Semoball

SEMO midfielder Abby Tremain preserving the memory of the late Meg Herndon

SEMO senior midfielder and nursing student Abby Tremain is a three-time recipient of the Meg Herndon Scholarship.
Courtesy of SEMO Athletics

It’s been nine years since the most devastating phone call of her career, but longtime Southeast Missouri State soccer coach Heather Nelson is often reminded of the late Meg Herndon.

A selfless, grind-it-out approach evokes memories of the auburn-haired defender.

Herndon, a SEMO senior balancing the rigors of Division I soccer and nursing school, was killed in a 2012 scooter accident en route to her shift at Southeast Hospital.

Her legacy lives on in a Redhawks program expected to finish in upper tier of the Ohio Valley Conference.

When SEMO clipped in-state rival Missouri State 1-0 on Sunday in the annual Meg Herndon Memorial Green Up Game, SEMO players donned specialty green and blue uniforms to support organ and tissue donation.

The family of Herndon, an organ donor, presented a $10,000 scholarship check to SEMO senior midfielder Abby Tremain, a nursing student.

It’s the third straight year the Herndons have presented the check to the Incarnate Word Academy product.

Nelson, SEMO’s coach since the program’s 1999 inception, sees several parallels between Herndon and Tremain.

Work ethic, a willingness to learn and the desire to help others are among the most striking similarities.

“(Tremain) is willing to go the extra mile and Meg was exactly the same,” Nelson said. “Extremely high-character. Some of the most unselfish and team-oriented players to come through our program, and when you see the career they picked, it makes sense.”

Herndon and Tremain both came into SEMO's program underdeveloped but grew substantially as their college careers progressed.

After starring at Missouri prep soccer power Incarnate Word, Tremain finally cracked SEMO’s starting lineup as a junior, logging eight starts in 12 games in a pandemic-shortened season.

“I find myself in a lot of the situations (Meg) was in,” Tremain said. “I don’t know if it’s (Meg) working through me or what, but it definitely broadens my sense of gratefulness.

It reminds you of how fast it can all be taken.”

Both of their mothers — Dawn Tremain and Cindi Herndon — are career nurses, too, Tremain said.

“I have enjoyed getting to know the Herndon family and having nurses in our families,” Tremain said. “Building that connection is super cool.”

Redden honored

by OVC

After a Power 5-heavy nonconference slate Nelson labeled the toughest of her career, SEMO (3-5) opens OVC play on Sunday when it hosts Belmont.

But first, some OVC recognition.

SEMO goalie Bailey Redden was named OVC Goalkeeper of the Week on Tuesday following the Redhawks’ 1-0 shutout of Missouri State.

Redden had eight saves and played all 90 minutes in the win.

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