Stacey Radford Miller was a part of the greatest two seasons in Barton College women’s soccer history, leading the Lady Bulldogs to a 16-2-1 record as a senior All-American sweeper in 2001 and coaching Barton to a 14-5 mark in 2005.
Now, she is a part of the Barton College Athletic Hall of Fame. “I’m still in shock,” Miller said. “As a former player, this puts the cap on any dream I could’ve had for my career.”
She is also thrilled to be entering the Hall of Fame with Randy Pridgen (Class of 1983) and long-time friend Shemkia Reid (2002).
“I actually saw Shemkia this year in Atlanta,” she said. “I was in town for a conference, and we met up for dinner. We still have our pictures together from when we graduated from middle school, high school, and college.”
Posing together on Hall of Fame night will only add to their collection.
“It’s awesome to be going in with both of them. Randy was there all four of my years as a player and while I was coaching. Honestly, making it is a tribute to him because, as our athletic trainer, he was the one who pieced me together after every game. Shemkia and I grew up together and played together all those years. She was a huge motivation for me because I saw all the awards she was getting, so that made me work harder to achieve more.”
Miller, who earned her master’s degree in sports administration from East Carolina University, resigned as Barton Women’s Soccer Coach in July 2008 and currently serves as Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance at Western Carolina University.
“For a long time, Barton College has held a special place in my heart,” Miller, who was born and raised in Wilson and starred at Fike High School, said upon her resignation, “and it is always going to. I will always be a Bulldog.”
Under Miller’s direction, the Lady Bulldogs amassed a 38-31-2 overall record (.551) and were 26-15-1 in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (.634). Barton finished 3rd, 4th, 3rd, and tied for 6th in the CVAC during her four seasons as head coach.
Upon her resignation, Barton Director of Athletics Gary Hall lauded Miller for her playing and coaching prowess, as well as her overall contributions to the Wilson sports scene. “She has been very visible in soccer-related activities in the local community and has connected Barton’s program in a very positive way to the Wilson Youth Soccer Association, the Brittany Willis Memorial Soccer Showcase, and the City of Wilson Parks and Recreation Program,” Hall said.
Miller coached 13 all-conference players and two All-Southeast Region performers (Tara Davis and Jordan Carter). In 2005, Barton got off to a school-best 11-1 start overall and was 7-0 in the league. The Lady Bulldogs won nine straight matches (a school record) and rose to No. 1 in the Southeast Region and No. 10 nationally.
The only other Barton team ranked higher was the 2001 edition, which seized the CVAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA D-II Sweet 16 before losing to North Florida. That team rose as high as No. 8 nationally with Miller anchoring the defense.
When Miller, the daughter of Brenda and the late Steve Radford, was winding down a successful prep career at Fike, she was courted by both Barton and Campbell. She ruled out all those schools too far from Wilson. Fike soccer coach Toni Varacchi had starred at Campbell, so she promoted her alma mater. Mike Smith, who coached at both Barton and Fike, “made Barton feel like the right fit for me,” Miller recalled, “and ultimately, he was right. Barton was 100 percent the perfect fit for me.”
She was recruited by Scott Ginn and played for him her first two years at Barton. “He was very tough on me, and not in a negative way,” Miller said. “He got on me and taught me a ton about the game. My last two years, Todd Bailess turned me loose and let me use what I learned about the game to be a leader.”
She started her Barton career as an outside midfielder, but when a center back teammate got injured in a spring game of her freshman year, Miller was moved to center back and never left.
“When I came in, I had no technical skills, but I knew how to work hard and was fast and strong,” Miller said. “In nearly daily meetings with Coach Ginn, he taught me that it was less about having a big foot and more about being able to control the ball. When Coach Bailess came in, he gave me the confidence to utilize the talent and knowledge that Scott had given me and allowed me to use the leadership skills all my other coaches had instilled in me.”
Miller was a tenacious defender during her playing days, earning first-team All-CVAC accolades her final three seasons and making the 2001 National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-America team. She also accounted for 12 goals and 12 assists (36 points) during her career. Many of her goals came off penalty kicks. Barton was 46-27-2 overall and 30-11-2 in the CVAC in her playing career. In her senior season, Barton won the regular season and tournament championships of the CVAC and hosted the NCAA Division II South Regional championship match, which Barton lost 2-1 to North Florida. She was named All-Region and, later, the school’s first All-American in women’s soccer. In 2007, she was selected to the All-Time, All-CVAC Women’s Soccer team for her efforts.
“Obviously, winning the conference championship and going from a sub-par team to a nationally ranked team are things I will remember about my playing days,” she said. “Going from 6th or 7th in the conference to first … it was pretty exciting for me to realize I had a large part in that. Going to the Sweet 16 was special as well.”
Although she had a solid first three years for the Bulldogs, Miller cranked her talent into overdrive the summer before her senior campaign.
“I told myself, ‘you only have five months left to do it’ and I knew I was the only one holding me back from accomplishing all the things I wanted to do. ” Miller added, “I began training like I never had in my whole life. Then, in the fall of 2001, we sacrificed everything and anything for each other. We laid it all down for each other every single day.”
She attributes that team’s run to the NCAA Regional to a combination of talent and effort. She remembered that one of the team’s top scorers, Elizabeth Spencer, went out with an injury in the middle of the season, but still stayed with the team to motivate them from the sidelines during practices and games. “And, we had girls who might have played only 20 minutes all season who worked just as hard every day in practice to make us the best we could be. After we got a couple of big wins under our belts, we knew we were good enough to compete, so we kept rolling with it. Even today, when I think back on that season, I still get a smile on my face and the biggest feeling of success.”
She was brought to tears following that season when Bailess informed Miller of her selection to the All-Region team. Then, over Thanksgiving break, he called to tell her she was the first women’s soccer All-American, “and I was in total shock for weeks,” Miller said. “The lesson I learned from that is that there are times when you believe what people tell you and to not sell yourself short. People like Mike Smith (a Barton Hall of Famer) knew what I was capable of doing. I just never fully bought into it until my senior year.”
Her fondest memory was winning the CVAC Championship at Belmont Abbey, and she claims to remember the halftime and postgame speeches verbatim.
Only a year after graduating from Barton, Miller was back at her alma mater as the women’s soccer coach, but she said the transition was seamless because Bailess had allowed her to take on such a leadership role her last two seasons.
In her third season at the helm, Barton rolled to an 11-1 start and into the 10th spot in the national poll. Ironically, the Bulldogs lost their next match 4-1 at Pfeiffer, who was coached by Miller’s future husband, Chad. They have a son, Carson, who is 17 months old, and she has a 5-year-old son, Thomas, from her previous marriage.
“Coaching at Barton was surreal and crazy,” she said. “I had grown up there (going to soccer camps), and played there, and now I was given the chance to keep up the success we were able to attain when I was a player. I was definitely proud to go back there in that role.
“I am always going to remember the fearless effort of my players. They always seemed to give it their all and make the most of every bit of their talent,” Miller concluded.
Sounds like her players followed the lead of their All-American coach, who now joins mentors Bailess and Smith in the Barton Hall of Fame.
