The first in a three-part series, MSUEagles.com writer Mark Maloney takes an in-depth look at the 2017 inductees into the Morehead State Athletics Hall of Fame. Today he features soccer player Rebekah Kendall.
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Perhaps a beautiful attitude has much to do with why Rebekah Kendall experienced so much success in what is known as "the beautiful game" – soccer.
In her first year of eligibility, Kendall will be inducted into the Morehead State Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 20. She and fellow inductees Charles Byrd and Nick Nighswander, both football players, also will be recognized a day later when MSU plays its homecoming football game against Davidson.
MSU's Hall has 143 members, but Kendall is the first soccer player.
Now residing in Charleston, W.Va., and coaching her high school alma mater in nearby Sissonville, Kendall played forward for the Eagles from 2004 through 2007. She scored 30 career goals, tied for first in program history, and holds MSU's No. 1 spots with 11 match-winning goals and 284 shots.
An All-Ohio Valley Conference pick as a junior, she ranks second on MSU's career list with 74 points and 13th with 13 assists. A four-goal game against Murray State in 2006 equals the most ever by an Eagle, and four assists in a 2004 game against Shawnee State is No. 1. Three times she posted a school-record eight points in a match.
Such numbers could foster a cocky attitude, but crowing is the last thing to expect from Kendall. Quite the contrary.
"I think the main thing I want to convey (induction night) is how humbled I am and just how much I do not want my name the only name to be known," she said. "There are so many players that worked just as hard as me and stopped just as many goals as I scored. Leslie King, the goalie, she was just amazing. I mean, all these people, all these teammates that worked so hard, I want them to know that I very much give them credit. It was not me that scored a goal; it was everybody that scored a goal. It was everybody that won a game."
Kendall says that she is thankful that she was able to play with twin sister Rachel.
Honored and flattered to join the Hall, Kendall also has a hint of the bittersweet when she mentions Rachel.
Rebekah notes that her sister, being a defender, didn't have the big statistics. But Rebekah still appreciates her and all the MSU defenders.
"I just feel like, when I scored a goal, I was the last to touch the ball. That's it," Rebekah said. "The goalie had to stop it. The defense had to get it out to me. So many people worked hard to get that ball in the goal, and I was just the last one to touch it. So I just don't feel worthy to say that I'm any better than all the players that played with me. … It is such a team sport, and I never scored a goal all by myself."
Put on the spot to pick a play or a game that stands out as a career highlight, Rebekah settles on three moments.
There was the time Morehead State edged Eastern Illinois 1-0 to reach the OVC title match. Then there was the time Rachel made an "amazing" play: "She made a slide tackle across the field and stopped this big-time play."
And, almost reluctantly, Rebekah mentions her four-goal game against Murray State. Rachel drew assists on two of the four.
That's not all Rebekah recalls about Morehead State, though.
"There were so many positive things that came from college," she said. "Just little things, like my roommate and my teammate (Jenny Rinehart) ended up marrying my brother (David), so I have a teammate that became a sister-in-law. God just had me there for so many different reasons.
"I had a great, positive experience there all around. The professors and everybody were just great. It's very personable, which is my kind of school, and they were wonderful to me. … I'm just grateful to have played for four years, healthy and under two different coaches (Greg Sheen in 2004, then Erin Aubry)."
Kendall earned a degree in Elementary Education from MSU. She later earned a Master's in Reading and Writing.
Having taught for five years, she has now settled in as a stay-at-home mom, aside from her coaching duties. She and husband Will Messer have a 2-year-old son, Isaac, and 5-month-old daughter, Evy.
Soccer mom sees herself home-schooling her children for a time. She'd also like to teach again, but not for awhile.
"These days with my kids right now, I will never get back. They'll never be this little again. I don't want to miss anything," she said. "Whereas the classroom, another teacher can step in and do that job until I get back. But no one can take my job as a mom, so I'm definitely not in a hurry to get back to the classroom until my kids are of school age or even older."
There's that well-grounded attitude again. Family instilled that quality in her. MSU soccer seems to have served her well in that regard, too.
"Playing college soccer is just completely a fulltime job," she said. "It prepares you for the work ethic that you need to be successful in life. Discipline to study. Discipline to think ahead. Because I would miss classes a lot for soccer, so you constantly had to prepare and you had to have a lot of self-discipline, and you had to work really, really hard. I mean really, really hard every game, every practice. To me, that's life."
MSU's Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1985 to honor Eagles whose achievements in sports and as ambassadors of the university have had a positive impact on the university.
By that standard, Kendall seems to be a beautiful choice.
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