Megan McClish—NCCAA National Player of the Year

By Emily Tuttle

Since she was old enough to remember, Megan McClish has been on a soccer field with a ball on her feet.

Like many successful athletes, she played both school and club soccer growing up and her passion for the game never stopped increasing. Now, she plays on Cedarville University’s women’s soccer team as a decorated junior midfielder and leader.

McClish is a role model on her team, but she does not desire recognition. 

“She is super humble. She’s not looking for anybody to prop her up, to even take notice through verbal recognition,” head coach Jonathan Meade said. “She just puts her head down and she works.”

Although wasn’t looking for any attention, with her playing style and talent, it was inevitable. 

She was noticed.

The National Christian College Athletic Association voted McClish the 2023 Women’s Soccer Player of the Year. She won many awards in the past, but her first national recognition stands out. 

McClish’s head coach, Jonathan Meade, revels in the fact that coaches and sports information directors across the country are noticing, nominating and voting for his talented players. 

“That’s really cool when players receive so many accolades like this because it just really says others are noticing,” Meade said.

Over her three years at Cedarville, McClish improved her game to what it is today, and her work ethic sets her apart. 

“If I’m having a good or bad game, I just like to work hard,” McClish said. 

She loves to play fast and distribute the ball to her teammates, and her talent translates to winning balls in the air. 

From the get-go, her scrappy play and work ethic stood out to her coaches and teammates. 

Recently, McClish has been working around the clock, as she loves to do, to take ownership of her development.

She frequents the weight room, focusing on adding strength, power and explosiveness to her quickness. She puts in extra effort and time to work on technical aspects of her game like dribbling and passing. 

“Megan … doesn’t have this huge stature, but she plays so big,” Meade said.

McClish’s parents taught her to do everything for the Lord, including soccer, and that he deserves her best. McClish’s hard work results from her faith, and this intensity influences the rest of the team. 

“When I’m out there, my energy and drive to win balls and stuff is kind of like a domino effect and makes them want to work hard,” McClish said.

Her hard work helped lead the Lady Jackets to an impressive 16-5-1 record and a qualification in the NCAA Division II tournament where they fell in the second round.

But even after playing such a prominent role in their successful season, McClish doesn’t believe the National Player of the Year award is just for her. 

“It obviously means a lot, but I don’t really take it as a personal accomplishment,” McClish said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without our team.”

Although an exceptional player, McClish relies on her teammates, and the award testifies to how well they work together. Cedarville led the G-MAC in assists totaling 37 in their 2023 season.

McClish is also grateful that her national accomplishment could bring others to Cedarville. 

“I know that this award gives more publicity to our school and so maybe that allows other people to see what Cedarville is,” McClish said. 

She wants people to find out about Cedarville and its Christ-centered focus. The school’s focus translates beyond daily chapel and to the soccer field.

McClish plays with a group of Christian girls for the first time in her life. Their faith makes a difference in their playing style and attitudes.

For the upcoming 2024 season, the team wants to win the national tournament, but this goal goes beyond the pitch. They want to survive and advance in the tournament to reach more teams with the gospel.

“The better that we do, the more teams we reach, the more players that we get to touch and share our testimonies with,” McClish said.

The team writes notes to their number buddies on the opposing team and prays with them after each game. They use their shared love for soccer to talk about the gospel and Cedarville’s mission.

The soccer coaches want their players to have a strong relationship with the Lord as much as they want them to excel in the sport.

“I love how they push those things together and how they’re not separate,” McClish said.

The entire team believes in the coaches’ emphasis on intertwining faith and soccer. The women grow together in Christ through Bible studies, and they are connected by something more important than soccer.

During her freshman year, upperclassmen who followed Jesus in every aspect of their lives influenced McClish. She wants to have that same effect on younger players on her team.

McClish has not only grown in her walk with the Lord over the last three years, but she has also grown in her skill level, almost doubling the number of goals she scored since last season. 

But during her freshman year, she did not feel confident. Meade recalls a time when McClish did not want to be one of the five players who would shoot a penalty kick in an overtime scenario. 

After practice, Meade questioned McClish’s doubt. Although McClish did not feel ready, her coach prodded her further.

“If you don’t start thinking and acting like ‘I can do it right now,’ when is that ever going to happen?” Meade said. 

Although that exact moment may not have been the turning point for McClish, she has put herself in a position to succeed from then on.

She wanted to make her four years count, and so far, she has.

But to McClish, accomplishments come and go — they are futile. The relationships she has built with teammates and the growth in her relationship with the Lord are far more important than any accolade will ever be. 

“I just know that God, he brought me here for a specific reason,” McClish said. “It’s fun getting awards and stuff, but it’s really him that’s done it.”

Emily Tuttle is a freshman Broadcasting, Digital Media and Journalism major. She has a passion for Philly sports, weight lifting and all things silly.

Photo by Logan Howard