Kay Liebl announced as winner of Career Achievement Award
4/15/2020 10:03:00 AM | Women's Soccer
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - There was a time when two and even three-sport athletes at Millersville University were not uncommon. In fact, 23 members of the Millersville University Athletics Hall of Fame played more than one sport. None of those athletes, however, played a sport at Millersville after 1989. The era of multi-sport athletes gave way to an era of scholarships, sport-specific training and year-round competition. Then, Kay Liebl, the winner of the 2020 Career Achievement Award, came along in 2016 and broke the modern mold by building a hall of fame resume as a soccer player and track and field athlete.
This one last award, presented annually to the female athlete with outstanding athletic accomplishments, came as a surprise to the soft-spoken Liebl. She says soccer coach Matt Procopio "took a chance" on her, and that she was already committed to Millersville and had no real thoughts of running track until coach Andy Young asked her if she would come out for the team.
"Before I came into college I didn't really think I was capable of even playing sports in college let alone at Division II," said Liebl. "I just think going from that mindset to where I am now, that's proof that if you put enough time and dedication into things you can surprise yourself with what you can achieve."
Liebl performed a four-year juggling act of sweat, sacrifice and study.
"Kay is an talented athlete, just watch her for five minutes and you'll see that," said Procopio. "However, what most people do not see is her daily growth and what she did on her own. In my opinion, her journey and growth is exceptional, and it was amazing to watch. There are many talented players out there but tapping into that talent and maximizing it to the extent she did is a great example to everyone in our program."
"You might not always be the most talented individual but there's no excuse for not being the hardest working one," said Liebl.
She lived those words as a Marauder. And it's precisely why five years from now, she'll be a bona fide hall of fame candidate.
Let's just get this out of the way. Kay Liebl is quite possibly the best women's soccer player in Millersville history. No one scored more goals in a career (39). No one totaled more points in a career (96). Her 27 goals in 2018-19 is the highest two-year total in program history. She is the only player to lead the team in points three times. She ranks second in career assists. Her 42 points in 2018 is the second-most all-time and it came in a season when her team tied the school record for wins and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
That's what real impact is. Records are nice, but when those individual records directly translate to program transformation and team wins, that's when you get all-time greats. Liebl came to a soccer program that had reached the postseason just twice in its 22-year history and had gone 14 years without even one match in the PSAC Tournament. Over her junior and senior seasons, as Liebl scored 27 goals, Millersville went a combined 29-11-1 with two NCAA Tournament berths.
"It is hard to put into words just how much of an impact she had in our program over the last few years," said Millersville women's soccer head coach Matt Procopio. "She set the standard in practically all aspects. From her freshman year you knew every day what you would get from her, which was 100 percent effort all the time no matter the circumstance. It is hard to find a day in which she wasn't the hardest working player on the field. Then at the end of training when it was time to clean everything up she was always there to help clean up. The lasting impact I hope that everyone sees is that if you put in the time, energy and effort into something that you can be very successful."
Liebl's exploits on the pitch were deservedly recognized. She is one of two Marauders, joining hall of famer Jen Yoder '03, as three-time All-PSAC selections. She is the only Marauder named All-Atlantic Region more than once (she did it three times).
Now, let's talk about her other sport: track and field. Liebl wasn't just on the roster. She qualified for the PSAC Outdoor Championships in the long jump three times and twice qualified for the indoor championships. She helped set school records in two different relay races. And again, the records meant something.
In both 2018 and 2019, Millersville entered the final event--the 4x400--of the three-day PSAC Championships needing a top finish to secure a trophy as the PSAC runner-up. As a sophomore in 2018, Liebl ran the second leg to the fastest time in program history (3:49.19) by three seconds, and Millersville won the race by nearly two full seconds. As a result, Millersville scored its highest team finish since 1996. In 2019, Millersville and Shippensburg were tied for second in the team standings, and the usual Marauder 4x4 lineup was unavailable because of injuries. Liebl's second leg made up significant ground and set the stage for Clara Forney's epic anchor that won the race and gave Millersville back-to-back top-two finishes for the first time since 1991-92.
