Illinois native made twelve appearances for Chicago in 2014

CHICAGO, Ill. – Red Stars defender Kecia Morway has announced her retirement from professional soccer, citing plans to explore opportunities both in the education sector and as a personal trainer. The native of Lake Villa, Illinois, spent her rookie campaign with the Red Stars in 2014, following a successful college career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Colorado College Tigers. Morway made twelve appearances during her one season with Chicago, including ten starts.

“I’d almost say I decided to step away out of respect for everyone around me who was working so hard and had so much passion for the sport,” said the 23-year-old. “I proved to myself that I could make the team and play at this level, but I felt that investing even more to continue improving wasn’t for me. There are so many people who want so bad to have that chance, while I feel like there are options for me in life. It’s time to explore those options and find out what’s right for me.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunity I had with the Red Stars last year. It was a fantastic experience and I loved all my teammates and made some really great friends. I’ll definitely be following the team and plan to make it out to several games.”

In 2010, Morway was named to the Soccer America Freshman All-America Team for her performances with Notre Dame. She played in every game over the course of the campaign and went the distance in the 1-0 win over Stanford in the national championship match. In addition to third-team all-Conference USA honors in 2012, the left back earned 2013 selections to the NSCAA/Continental Tires NCAA Division I All-Central Region third team and the all-Conference USA second team, all while with the Tigers.

After going undrafted, Morway was invited by Chicago Head Coach Rory Dames to participate in the club’s 2014 preseason camp and impressed enough to earn a professional contract. She made her NWSL debut against the Washington Spirit on April 26, coming on as a second-half substitute.

The defender’s career and development over the years have been followed closely by Dames, as the man in charge of the Red Stars is also the long-time Director of Coaching and Player Development with Morway’s former youth club Eclipse Select.

“Having coached Kecia since she was ten years old, I’m very disappointed to see her go but completely understand the path she has chosen for her life,” Dames offered. “She’s a great person and a great teammate who showed tremendous progress in 2014 and did very well for us over the course of the season. We wish her all the best for what lies ahead.”

The 2015 Chicago Red Stars campaign kicks off on April 18 with the team’s big NWSL home opener against Sydney Leroux, Megan Rapinoe and current Shield holders Seattle Reign FC. Single-game and season tickets ($145) may be purchased by calling 773-698-6001 or by clicking here.