Nyah Biegler signs to play soccer at Eastern Illinois University

It’s been almost a year since Mahomet-Seymour senior athlete Nyah Biegler announced her intention to play soccer at Eastern Illinois University.

Now the 5’11” midfielder is looking forward to her time as a Panther. The NCAA Division I school has made 4 NCAA tournament appearances, captured 2 Ohio Valley team titles and 5 OVC

tournament titles.

Over three years on the Mahomet-Seymour soccer team, Biegler is a three-year Varsity Letter Winner who has amassed 14 goals and 22 assists. As a sophomore, Biegler was part of the 2019 I.H.S.A. Class AA Regional Championship Team and helped Mahomet-Seymour become Apollo Conference champions in 2018 and 2019.

Locally, Biegler has received numerous accolades including being named an Apollo Conference 1st Team selection (2019), the to the News –Gazette All – Area Team (2019) and being named to the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association All – Sectional Team (2019).

Nationally, Biegler has also participated in the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), winning the Indiana State Cup with the Indiana Fire and competed for the 2017 ECNL nationals in Rockford, IL. Biegler moved on in 2018 to join the Illinois Saint Louis Scott Gallagher ECNL team then to the Illinois Fire program so that she could also play high school soccer.

But that hasn’t stopped her from growing a little bit more her senior year.

Biegler has been training with the Mahomet-Seymour Girls Basketball team over the winter months. 

“My parents have been trying to get me to play basketball since I was really, really young, like probably in kindergarten,” she said. 

Her dad, Neil, worked the back-channels, talking to her soccer coach, Jeremy Davis about how the sport could benefit his daughter — and how she, at 5’11” could help the basketball team. 

Davis talked to the Mahomet-Seymour girls’ basketball team head coach Garrett Risley, who also poked at Biegler a little bit. 

“He called me into his room, and he was like, ‘Hey, I heard you wanted to try basketball,’” Biegler remembers.

She said, “Sure.” 

Then she was invited to the weightroom for workouts. 

“We had been doing open gyms twice a week until Christmas break, then COVID shut everything down again. But’s been a really great experience. The girls are so nice and welcomed me into the team, considering I’m a senior who’s never played basketball before.”

Time spent in training is not only good conditioning for the upcoming season, but Biegler can see how training for both sports will help her in the months to come. 

“It’s definitely going to translate over into soccer,” she said. While I was playing basketball, I did definitely feel like how it was comparable to soccer like in the movements and in the defending areas.”

With Region 6 moving into Phase 4 Tier 1 mitigations this week, Mahomet-Seymour athletes are ready to get to work as the IHSA begins to define what teams can and cannot do. The jury is still out on basketball, and soccer, but more clarity should come by Jan. 27.

Through the Illinois Fire program, Biegler has been able to play in Indiana and Missouri while sports were paused throughout Illinois. She’s also been meeting other players at Grace Church just to keep training.

“I have definitely been able to play like my normal amount of soccer which is fantastic,” she said. 

While the Bulldogs were not able to compete in regular season play in Spring 2020, Biegler is looking forward to being back on the field with her teammates in the coming months. During the summer of 2020, the ability to be outside gave athletes the opportunity to be together. 

Biegler said the 2021 Mahomet-Seymour girls’ soccer team should be exciting to watch. 

“We have a strong team coming back, and we have good coaching coming in; I’m really excited to be under coach Davis this season,” she said. 

“I think we can go past sectionals and hopefully make it the state.”

After signing the official document to play at Eastern Illinois, Biegler was able to connect with the other 2021 recruits. Because the Panthers will be competing in the spring, instead of the traditional fall schedule, Bieglers arrival to Charleston will come on the heels of the season ending. 

“It’s been really nice to get to know the girls,” she said. “I’m excited to play with them in the future.”

Biegler plans to major in Biology as a pre-med major at Eastern Illinois University. She hopes to follow in the footsteps of her father (Neil) and grandfather (Jerry Foster) and become an anesthesiologist.