RICHMOND, Ky. – The storied careers of former Eastern Kentucky University soccer players Alex Raich and Stephanie Lynch have ended, but their involvement with ‘the beautiful game’ continues, as both will travel abroad this summer and use the game they love for causes in which they believe.

Raich, a forward from Overland Park, Kan. who graduated from EKU this spring second all-time in goals and points, will travel to Solola, Guatemala for Soccer Without Borders, a non-profit organization that uses soccer as a tool to provide youth in underdeveloped parts of the world with role models. Lynch, a two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference goalkeeper from Goshen, Ky. who graduated from EKU this spring with every major goalkeeping record to her name, will venture to Khon Kaen, Thailand, where she will join 10 students and three staff members from Campus Outreach Lexington in missionary work at North Eastern University.

“I’m happy that both of these former players are going to be able to travel abroad, experience different cultures and pursue something that is important to them,” EKU women’s soccer head coach Lindsay Basalyga said. “I hope other players look to them as role models and use their talents to give back to the world upon graduation.”

For the next two and a half months, Raich, who will serve as a graduate assistant for the EKU women’s soccer team in the fall, will be stationed in Solola, Guatemala, a city of about 30,000 people, mostly Mayans, located nearly five hours from the national capital of Guatemala City.

“I’m stoked,” Raich eloquently said. “I’ve been really anxious, and it finally hit me the other day that this is about to happen. I’m about to leave.”

While in Solola, Raich will run ongoing soccer and life-skills programs for about 14-18 youths, establish and run soccer leagues in the community and help administer educational seminars in an area where, according to Raich, a majority of kids stop going to school after the fifth grade because their families can no longer afford it.

“Going to a place where they don’t get to play soccer on nice fields or travel around in nice busses is going to be eye-opening,” Raich said. “Living in different conditions and seeing what life is like down there will hopefully make me appreciate my life here more.”

Raich, who took Spanish classes in high school and is currently studying the language, plans to take about a week to travel around the area, noting that Solola is on the shores of Lake Atitlan, a popular tourist attraction that is famous for its natural beauty and colorful Mayan villages.

Lynch, who plans to gain experience in the medical field this fall while also coaching youth soccer in the Richmond area, will join students from EKU (including fellow student-athlete Taylor Church), Georgetown College and Centre College for seven weeks at a 21-year old ministry on the campus of North Eastern University in Khon Kaen, Thailand, a city of about 121,000 inhabitants. Some students will minister, others will teach English, but, according to Lynch, the “goal is building relationships and sharing God’s love with the students.”

Lynch hopes to build relationships through soccer. “The place to be on a Saturday night is the soccer field on campus,” she said. “Hopefully it’s not against Thai culture for women to play soccer, because I plan on getting out there and competing.”

While soccer, and sports in general, is a universal way to interact and build relationships, having actual conversations with the Thai students will prove more difficult. “We’ll have translators with us, but a five-minute conversation will still take about an hour over there,” Lynch said. “I’m nervous because of the language barrier, but at the same time I’m really excited about the opportunity to break down those barriers.”

Raich and Lynch, despite being involved in completely different programs, both depart on June 1.