Prep Roundup Week 2
September 16, 2015
Terrebonne sheriff and deputies sued over shooting of teen
September 22, 2015
When Houma native and Vandebilt Catholic graduate Meghan Philp got to Belmont Abbey four seasons ago, she was an unknown freshman with a lot to prove at the collegiate level.
Flash forward to the present and Philp is now the senior leader of a team that has eyes on the NCAA Division II Soccer Championship.
Philp admits that it’s been a long journey, but she’s undoubtedly thrived in her career at the Abbey – a small four-year university located in Belmont, North Carolina. Last season, she scored 15 goals and led the entire Conference Carolinas in points.
This year, she’s already picking up where she’s left off with a goal and two points in the young season – helping the Crusaders overcome a tough non-conference schedule and push to a 1-1-1 start.
Philp said being a leader is in her blood. It’s a role that she said she cherishes as the Crusaders barrel through the season and push toward their goals.
“She’s been great for our program,” Belmont Abbey coach Mike Lynch told reporters in the preseason. “Meghan is a player that’s a pleasure to coach, because she’s a good player, good teammate and someone who gives everything she’s got in every game.”
“It feels great to be a leader,” Philp said. “I have always felt like a leader on the field – whether I was appointed the position or not, because I put so much pressure on myself to be great at my role – no matter what my role is at the time.”
This role that Philp speaks of is pretty simple. She is to kick the round, spotted ball into the back of the net as often as possible. When not able to do so because there are defenders in the way, she is to facilitate and set the table for her teammates so that they can kick the round, spotted ball into the net, as well.
Philp is a goal-scoring, offensive machine. She’s been this way since her days at Vandebilt. As a Lady Terrier, Philp was a terror to opponents. Her 150-plus career goals are an all-time school record. That’s rarified air for a player to sit in when one considers that the Lady Terriers are always loaded to the brim with some of the best players in Louisiana, which means that some amazing players have been a part of that storied program.
“What can you say besides that she’s a great player and a great kid?” Vandebilt coach Philip Amedee said during Philp’s senior season. “She is a hard worker, and that hard work is a huge reason for her continued successes here with this program.”
Philp said she chose Belmont Abbey because she liked the fit, and from day one, she’s been on the field.
But her role has steadily grown to the leadership position that she enjoys at present. Philp said that when she first started her collegiate career, opponents weren’t quite aware of her abilities, which allowed her to outwork defenders to get shots in the air.
But after a strong sophomore season and an even better year in 2014 as a junior, the secret is out, and every opposing team knows where Philp is at all times during matches.
She said that’s taken some time to get adjusted to, but she loves having the bulls-eye on her back in games.
Through three games, Philp has beaten the pressure defenses with ease. In the season-opener on Sept. 3 against Queens, she scored on a header to spark a 2-1 win. Through three games, Philp has gotten off a team-high five shots on goal, and her attack-heavy offensive skillset has sparked several other opportunities for the Crusaders.
“Not only do I have a target on my back, but my team as a whole has a target on our backs,” Philp said. “If I’m man-marked in a game, I try to just shake it off and play my game. It doesn’t matter who we play against or what we have heard about a team, I go into every game with the mindset that I’m going to work hard, control what can be controlled and score if possible.”
So with the bulls-eye on their backs and a roster full of returning starters, Belmont and Philp have eyes are on winning some trophies.
She said that her No. 1 goal for her senior season is to win the Conference Carolinas Championship – something the team accomplished last season.
From there, Philp said she wants to help Belmont Abbey go farther in the NCAA Tournament than they’ve ever gone before – a run toward the NCAA Championship.
To make that happen, Philp said she hopes to play her best individual season of her career – one that would see her score the most goals and assists of her career.
The goals are lofty, and much work is needed to see it to fruition. But folks around Belmont Abbey have learned not to bet against Philp, for when you do, she often is the one laughing last and loudest.
It was the same when she was at Vandebilt, and it’s the same now.
“My senior season is going pretty well so far,” Philp said. “I think we have what it takes to accomplish our goals, and we’re going to push as hard as we possibly can to make it possible.”
SOCCER STAR LOVES TENNIS, TOO
For most student-athletes, the end of a sports season marks a time for rest and/or catching up on the books.
But for Philp, athletics are a 12-month job that tests her body to the fullest.
As if being a full-time soccer student athlete wasn’t enough, Philp said she joined Belmont’s tennis team in the 2014 season as a way to be reunited with the sport she’s played her whole life.
Philp isn’t a novice to the game, and is actually quite good. At Vandebilt, she was an elite doubles player, who was a multiple-time state runner-up with partner Ashley Thomas.
She joined the Crusaders team after the school got a new coach who needed new players. She said doing two sports at one time isn’t hard, and is something she enjoys.
“He needed us, because he was unable to do his own recruiting for his first season as the coach,” Philp said. “It’s not hard to juggle both sports because both coaches worked with my schedule and made it possible for me to play both without all of the stress.”
The 2016 tennis season will be Philp’s last official act as a collegiate athlete.
When she graduates, she plans to test professional soccer.
If that doesn’t work out, she hopes to stay in Charlotte and work in the city’s sports industry. Philp interned with the Charlotte Independence this past summer.
