Montreat College nets Owen soccer product

Kelsey Beck commits to Cavs

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
June 12, 2020

Owen High School graduate Kelsey Beck is joined by Warlassies assistant coach Ray Nightingale (left), head coach David Fiest (left center) and Cavs head coach Tina Murphy as she signs with Montreat College on June 6. Fred McCormick

Tucked away at the end of Vance Avenue, Pulliam Stadium has been mostly quiet this spring, after the COVID-19 crisis forced Montreat College to send students home for the school year and brought the athletic season to a sudden halt. The last few months have also been more uneventful than usual for Kelsey Beck, who saw her senior campaign with the Warlassies soccer team cut short by the pandemic. 

While Howard Fisher Memorial Field was still largely silent on June 6, there was a brief flurry of action as the Owen High School graduate officially committed to continue her soccer career across the Swannanoa Valley with the Cavaliers. 

Beck, a four-year varsity player for the Warlassies and daughter of Montreat College baseball head coach Jason Beck, was a defensive midfielder for the 2018 and 2019 teams that won 20 straight games in the Western Highlands Conference. Her senior campaign came to an abrupt end when Buncombe County students were sent home to complete their school year virtually, just days after Owen defeated McDowell, 2-0. 

“I felt like I was closing a chapter, and I was trying to find closure with that and be OK with it,” she said of her abbreviated senior season at Owen. “So when this opportunity came to continue playing, not only in college soccer, but locally in front of my family and friends, it felt like a second chance for the season that was just lost. It’s like I get to have the season I never got to have.”

The loss of her senior season left Beck unsure about her future in the sport. 

“I really wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to play college soccer, because with everything going on, I hadn’t been able to commit and I hadn’t yet found the right opportunity,” she said. “When my season was canceled, I was like, ‘wow, how am I supposed to get any college coaches to watch me?’” 

Her high school coach, however, had no doubt that his former player was capable of playing the sport at the next level. 

Kelsey Beck is joined by Owen High School soccer head coach David Fiest at Howard Fisher Memorial Field during her signing with Montreat College. Fred McCormick

“Kelsey was ready as a junior,” Fiest said. “I felt that she had the ability to play at the collegiate level at that point in her career. Her senior year was going to be the icing on the cake and a time to fine-tune some skills and really hone in on her leadership and growth as a young adult.”

The Warlassies compiled a record of 33-8-2 in Beck’s sophomore and junior seasons, advancing to the third round of the NCHSAA state playoffs in consecutive years. Her work ethic and skillset made her a crucial part of the team’s success, according to the coach.

“She was an anchor and unsung hero on those teams,” Fiest said. “Her personality and experience helped her voice carry weight with her teammates. She came in and understood exactly what we were trying to do and executed that really well.”

The Montreat College program is getting a player that is always willing to work hard and often acts as an on-field extension of the coach, he added. 

Beck figures to be a “great addition to the culture” of the Cavs program, according to Murphy, who was drawn to the player’s positive attitude and ability to stand out on the field.

“She has a very good technical base, which is a foundational quality for the position she plays,” said Murphy, who took over the Cavs program in 2018. “She also has a positive energy, which is something that contributes very well to the team environment.”

Owen High School graduate Kelsey Beck and Montreat College soccer head coach Tina Murphy. Fred McCormick

Beck will join a Montreat team that finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 8-9 and a 5-8 mark in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. She is eager to compete at the next level of the sport she’s been playing since she was a young child. 

“Being able to be on a team where everyone is there for the same reason, to compete and play the sport, is something I’m really looking forward to,” she said.