"She ran that (2018) race scared that she might let the team down and ended up running her fastest 400 of her career," said Young. "In 2019, she ran the second leg and helped bring our team from eighth to fourth place en route to winning. She was a very versatile athlete for us who did very well when she was in the heaviest of pressure situations."
"I won't forget either of the 4x400-meter relay races that I was able to be a part of--conference champions," said Liebl. "It might not have been the best memory of actually running the 400 but the feeling of watching my teammates run and afterwards is a moment I will never forget--achieving something we all set our minds to with a great group of girls is just a feeling you can't get anywhere else."
Liebl didn't just participate in two sports. She made an impact for the team in two sports. She brought home PSAC hardware in two sports, and that's a feat not accomplished at Millersville since--you guessed it--1989 when future hall of famer Stacey Hollinger earned All-PSAC honors in field hockey and softball.
As a two-sport athlete in 2020, there is no offseason. There's no down time. That life involves constant training, practice and games. For Liebl, who also played for the Lancaster Inferno soccer team in the summer (and won back-to-back East Conference titles there, too), she squeezed in track team photos around soccer practice. A few weeks after soccer season ended in November, she was long jumping and running sprints for the indoor team. In the spring, she not only competed for the outdoor team, she also managed practices with the soccer team. And oh yeah, there's still the academics.
Liebl handled that with aplomb as well: a 3.38 GPA as a biology major, earning three PSAC Scholar-Athlete awards, a CoSIDA Academic All-District award and a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America placement.
"Kay is a worker who is very coachable," said Young. "Her time management was always on point and that helped her be so successful in two sports."
"I know I've put a lot of work in over the last couple of years and made sacrifices to get where I am today and achieve some of things I've achieved," said Liebl. "It's crazy to see what came out of it in the end."
There's a famous line from Tom Hanks' character Jimmy Dugan in the movie "A League of Their Own." Hanks, playing a baseball manager in a women's league, is convincing his best player, Dottie Hinson, not to leave the team. "Of course it's hard," he says. "It's supposed to be hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Hard is what makes it great."
There's a reason why there aren't more two-sport athletes. And that's what made Liebl great.
This one last award, presented annually to the female athlete with outstanding athletic accomplishments, came as a surprise to the soft-spoken Liebl. She says soccer coach Matt Procopio "took a chance" on her, and that she was already committed to Millersville and had no real thoughts of running track until coach Andy Young asked her if she would come out for the team.
"Before I came into college I didn't really think I was capable of even playing sports in college let alone at Division II," said Liebl. "I just think going from that mindset to where I am now, that's proof that if you put enough time and dedication into things you can surprise yourself with what you can achieve."
Liebl performed a four-year juggling act of sweat, sacrifice and study.
"Kay is an talented athlete, just watch her for five minutes and you'll see that," said Procopio. "However, what most people do not see is her daily growth and what she did on her own. In my opinion, her journey and growth is exceptional, and it was amazing to watch. There are many talented players out there but tapping into that talent and maximizing it to the extent she did is a great example to everyone in our program."
"You might not always be the most talented individual but there's no excuse for not being the hardest working one," said Liebl.
She lived those words as a Marauder. And it's precisely why five years from now, she'll be a bona fide hall of fame candidate.
