Morgan Church enters her second season as assistant coach of the Gonzaga University women's soccer program.
In her first season at GU in 2014, Church helped the Zags to their first winning season since 2007. The Bulldogs went 4-4-1 in West Coast Conference play. They finished in the top 100 in two national ranking services.
Church came to the Zags from the University of North Florida, where she spent eight years on the women's soccer staff. During her final three years with the Ospreys, she served as the associate head coach. In all, Church coached 12 Atlantic Sun All-Conference players, seven All-Freshman honorees, and the 2010 Freshman of the Year. Also, two players were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and the squad as a whole received NSCAA Team-Academic Awards five times.
Church began coaching after a playing both collegiate and professional soccer. She started playing at Marshall University as a freshman and transferred to the University of Charleston for her sophomore and Junior seasons. With the Golden Eagles, she earned two All-Mountain East Conference honors and led the team in scoring both of the seasons she was there. She played her senior year at Berry College, starting 19 of 20 matches and leading the Lady Vikings with 12 goals.
After graduation, Church played professionally in the W-League for the Washington Freedom, Tampa Bay Hellenic, Carolina Dynamo, and the Northern Virginia Majestics. While in Washington, she helped lead the Freedom to a W-League Championship victory. After retiring as a professional player, she worked as the assistant commissioner for the Freedom from 2006 to 2007.
Church holds numerous coaching licenses and certifications, including a USSF `A' Coaching License, NSCAA Regional Goalkeeper license, and NSCAA Professional Development certificate. Her additional coaching experience has allowed her to coach and develop top players in the Florida Olympic Develop Program, and she's also participated in both the Region 1 and Region 3 Olympic Development coaching staff. Church also coached on the club level, leading both the Jacksonville FC and the Creeks Soccer Club. She served as the director of coaching on the U.S. Training Center staff as well.
The Berry College alum graduated magna com laude with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
