Krista McKendree has been a key reason for soccer success in Evansville, Ind. since she was a student at Evansville North High School. Now the Evansville native is stepping up another level, moving from assistant coach to head coach of the University of Evansville women’s soccer program. She replaces Chris Pfau, who accepted the women’s soccer head coaching job recently at the University of Akron. “We were very pleased with the number of quality coaches interested in taking over our program,” Athletics Director John Stanley said. “When all was said and done, Krista emerged as the best candidate for a lot of reasons. She has championship experience, she understands our community and our school, she has been coaching a successful program at the Division I level, and she has the ability to recruit and motivate outstanding student-athletes who want to play soccer here at UE. All of those factors made me believe that she will continue the growth and success of our program that she and Chris Pfau began several years ago.” McKendree returned to her alma mater in 2005 soon after Pfau was hired as head coach, and Evansville’s win total immediately tripled from three in 2004 to 10 in 2005. In 2006, McKendree was part of the Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Soccer Coaching Staff of the Year. And in 2007, the Aces climbed to second place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings and won 10 matches for the third consecutive year. “Krista was a huge asset to our soccer program,”?Pfau said. “Not only does she know the game, but her best attribute to the soccer program is her interaction with the players. Coaching is not only about knowing the game, but more importantly, how to communicate to the team. Krista is great at this.” One reason why McKendree is a perfect example for UE soccer players is her playing career. She is regarded as the best defender ever to play for the Purple Aces, and in 2006 was chosen for the Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Soccer All-Centennial Team. Remarkably, she was a first team all-MVC player all four years, from 1998 through 2001. McKendree was the MVC Defensive Player of the Year in 1999, and in 2000 was MVC Player of the Year. She was chosen third team on the 2000 NSCAA / Adidas Women’s Soccer Division I All-America Team, becoming Evansville’s first All-American in women’s soccer. McKendree was also a member of the MVC Women’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete Team in 2000 and 2001. With her in the lineup, UE won three MVC regular season championships, three MVC post-season tournament championships, and reached the NCAA Tournament three times during her career. In McKendree’s four years as a player at Evansville, the Aces posted a record of 52-28-7. In addition to playing semi-pro soccer for three seasons for Jacksonville, Memphis and Phoenix, McKendree served as an assistant coach at Duquesne University in 2002. Just prior to returning to Evansville in 2005, she was a recreation leader/sports coordinator for the Police Athletic League of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office.