Let's just get this out of the way. Kay Liebl is quite possibly the best women's soccer player in Millersville history. No one scored more goals in a career (39). No one totaled more points in a career (96). Her 27 goals in 2018-19 is the highest two-year total in program history. She is the only player to lead the team in points three times. She ranks second in career assists. Her 42 points in 2018 is the second-most all-time and it came in a season when her team tied the school record for wins and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
That's what real impact is. Records are nice, but when those individual records directly translate to program transformation and team wins, that's when you get all-time greats. Liebl came to a soccer program that had reached the postseason just twice in its 22-year history and had gone 14 years without even one match in the PSAC Tournament. Over her junior and senior seasons, as Liebl scored 27 goals, Millersville went a combined 29-11-1 with two NCAA Tournament berths. "It is hard to put into words just how much of an impact she had in our program over the last few years," said Millersville women's soccer head coach Matt Procopio. "She set the standard in practically all aspects. From her freshman year you knew every day what you would get from her, which was 100 percent effort all the time no matter the circumstance. It is hard to find a day in which she wasn't the hardest working player on the field. Then at the end of training when it was time to clean everything up she was always there to help clean up. The lasting impact I hope that everyone sees is that if you put in the time, energy and effort into something that you can be very successful."
Liebl's exploits on the pitch were deservedly recognized. She is one of two Marauders, joining hall of famer Jen Yoder '03, as three-time All-PSAC selections. She is the only Marauder named All-Atlantic Region more than once (she did it three times).
Now, let's talk about her other sport: track and field. Liebl wasn't just on the roster. She qualified for the PSAC Outdoor Championships in the long jump three times and twice qualified for the indoor championships. She helped set school records in two different relay races. And again, the records meant something.
In both 2018 and 2019, Millersville entered the final event--the 4x400--of the three-day PSAC Championships needing a top finish to secure a trophy as the PSAC runner-up. As a sophomore in 2018, Liebl ran the second leg to the fastest time in program history (3:49.19) by three seconds, and Millersville won the race by nearly two full seconds. As a result, Millersville scored its highest team finish since 1996. In 2019, Millersville and Shippensburg were tied for second in the team standings, and the usual Marauder 4x4 lineup was unavailable because of injuries. Liebl's second leg made up significant ground and set the stage for Clara Forney's epic anchor that won the race and gave Millersville back-to-back top-two finishes for the first time since 1991-92.
"She ran that (2018) race scared that she might let the team down and ended up running her fastest 400 of her career," said Young. "In 2019, she ran the second leg and helped bring our team from eighth to fourth place en route to winning. She was a very versatile athlete for us who did very well when she was in the heaviest of pressure situations."
"I won't forget either of the 4x400-meter relay races that I was able to be a part of--conference champions," said Liebl. "It might not have been the best memory of actually running the 400 but the feeling of watching my teammates run and afterwards is a moment I will never forget--achieving something we all set our minds to with a great group of girls is just a feeling you can't get anywhere else."
Liebl didn't just participate in two sports. She made an impact for the team in two sports. She brought home PSAC hardware in two sports, and that's a feat not accomplished at Millersville since--you guessed it--1989 when future hall of famer Stacey Hollinger earned All-PSAC honors in field hockey and softball.
As a two-sport athlete in 2020, there is no offseason. There's no down time. That life involves constant training, practice and games. For Liebl, who also played for the Lancaster Inferno soccer team in the summer (and won back-to-back East Conference titles there, too), she squeezed in track team photos around soccer practice. A few weeks after soccer season ended in November, she was long jumping and running sprints for the indoor team. In the spring, she not only competed for the outdoor team, she also managed practices with the soccer team. And oh yeah, there's still the academics.
Liebl handled that with aplomb as well: a 3.38 GPA as a biology major, earning three PSAC Scholar-Athlete awards, a CoSIDA Academic All-District award and a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America placement.
"Kay is a worker who is very coachable," said Young. "Her time management was always on point and that helped her be so successful in two sports."
"I know I've put a lot of work in over the last couple of years and made sacrifices to get where I am today and achieve some of things I've achieved," said Liebl. "It's crazy to see what came out of it in the end."
There's a famous line from Tom Hanks' character Jimmy Dugan in the movie "A League of Their Own." Hanks, playing a baseball manager in a women's league, is convincing his best player, Dottie Hinson, not to leave the team. "Of course it's hard," he says. "It's supposed to be hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Hard is what makes it great."
There's a reason why there aren't more two-sport athletes. And that's what made Liebl great.
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