it.''

Schilte-Brown once took a Myers-Briggs personality test. Her top three jobs: Coach, preacher, military leader.

"For whatever reason, I think I've been blessed with the tools to lead a team,'' Schilte-Brown said. "I'm super faithful. I believe God has a path for me. When He wants a door closed, I can try to force it, but it's not going to open.

"I've been super blessed at USF. I think we've helped to develop some great players and great people who are serving as role models in the world. I get to work with my husband every day.

"But I'm also one to never sit still. I still love winning at everything — rock-paper-scissors, ping-pong, anything — but I've also learned that the true value of being in the game is building the relationships. I promise we'll go at it as hard as ever this season. We can't wait.''