MOREHEAD, Ky. – Twenty years and four Ohio Valley Conference Championships later, Morehead State soccer has plenty to celebrate. This Friday and Saturday the program will do just that, as it welcomes back players and coaches who have made the last 20 seasons possible.
 
The events recognizing the past will get underway on Friday when the Eagles host Eastern Illinois at 6 p.m. ET in their OVC opener with more than 50 former players expected to be in attendance.
 
"OUR GOAL HERE IS TO BUILD A PROGRAM AND A WINNING TRADITION"
 
The university had tried once before to get a women's program off the ground between 1982-1988 but no official records or statistics were kept. In 1998 however, the program became a reality and women's soccer at Morehead State became an NCAA Division I varsity sport.
 
Athletic Director Mike Mincy and a committee of people with interest in the university began a national search for a coach to lead the program.
 
That coaching search led to Leslie Faber, a Texas native who had only five seasons of assistant coaching experience prior but had helped to start up a Division I program at Northwestern State in Louisiana in 1996.
 
Faber came to Morehead without knowing the area and any high school or club coaches, which made it difficult to build a team in her opening season.
 
"It was a struggle in the beginning because I wasn't familiar with the region and the high school and club coaches so recruiting, in the beginning, was a struggle," said Faber.
 
The first-year head coach was able to recruit a goalkeeper she had coached at NW State, Jennifer Gordon, but other than the junior keeper, Faber had to piece together a makeshift team.
 
"Luckily the athletic department had put together a list of girls who were interested in playing soccer at Morehead State, and I was able to start from that," said Faber.
 
The Eagles kicked off the 1998 season with a team of seven freshman, four sophomores, and three juniors. The upperclassmen featured on the roster had either not played soccer since high school or had been members of the women's club team at MSU.
 
Of the seven freshmen on the opening season's roster, only two remained with the team after four years as many graduated early. One was a young defender from Hamersville, Ohio named Brandy Morris.
 
Morris, who is now Brandy Carver after marrying the now assistant athletic director/director of sports medicine at MSU Jamey Carver, is currently the principal at Rowan County Senior High School in Morehead. She was someone coach Faber had to do some serious recruiting to land but turned into a cornerstone for the program 

"Her dad was a tough sell," said Faber
 
 Carver graduated from MSU in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in biology. The 10-year biology teacher turned principal proudly displays her number six jersey in her office at RCSHS. Carver is also a huge advocate of women's athletics as the mother of three girls, Mia, Ava, and Lana.
 
"It's truly incredible to see the growth of the program and what they have accomplished over time," said Carver.
 
In the 1998 media guide, Faber was quoted as saying, "Our goal here is to build a program and a winning tradition."
 
Thanks to the likes of Faber and Carver, the program continues to compete year in and year out at the highest level nationally and for conference titles.
 
WINNING TRADITION BECOMES CHAMPIONSHIP TRADITION
 
Faber's 1999 team had reached the OVC Championship match but were unable to come away victorious. Nine years later and ten years after the program kicked off its first match, the Eagles finally took home a conference crown after beating UT Martin 1-0 on Nov. 9, 2008.
 
"We had been building to it since 2005," said Morgan King (Melzer).
 
King, who came to Morehead State from Florence, Ky., was a senior midfielder on the 2008 championship team.
 
"I came to Morehead many times growing up with my family. I had always looked forward to coming to Morehead and playing soccer and winning the conference championship was just the best" said a very humble King.
 
Besides winning the OVC, King was also able to play beside her sister Lauren, who was also a member of the 2008 squad. Morgan King, who still resides in Morehead and is an occupational therapist at St. Claire Medical Center, is still in love with the game of soccer.
 
The champion is also the mother of a four-year-old and 11-month old girl. She currently serves as a coach for her four-year-old daughter's youth league squad
 
"Coaching kids may be tougher than any of the preseason fitness tests we ever had to go through," said King. "I can't wait until the day my daughters play soccer at Morehead State though."

The 2009 team also claimed the OVC regular-season title.
 
Fast-forward a year into the future and the Eagles were yet again winning the conference tournament crown.
 
Samantha Toepfer was an underclassman on the squad.
 
"After losing some strong seniors we really had to step up," said Toepfer. "We played a tough non-conference schedule that really prepared us, we were determined to get back to the OVC tournament and prove ourselves."
 
Prove themselves they did, knocking off Austin Peay in the OVC Championship at home, 2-1, on Nov. 7.
 
Toepfer graduated two years later with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. The Cincinnati native, who was the Female Scholar of the Year for Morehead State Athletics in 2012-13, now works as an Actuary for Great American Insurance Group in her hometown.
 
One season after Toepfer's departure, the Eagles again took home the top prize in the conference in 2013.
 
Then a sophomore, midfielder Macy Kootz recalls the battle it took to get back to the top of the mountain.
 
"2012 was really tough, we won two games. However, we came out of this painful year with a sense of unity," said Kootz. "We lost together, and now we wanted to win together"
 
And win they did, tallying off seven conference wins during the season before winning the OVC Tournament over UT Martin 1-0 on Nov. 10, 2013.
 
Kootz, who is a native of Noblesville, Ind., finished her career in 2015. After graduating from MSU in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in psychology, Kootz went on to accomplish a master's degree from Boston College in mental health counseling and became a community health provider in Columbus, Ind.   
 
RECOGNIZING THOSE WHO LAID THE FOUNDATION
 
"I think it's awesome," said current head coach Warren Lipka about honoring the teams of the past.
 
Lipka was the coach of the 2009, 2010, and 2013 championship squads.
 
"To see the people who laid the foundation for what we're trying to do now is great, and to be able to include them in our preparation for the weekend is great," said Lipka. "
 
The former players will meet with the team prior to their match Friday against Eastern Illinois. The returning players will also be recognized during the Morehead State football game against Austin Peay on Saturday during halftime, with a special recognition to the 2008 OVC championship squad.