Trio of Aces legends named to MVC Women’s Soccer 25-year Team

Three Aces’ Women’s Soccer legends were named to the Missouri Valley Conference’s Women’s Soccer 25-year Anniversary Team, it was announced Thursday in a release by the conference office.

Aces’ alums Kayla Lambert (2005-08), Krista McKendree (1998-01), and Krissy Meek-Engelbrecht (1996-99) were all selected to the 10 member team after a multi-stage process.

Lambert starred for Evansville from 2005 through 2008 earning 2005 Freshman of the Year honors after a 17-goal, 11-assist campaign. The three-time all-MVC selection and four-time all-region selection captured MVC Player of the Year honors and currently stands second in MVC history in career points.

Current Aces women’s soccer head coach Krista McKendree captured All-American honors in 2000 to add to her four all-MVC honors and 1999 Defensive Player of the Year and 2000 MVC Player of the Year awards. In McKendree’s four seasons in purple and white, her and her Aces teammates amassed 52 victories and earned three NCAA Tournament berths.

One of only two women’s soccer players in MVC history to be named conference player of the year three or more times, MVC hall-of-famer Meek-Engelbrecht captured Freshman of the Year honors in 1996 and was named all-MVC all four years.

With the 2017-18 athletic season marking the 45th anniversary of Title IX and the 25th anniversary of women’s sports, the Valley is naming 25-Year Anniversary Teams for each of the Valley’s sponsored women’s sports.

Team composition for each sport has been determined by a 25-person committee (two representatives from each MVC institution and a panel of five voters from the Conference office).  The team composition includes years in which league teams competed under the MVC umbrella during the past 25 years (1992-2017) and does not include competition from the current season.

The Missouri Valley Conference was founded in 1907 and is the nation’s second oldest Division I athletics conference.   Women’s sports were incorporated into the MVC in 1992, having previously competed under the Gateway Conference banner from 1982-92.   In August 2017, the Conference announced its 2018 Hall of Fame Class, which featured three women (in the six-person class).  A total of 22 women’s athletes, coaches and pioneers have been honored by the MVC as part of the Hall.

The voting panel determined a ‘Top 10’ from a list of 25 finalists.   Those top 10 honorees are listed below, and the top vote-getter is denoted.

Women’s Soccer (sponsorship from 1996-present):  Twelve different programs (including affiliate members) have sponsored women’s soccer in the Missouri Valley Conference including Arkansas-Little Rock (1998-99); Belmont (2000); Creighton (1996-2013); Drake (2002-present); Drury (1999-2004); Eastern Illinois (1996-98); Evansville (1996-present); Illinois State (1996-present); Indiana State (2000-present); Missouri State (1996-present); UNI (2000-present); and Valparaiso (1996-98; present)

Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Soccer 25-Year Team