Stephanie Peters (née Martin), who played at CMU from 2006-09, remains second in career goals, assists and points in program history.
Hall of Fame 2025: Life-Changing Moments on and off the Field for Soccer Great
9/16/2025 7:56:00 AM | General, Soccer, Our Stories
Stephanie Peters (née Martin) made a major impact on CMU soccer program, and, likewise, the program made a major impact on her
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Stephanie Peters has spent her professional life committed to helping others.
As nurse, that's what you do. You make a difference in people's lives every day. It can be emotionally fulfilling and exhausting, sometimes simultaneously.
Having gone through it herself as an 18-year-old, Peters (née Martin) lived it. And it changed her forever.
Just as she helped change Central Michigan soccer.
Peters, a four-time All-Mid-American Conference honoree who helped lead the Chippewas to the 2009 MAC regular season and tournament championships, will be inducted into the Central Michigan University Marcy Weston Athletics Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 26 in McGuirk Arena in the Kulhavi Events Center.
She and other members of the Class of 2025 will be introduced during the CMU-Eastern Michigan football game on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Peters made an immediate impact on CMU soccer in 2006, earning the MAC Freshman of the Year Award and a spot on the MAC All-Freshman Team.
But it was off the field, ahead of her sophomore season in the summer of 2007, that her life took a dramatic turn when her mother died.
"That was a rough year," Peters said. "Honestly I didn't want to come back, but my grandfather (James), who was her dad, basically told me to pull myself up and get there. He said, just get to preseason.
"He was the most positive human being you could ever meet, and he was like, 'You've got to get there and when you get there then you can make a decision; you're not going to make a decision sitting at home. You have to keep moving forward. That's what she would want.'"
Peters mustered up the courage to return to Mount Pleasant, where her teammates embraced her and helped her cope, helped her heal, helped her take steps forward.
"Once I was there with my teammates, everything was different," she said. "I felt like I was back with my family and I could play and that's where I was happy. I wouldn't have gotten through that without my roommate for all four years, Amanda (Waugh), who was on the team
"She had an incredible impact on my life. I still talk to her every day. Her and just all of my teammates. I mean they're the reason that I got through that and then soccer got me through that. I became a much better person because of it. It was not easy, but because I had (soccer) I think it kept me grounded and it kept me going in a direction where I wouldn't fall back."
Teammates and roommates for a relatively brief period. Lifelong friends and lifelong memories. Personal growth. And life-changing moments.
Peters would go on to become one of the all-time greats in CMU soccer history. She is still No. 2 in program history in career goals (26), assists (17), and points (69). She helped the Chippewas to a 2-0 win over Purdue in a first-round NCAA Tournament game in 2009.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 2010 and then enrolled in an accelerated nursing program at Detroit Mercy. Today, she is married and the mother of a 7-month-old son and lives in Clyde, just outside of Port Huron. She works at Henry Ford St. John Hospital in Detroit.
"When my mom got sick and I was at the hospital a lot with her and I just formed these bonds her nurses and I was like, you know what, I think this is what I want to go into now and it changed what I wanted to do career wise," she said.
And while the personal and team accolades will stand forever on Peters' hall of fame plaque, it's the immeasurables that stand out in her mind.
A lot of my best memories are off-the-field memories," she said. "Like on the team bus going to different away games; a lot of it is the practices and all the preparation that we did as a team. The on-the-field moments were great, especially when we won the MAC Tournament; that moment was awesome, but they don't really compare to the laughs that we had at different team functions. The friendships that I have from that are still incredible.
"We all talk about how you're learning to be adult, and you're going through everything together. You're getting up at 5 a.m. to do weight lifting, and then going straight to practice, and then you're going to class with ice packs on our legs and then trying to fit in a nap. When I look back, I just see how much I grew as a person and it's because of the girls all four years. It's more than just a sport."
It was more than just a sport from the time Peters stepped on the pitch. Her family was incredibly supportive, she said, and her two brothers – 8 and 4 years, respectively, her senior – were instrumental in developing her game and her competitiveness.
"Growing up with them, I had to keep up," she said. "I never got anything handed to me. They made it hard. My dad (Roy) was a simmer at Wayne State, so he was a Division I swimmer; he also instilled the drive.
"It was something that I wanted to do since I can remember. It wasn't something I grew to be good at and then I wanted it. I was like 3 years old and I watched my brothers do it and I was like, this is what I want to do.
"I feel like getting the honor isn't just for me, it's for my whole family, my parents, my brothers, because they're the ones that always pushed me and then it's for all my teammates. I wouldn't be here without any of them, or without any of the coaches. CMU gave us great coaches, great trainers. It's a lot of appreciation and gratitude now only to the committee and to the university – they make dreams come true for little girls who want to play.
