Ex-Golden Eagle Morency signs professional contract
The former JBU standout goalkeeper will play in Sweden.
Former John Brown University women’s soccer player Kristen Morency has signed a professional contract to play in Sweden for the upcoming 2017 season, team officials for Gustafs GoiF announced on Monday afternoon.
“I loved my college soccer experience here at JBU,” Morency said. “I have made lifelong friends, grown in my faith, and leave here with so many fun memories to look back on. My coaches and teammates have supported me every step of the way, through the bad and the good, and I am so grateful for each and every one of them. I am very excited for this next adventure in Sweden. I feel very blessed to have been given this opportunity, and know that it’s exactly where the Lord wants me to go next.”
Morency will be joining a Gustafs GoiF squad that finished the 2016 season in fifth place in Sweden’s Division 1 table. Division 1 is the third tier of the Swedish Football Association and uses the promotion/ regulation system between its top league, the Allsvenskan, its second league, the Superettan, and Division 1. There are four tiers in the SFA, including the lowest tier, the Folksam Utvecklingsserie.
Morency was a four-year starter for the Golden Eagles over five seasons as her 2015 campaign was cut short to just one match due to injury. However, the Wheaton, Ill., native left a mark on a women’s soccer program never
seen before. Morency was named an All-Conference first teamer a record four times, including earning the Sooner Athletic Goalkeeper of the Year award an unprecedented four times. She leaves the program having set career marks in matches played (77), matches started (76), saves (335), goals-against average (.781), wins (50) and shutouts (37.2).
In her four full seasons, the Golden Eagles posted an overall record of 52-17-9 (.667) and a 26-6-4 (.722) mark in SAC play.
Also sporting a strong showing in the classroom, Morency earned Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete accolades in 2016 for landing a cumulative GPA above 3.50. She will graduate in December 2016 with an undergraduate degree in sports medicine.
“We are excited for Kristen and what comes next for her with her professional contract,” JBU head coach Kathleen Paulsen said. “I have no doubt that she can excel at the next level in Europe. What is even more exciting is that I think Kristen will continue to get better and better.”
Morency will report to Borlänge, Sweden, for training camp on March 3, 2017. Regular-season play is set to begin in mid-April.