When senior biology major Meghan Sykora was in kindergarten, her mother convinced her to pick up a soccer ball—just like her older brother, Justin. So she did. Sykora hasn’t looked back since.
As she grew up, she learned the value of sports and the lessons soccer can teach. She discovered that many aspects within the game of soccer were easily translatable to everyday life and that the things she learned within the game would carry her much farther in life than her soccer career—such as the ability to problem solve, work with her teammates and communicate well.
Despite her passion for the game, as high school graduation drew nearer, Sykora was ready to give up the game she had loved for the better part of her life, until Tim Gould came into the picture.
Sykora battles for possession of the ball
Gould – Blackburn’s head women’s soccer coach prior to new coach Sohaila Akhavein – noticed Sykora at a soccer tournament in Memphis. After interacting with Gould via email and then again at another tournament in person, Sykora began to look into Blackburn, its biology program and curriculum as well as the soccer program, and realized that she wasn’t quite ready to hang up her cleats. “I didn’t plan on playing in college… then I came here and learned about the biology program and it was just a bonus that I was going to come to school with a strong program and get to play soccer when I hadn’t thought I was going to be able to,” she said.
Now, with her senior season underway, Sykora sees a positive future for the women’s soccer program under Akhavein. Not only can she see the progress made within the team, but within herself as well. “At first I just thought I was a player, that I was just a member on the team, but these past couple weeks I’ve tried to become a leader. I’m a senior and I need to lead my team… it’s my goal to lead and to be there for my teammates when they need me.”
Meghan Sykora rushes down field to get open
“She’s quiet at times, but she can be a great leader. I look at a leader as somebody that’s not always outgoing and talking all the time, but somebody that’s going to lead by example,” said Akhavein of Sykora. “She’s one of those players that I look to to help our younger players and give direction… She’s got a good personality and is a good person. [She’s] just somebody that people want to be around.”
Following graduation, the four-year defensive player plans to attend nursing school closer to her hometown of Arnold, Missouri.
The Beavers will be back in action in a home matchup against St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponent Westminster College on Sept. 30.