~ The St. Vincent senior recently signed a letter of intent with Missouri State

St. Vincent senior Kayla Seabaugh made her college decision almost a year ago, but there still was relief when she signed her national letter of intent.

"I don't know why, but it was less stressful afterwards," she said.

Seabaugh will continue her soccer career at Missouri State.

"Whenever I went to Missouri State, that's where I knew I wanted to go," she said. "It was homey and the girls were extremely accommodating. I just had fun."

Missouri State, which is located in Springfield, Mo., was the perfect distance from Perryville.

"I didn't want to go too far away," she said. "I talked to the Georgia coach and I talked to the Arkansas coach, but that was too far away for me. Four hours seems like a good distance for me."

Seabaugh has been a mainstay for the St. Vincent defense, but she picks her chances to join in the offensive attack. She scored 13 goals and added seven assists last season.

Seabaugh has helped the Indians reach the Class 1 final four at the end of the last three seasons, including a state title her freshman year. That experience is providing motivation for the upcoming season.

"We're not going to come home with anything other than first place," she said. "It's just not going to happen this year. I felt what it's like to be first place, and I want to go back to that. I want to go out with that."