MIDWAY, Ky. - When it comes to the game of soccer, there's very little Warren Lipka hasn't previously experienced.

A standout college player, Lipka was named Goalkeeper of the Year by the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America following his senior season at the University of South Carolina in 1985. He parlayed that success into a professional career, playing with three different organizations from 1986-91.

This led to an immediate, and successful, transition to the coaching ranks. After one season as an assistant men's coach at the University of Kentucky, Lipka took over as the head coach of the UK women's program in 1992.

He remained a Division-I coach for the next 29 years, squeezing in stints as an assistant for the U.S. U-19 and U-21 programs along the way.

After longtime Midway coach Sherril Smith announced his retirement in July, Lipka, who last coached in 2021, was intrigued by the size and location of Midway Univerisy and eventually accepted the position just over a week before the new school year began.

So did his decades of high-level experience prepare Lipka for the challenge of putting together a plan for a season in less than 10 days?

"Absolutely not," he says with a laugh. "It all happened so fast."

The transition was jarring for players as well, though early responses to the new program have been positive.

"It was kind of a lot to not know who we were getting because it was last-minute," said senior midfielder and returning starter Jameela Shalash. "The transition started a little bit late and everyone's getting into something new, but I feel like it's going to be good."

That optimism makes sense when looking at Lipka's history. 

While at Kentucky, he was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year in 1995, 1999 and 2006. After moving over to Morehead State in 2009, he collected three more Coach of the Year honors from the Ohio Valley Conference in 2009, 2010 and 2013.

"He's got so much knowledge of the sport," senior forward Haylee Applegate said "He's able to share it with us and just (use) that to kind of help bond with us."

His knowledge could help provide a big boost to an Eagle team that lost 16 seniors a season ago, but did retain some of its offensive firepower.

Over the past two seasons, Applegate's 21 goals are tied for the most of any player in the River States Conference. She will likely be set up by junior Anna Kneisley, who led the River States with 10 assists in 2024.

The defense will be inexperienced as well, with Salash being the only starter to return from a season ago. Freshman Lilly Riordan appears to be in line for the goalie job after getting the start in a pair of preseason exhibitions. 

The abrupt coaching change and a roster with 16 freshmen has led to some expected uncertainty, which was reflected in an RSC Preseaon Poll that predicted an eighth-place finish for Midway in 2025.

How long it takes for things to come together remains unknown, but the new head coach seems very confident his club will be on an upward trajectory when the regular season comes to a close.

"You can't judge a book by it's cover in the first couple weeks," Lipka said. "We've got a lot of work to do, the girls understand that, I understand that. Our ultimate goal is to make sure we're in that conference tournament and be battling for a championship by the end of the season."

The Eagles' first three games will be on the road, starting with a 7 p.m., in-state matchup with Berea on Tuesday.