"All of them, they all contributed to the success of our team and if they don't have success I don't have success."
As nurse, that's what you do. You make a difference in people's lives every day. It can be emotionally fulfilling and exhausting, sometimes simultaneously.
Having gone through it herself as an 18-year-old, Peters (née Martin) lived it. And it changed her forever.
Just as she helped change Central Michigan soccer.
Peters, a four-time All-Mid-American Conference honoree who helped lead the Chippewas to the 2009 MAC regular season and tournament championships, will be inducted into the Central Michigan University Marcy Weston Athletics Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 26 in McGuirk Arena in the Kulhavi Events Center.
She and other members of the Class of 2025 will be introduced during the CMU-Eastern Michigan football game on Kramer/Deromedi Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Peters made an immediate impact on CMU soccer in 2006, earning the MAC Freshman of the Year Award and a spot on the MAC All-Freshman Team.
But it was off the field, ahead of her sophomore season in the summer of 2007, that her life took a dramatic turn when her mother died.
"That was a rough year," Peters said. "Honestly I didn't want to come back, but my grandfather (James), who was her dad, basically told me to pull myself up and get there. He said, just get to preseason.
"He was the most positive human being you could ever meet, and he was like, 'You've got to get there and when you get there then you can make a decision; you're not going to make a decision sitting at home. You have to keep moving forward. That's what she would want.'"
Peters mustered up the courage to return to Mount Pleasant, where her teammates embraced her and helped her cope, helped her heal, helped her take steps forward.
"Once I was there with my teammates, everything was different," she said. "I felt like I was back with my family and I could play and that's where I was happy. I wouldn't have gotten through that without my roommate for all four years, Amanda (Waugh), who was on the team
"She had an incredible impact on my life. I still talk to her every day. Her and just all of my teammates. I mean they're the reason that I got through that and then soccer got me through that. I became a much better person because of it. It was not easy, but because I had (soccer) I think it kept me grounded and it kept me going in a direction where I wouldn't fall back."
Teammates and roommates for a relatively brief period. Lifelong friends and lifelong memories. Personal growth. And life-changing moments.
Peters would go on to become one of the all-time greats in CMU soccer history. She is still No. 2 in program history in career goals (26), assists (17), and points (69). She helped the Chippewas to a 2-0 win over Purdue in a first-round NCAA Tournament game in 2009.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 2010 and then enrolled in an accelerated nursing program at Detroit Mercy. Today, she is married and the mother of a 7-month-old son and lives in Clyde, just outside of Port Huron. She works at Henry Ford St. John Hospital in Detroit.
"When my mom got sick and I was at the hospital a lot with her and I just formed these bonds her nurses and I was like, you know what, I think this is what I want to go into now and it changed what I wanted to do career wise," she said.
And while the personal and team accolades will stand forever on Peters' hall of fame plaque, it's the immeasurables that stand out in her mind.
A lot of my best memories are off-the-field memories," she said. "Like on the team bus going to different away games; a lot of it is the practices and all the preparation that we did as a team. The on-the-field moments were great, especially when we won the MAC Tournament; that moment was awesome, but they don't really compare to the laughs that we had at different team functions. The friendships that I have from that are still incredible.
"We all talk about how you're learning to be adult, and you're going through everything together. You're getting up at 5 a.m. to do weight lifting, and then going straight to practice, and then you're going to class with ice packs on our legs and then trying to fit in a nap. When I look back, I just see how much I grew as a person and it's because of the girls all four years. It's more than just a sport."
It was more than just a sport from the time Peters stepped on the pitch. Her family was incredibly supportive, she said, and her two brothers – 8 and 4 years, respectively, her senior – were instrumental in developing her game and her competitiveness.
"Growing up with them, I had to keep up," she said. "I never got anything handed to me. They made it hard. My dad (Roy) was a simmer at Wayne State, so he was a Division I swimmer; he also instilled the drive.
"It was something that I wanted to do since I can remember. It wasn't something I grew to be good at and then I wanted it. I was like 3 years old and I watched my brothers do it and I was like, this is what I want to do.
"I feel like getting the honor isn't just for me, it's for my whole family, my parents, my brothers, because they're the ones that always pushed me and then it's for all my teammates. I wouldn't be here without any of them, or without any of the coaches. CMU gave us great coaches, great trainers. It's a lot of appreciation and gratitude now only to the committee and to the university – they make dreams come true for little girls who want to play.
"All of them, they all contributed to the success of our team and if they don't have success I don't have success."
Chippewa Check-In
Friday, September 19
CMU Athletics Connection - Fundraising
Monday, September 15
Chippewa Check-In
Friday, September 12
CMU Athletics Meet & Greet
Wednesday, June 11