This year marks the 30th anniversary of Saint Louis University's inaugural women's soccer season. As part of the recognition of this milestone, SLUBillikens.com is highlighting the program's 11 (eight individuals and three teams) Billiken Hall of Fame inductees.
 
This week's featured Hall of Famer is goalkeeper Meghann Burke, who was inducted in 2009 following a groundbreaking career between the posts.
 
Click here to register for the Oct. 16-17 Alumnae Weekend/30th Anniversary Celebration

Becoming the first person to accomplish something of importance is a feat most people only dream about or, at best, realize just once in a lifetime.
 
Former Saint Louis University goalkeeper Meghann Burke (1999-2002) made a habit of it.
 
When Burke became SLU's first female student-athlete to be selected in a professional draft in February 2003, it was the culmination of a Billiken career that was, and remains, second to none. She recently had completed a four-year tenure between the posts during which she played every minute of every game; helped lead the Bills to winning percentages of .650 overall and .726 in Conference USA games; and established program career records for wins, saves, minutes and shutouts that stood for two decades (Burke still holds the saves record).
 
Burke's success came as no surprise. A Mehlville High School product, she arrived at Saint Louis after earning St. Louis Metro Goalkeeper of the Year plaudits in 1998 and competing for the U16 U.S. National Team.
 
Burke's rookie campaign was an important one for the Billikens, who slipped to 7-12-1 in 1998 after posting winning records in each of the program's first two seasons. Due largely to the freshman keeper's performance – she allowed just nine goals and turned in 10 shutouts over the final 18 games – the Bills recovered strongly from the previous year's disappointment by going 14-3-3 overall and winning the C-USA regular-season title with an 8-1-2 mark.
 
For her efforts, Burke became the first SLU women's soccer player to earn a national postseason honor (Soccer Buzz freshman All-America second team) and to be named conference Freshman of the Year. She also was a Soccer Buzz second-team All-Region selection and a second-team All-Conference choice. Burke ranked eighth nationally in goals against average (0.65), set a school record for victories and composed an .849 save percentage.
 
The Billikens enjoyed another successful season in 2000, turning in records of 13-5-3 overall and 8-0-3 in C-USA action. Despite the undefeated conference slate, Saint Louis finished second to Marquette in the league standings. However, one of Burke's 10 clean sheets allowed the Billikens to earn a scoreless draw at Marquette in the only C-USA game, regular season or conference tournament, the Golden Eagles did not win that year.
 
Burke, who finished with a 0.72 GAA, an .826 save percentage and a then-school-record 2,013 minutes, became the first Billiken to be tabbed conference Defensive Player of the Year. She also was named first-team All-Conference and NSCAA third-team All-Region.
 
Saint Louis experienced a trying 2001 season, posting a winning C-USA record (5-4-1) but finishing just 8-10-1 overall. However, Burke managed to garner third-team All-Conference plaudits and make a school-record 106 saves, a mark that stands today.
 
SLU bounced back well in 2002, with Burke playing a major role in the Bills' 13-6-1 overall record and 6-3-1 conference ledger. She notched a then-school-record 12 shutouts, a 0.78 GAA and an .843 save percentage, numbers that led to her becoming the first All-American (NSCAA second team) in Saint Louis women's soccer history. In addition, Burke was an NSCAA and Soccer Buzz first-team All-Region honoree, returned to the All-Conference first team and collected a second C-USA Defensive Player of the Year award.
 
Burke concluded her career with 48 wins, a 0.89 GAA, an .822 save percentage, 38 shutouts, 347 saves and 7,602 minutes. In addition to her 38 clean sheets, she allowed just one goal in 18 other contests. Also, she is one of only six players in program history to earn All-Conference laurels in each season of her career.
 
Burke also distinguished herself academically. In 2002 she was named C-USA women's soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year and second-team NSCAA Scholar All-America. She was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District first team and the NSCAA All-Region Scholar Athlete second team in 2001. Additionally, Burke was co-recipient of SLU's 2002-03 female Senior Student-Athlete of the Year award.
 
A little less than three months after making her final save in a Billiken uniform, Burke was selected by the defending champion Carolina Courage in the second round (16th overall pick) of the WUSA draft. (The only goalkeeper taken ahead of her in the 2003 draft was Hope Solo.) An injury to starting keeper Kristin Luckenbill put Burke in the starting lineup for Carolina's season opener, the only game she played for the Courage.
 
However, Burke continued to play professionally or semi-professionally for several years. After playing for two different teams in the semipro W-League during her collegiate career, she returned to the W-League with Asheville in 2004. A stint with Bristol (2004-05) in the women's English Premier League followed. Burke returned to the United States and spent the 2006 and 2007 seasons with the WPSL's River Cities FC and the 2008 campaign with Boston in the W-League.
 
After recovering successfully from spinal-fusion surgery to correct an injury she suffered vs. Kansas in 2001, Burke concluded her career in 2010 with NWSL teams Chicago and New Jersey.
 
When Conference USA selected a women's soccer Team of the Decade as part of its 10th-anniversary celebration in 2004, Burke was chosen the league's co-Player of the Decade. She was named to Saint Louis' All-Decade Team in 2005, inducted into the Billiken Hall of Fame in 2009 and selected to SLU's 25th Anniversary Team in 2021.