Mattia Melillo was a trailblazer during a shifting national soccer landscape in the late 2000s. The standout at Walkersville High School was among the state’s elite players in his age group. He was part of the Maryland Olympic Development Program from 2004-2007. Mattia won a pair of Maryland State Youth Soccer Association state cup titles with Soccer Association of Columbia (SAC) in 2006 and 2007. He then became part of the inaugural U.S. Soccer Development Academy in 2008, playing for Potomac SC. This club foundation helped Mattia land a spot at NCAA Division I George Washington University, where he appeared in every match as a freshman in 2009, contributing one goal and three assists. He played all 18 matches with 16 starts as a sophomore, scoring twice and assisting a pair of goals. As a junior, he helped GW to the Atlantic-10 regular season title and he earned a spot on the A-10 All-Tournament team after scoring a goal in the final against Xavier. He received A-10 Player of the Week honors and ended the season with seven goals and four assists, which brought to an end his collegiate career. At Walkersville High, he graduated in 2009 with career records for goals (48), assists (18), goals in a game (4) and goals in a season (19)).