Piedmont College Head Women’s Soccer Coach Stephen Andrew has announced the hiring of Morgan Fancher, a former NCAA Division I standout at Appalachian State, as Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach.
Fancher joins the Green and Gold following one season on staff as an assistant coach at new USA South member Salem College.
“We are excited to add Morgan to our staff for the upcoming season as she comes highly recommended from coaches we have a great deal of respect for across the country,” said Andrew. “With her playing experience at the Division I level in addition to her DIII coaching experience, she stood out during the interview process. Additionally, connections from her extensive club and college career will give her a great help on the recruiting trails.”
Fancher’s arrival in Demorest comes following perhaps the greatest season on record for the storied women’s soccer program as Piedmont won 20 games in 2015 finishing 20-2-1 as USA South Tournament Champions. The Lady Lions also earned the program’s third berth in five years to the NCAA National Tournament having now posted a 59-9-5 overall record in the last three seasons alone.
“I am beyond thrilled to be joining the Piedmont staff this fall,” said Fancher. “Coach Andrew is a phenomenal coach who has had tremendous success coaching in the USA South. I am excited to learn from someone so respected in the coaching field. I hope that with my soccer background I can bring a new coaching style and continue to help the program grow. I am looking forward to this season and cannot wait to see what is in store for our team this year.”
A four-year student-athlete at NCAA Division I member Appalachian State University, Fancher spent most of her time with the Mountaineers as a holding midfielder or centerback leading the Mountaineers to 32 wins in her career. Fancher appeared in 45 games while in Boone scoring one goal while also tallying four assists along the way.
Fancher burst onto the scene in her freshman year playing in 17 games starting 11 of those as she helped the Mountaineers with an assist on the game-winning goal in the program’s first OT win over a league opponent in eight seasons with a 1-0 win over Wofford. Fancher’s collegiate career came under the tutelage of Head Coach Sarah Strickland who spent time in the Southeastern Conference before taking over at App. State.
Following her graduation, Fancher earned a spot on the coaching staff at Salem College as an assistant coach for the Spirits. During her season with the North Carolina-based college, Fancher helped Salem to an impressive 15-2-1 overall record including an unbeaten 5-0 record during the regular season in Great South Athletic Conference play.
The Spirits would come up just shy of a GSAC Tournament Championship falling in penalties to UC Santa Cruz after 110 scoreless minutes of play in the final. However, Salem won back-to-back conference titles from 2013 to 2014, and the appearance in the 2015 final marked the fourth straight championship game appearance for the Spirits, a streak which started the season following Piedmont’s own GSAC title run in 2011 during the Lady Lions’ final season in the league.
The record of success in the sport for Fancher should come as no surprise to those around the game as the new Piedmont assistant coach is a Texas native, one of the most respected states in the country for producing some of the top players at the collegiate level.
While growing up in the Lone Star state, Fancher played her high school soccer for The Colony helping the program to four-straight playoff runs during her career. Named a team captain in her senior season, Fancher’s play during the season prior earned her 1st Team All-District honors as well.
On the club side, Fancher played for one of the most successful clubs on the national level suiting up for Texas Sting prior to making the jump to college. Fancher learned from some of the game’s brightest minds as a club player at Sting playing for coaches like Ben Waldrum who spent time coaching both on the collegiate level at the University of Notre Dame and on the international level as an assistant with the Trinidad and Tobago Women’s National Team in 2014-15.
Fancher was able to translate her play to success in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) as well playing four years for the North Texas State ODP team. Rewarded for her play with North Texas ODP, Fancher went on to play for the Region III ODP squad making the team made up from 12 states across the Southeast.
The Texas native was surrounded by the sport growing up as her older sister, Amanda, also went on to play in college suiting up for Coach Steve Swanson at the University of Virginia. Now embarking this fall on her first season as the Head Coach at Morrisville State, Amanda helped UVA to three Sweet 16 appearances during her collegiate career as well as an Elite 8 showing.
Fancher graduated from Appalachian State University in May of 2015 with her Bachelor of Science in Communications. While a student-athlete in Boone, Fancher was twice named to the Academic Honor Roll as well for her work in the classroom.
Relocating to the Demorest area, Fancher will assist Head Coach Stephen Andrew in all facets of the women’s soccer program at Piedmont.
What they’re saying about Coach Fancher:
“I have been watching Morgan grow since she was a sophomore in high school and could not wait to coach her in college. During her career she decided she wanted to coach at the collegiate level and I was so excited for future prospects that they would have the opportunity to work with Morgan. She has so much energy and is one of the most positive coaches I have ever worked alongside. Morgan is definitely one of the up-and-coming young coaches of the game. I’m sure she’ll have an immediate impact both with the current student athletes and the prospects!”
–Sarah Strickland, Appalachian State University
Head Women’s Soccer Coach
