The Boston University women’s soccer team will play under a new head coach next fall, but it will be a familiar face —- former assistant coach Megan Burke.
Burke signed on to be the third-ever head coach of the program after former head coach Casey Brown’s three-year stint that ended when she stepped down from the position.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” Burke said. “I obviously have big shoes to fill, there’s a lasting legacy in this program, but I couldn’t be prouder to take it over and grab a hold of it.”
This will be Brown’s first head coaching role, but her journey to this position proves she will be ready.
When she finished her playing career at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2016, she went straight into coaching, serving as a graduate assistant coach at New Mexico State for two years.
She then became an assistant coach at Fairfield University in 2019. In three years and two full seasons there, she helped the Stags make the MAAC championship game and semifinal, before joining Terriers in 2022.
Surprisingly, she didn’t always see a future in coaching, explaining, “I never thought of coaching as a pathway or a career when I was in college. I didn’t decide to pursue it until senior spring.”
It’s a path many Terriers are grateful she took, though.
Burke joined the team in the same season as current rising seniors, including midfielder Mackenzie Stickleman and forward Margy Porta, who have become cornerstones of the team as they enter their final season.
“Since day one, I knew that her soccer IQ was through the roof, and she was a leader,” Sticklemen said when asked about what she saw in that 2022 version of Burke. “[The] end of my freshman fall was when I knew that she would eventually become a head coach.”
Porta expanded with her perception of Burke off the field, saying, “She’s also in the MBA program at BU, so it’s cool to see her tackle so many different things while also giving 100% to each task and to us.”
With Burke’s experience she has gained the trust and full backing of her team.
Despite the unexpected head coach vacancy, the promotion from within gave the team a sense of consistency and continuity in the face of potential upheaval and uncertainty.
“I think that what this team needed right now is stability and reliability, and I think that’s something that Coach Meg is going to provide for our class and many classes to come,” Porta said.
Hopefully for the Terriers, the personnel stability will be conducive to a similar —- or even higher —- level of success from the past few seasons.
Since joining in 2022, Burke has been a part of a streak of success for the program, seeing three consecutive appearances in the conference semifinal and an undefeated streak in the Patriot League through the conference final last season before the team played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
What the Terriers were able to accomplish last season is a pinnacle for many programs, and now, the team has expectations to repeat while Burke has pressure to show her abilities at the helm —- and she is confident those things will happen.
“I think there’s so much potential that hasn’t even been unlocked from this team,” Burke said. “I always want more, and I love to win.”
