The University of Mississippi Athletics
MEET THE REBELS: Senior Captain Taylor Cunningham
8/2/2010 | Soccer
July 27, 2010
Taylor Cunningham is the lone senior on the 2010 Ole Miss soccer squad. The Louisville, Ky., native is a two-year starter for the Rebels at forward and midfield and has amassed 12 career goals and five assists. She comes from an athletic, soccer-loving family and will be joined in Oxford this fall by her sister, Maddie, who will be a freshman for the Rebels.
Q: What are you excited about for this upcoming season?
TC: I'm excited for the change. When the previous coaches left, we were all pretty shocked about it, but then we accepted it. Everything happens for a reason. We're all really excited for this season. I'm excited to see how everything plays out. We have a good group of girls coming in, and everybody that's returning is working hard at home or in Oxford.
Q: What are your impressions of the new coaches?
TC: I like all the coaches. They're awesome. They have a lot of good things in store for us on and off the field. They're very positive. I feel like I can go in there and talk to them anytime about soccer or about life, anything. They make you feel so comfortable and at home. They have a very positive outlook for the season and they're ready to get underway.
Q: You made it to the "Big Dance" last year. How can you carry the momentum from that experience into this season?
TC: I think going to the NCAA Tournament and having that feeling of the excitement of seeing your name on the screen, that's going to fuel us to keep going. We have to instill that in the freshmen coming in and make sure they know how serious we are about it. Going to the SEC Tournament is good, but going to the NCAA Tournament is the next level. The first round's good, but we want to go to the next round and then the next round. We have to work really hard. We lost three seniors who had a big impact on the team, but I feel like there are people ready to step up, take their places and do what they can do.
Q: What have you been doing during the summer to get ready?
TC: I've been in Oxford working out. I've been lifting four days a week and running everyday but Sundays. I've been running distance, sprints. I've done the entire football stadium twice. I'm just getting ready for my senior year.
Q: How do you view your role as the lone senior leader on this team?
TC: It's hard being the only senior. Lily (Crabtree) came in with me, but she redshirted. I have to make sure I keep a positive attitude. A lot of the responsibility will be on my shoulders, so if I mess up or if anyone messes up, it's going to reflect back on me. I need to make sure everybody's doing what they need to do and working hard and not getting into things that are going to hurt our goals for the year. Our seniors last year were awesome. They worked hard and made the rest of the team better just by the way they acted on and off the field. I'm hoping I can take what they brought to the table and build on that, and I will have to have some of the juniors there with me to push everybody along.
Q: What do you do best as a soccer player?
TC: When I was younger, I was kind of rough around the edges, but since I've gotten here, I think it's my ability to see the field. I started at forward and then sophomore year played attacking mid and then last year defensive mid. So I've had to adjust to where I've been on the field. That's helped me a lot. I can take space and distribute the ball. But if I have a shot from 20 yards out, I'm going to take it. There's no doubt. I'm not passing the ball; I'm going to take that shot. I think for goalies, that's unexpected. They don't think you're going to shoot from far out, but that's one of my strongest assets, so I'm going to take advantage of it.
Q: What's the secret to striking the ball so much harder than anyone else?
TC: I don't know. We'll go out just for fun and shoot on Alley (Ronaldi), and she tells me I knuckle it. I don't do anything different than anyone else, I guess it just comes naturally. It must be in my family genes, because Maddie (Cunningham) is the same way. When she develops, I think her shot will be even better than mine. I don't know what it is, but I don't complain.
Q: Speaking of Maddie, what are your thoughts about playing with your sister in college?
TC: I'm excited about Maddie coming here. She's my little sister. She's my best friend. I was kind of nervous at first, because when I have gone to her games in the past, I would tell her afterward, 'you did well, but next time do this or do that' and she just wouldn't want to talk about it. But she was here at camp this summer and at night we would play and she was on my team a couple of times and she actually took a lot of the criticism I told her and didn't take it as me bashing her, but she was actually taking it in and was thankful for the help. It will be interesting. I know my parents are excited to have four more years here.
Q: Take us back to the very beginning. When did you start playing soccer and what was it like?
TC: The first time I ever played soccer, I was 6 years old I think. I was awful. I would steal the ball from my own teammates. If they had it, I wanted it. I would push them down, run them over. I didn't care. I wanted the soccer ball. I wanted to shoot and I wanted to score. I think some of that has carried on throughout my career, but oh my gosh, I was awful back then.
Q: When did you start to think you would pursue a soccer career long-term?
TC: Well, I started club when I was about 12, so I put a lot of time and effort into it. My parents would drive me to every practice and every tournament, miles and miles away. I realized it was something I had a passion for. I wasn't going to waste my time doing it if I wasn't going to continue on.
Q: How did you decide to come to Ole Miss?
TC: I was actually at Colorado for an official visit in July before my senior year and I received an email telling me Ole Miss was interested and wanted me to come to Oxford. A few girls back home from Louisville that played for the same club as I did had gone to Ole Miss, and they had nothing but great things to say about it. And as soon as I drove on the campus, I hadn't even met the staff or anybody, and I said, 'Mom, this is it.' There was no question in my mind I was going to be coming to Ole Miss.
Q: What's your favorite thing about Ole Miss?
TC: The atmosphere. It's totally different from Kentucky. People say that's the South, but Louisville is nothing like Oxford is. The Southern tradition is amazing. People are so friendly and you feel welcome anywhere you go.
Q: What has been your most memorable moment with Ole Miss Soccer?
TC: I think it's a tie between beating Florida last year in overtime and getting a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Against Florida, it was pouring down rain. There were no fans in the stands except our parents, but it was an awesome game. When Dee's (Danielle Johnson) free kick at the end hits Abbie (Curran) in the head and goes in, there were no words to describe our excitement. We were the underdogs going into it, and we had just come off a loss to South Carolina, and we bounced back from it and stepped up. And then seeing our name on the TV screen (during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show) showed that all the hard work in the preseason and offseason paid off. People recognized that Ole Miss was worthy to go to the tournament. And I was especially excited for the seniors. They were such great leaders and definitely deserved it.
Q: Who is your funniest teammate at Ole Miss?
TC: Oh gosh, they are all funny, but I think Lily has got to be the funniest. She can just take any situation - it could be the worst situation in the world - and she can come out and say something, and I think 'Did you just say that, really?' but it makes everybody laugh and forget about the stressful situation we're in. Lily just brightens up a room with her personality. She's crazy.
Q: What did you think about the World Cup?
TC: I watched every U.S. game in my room, screaming at the TV. I remember the power kept going out during one of the games and I thought it was the worst thing ever because it was such an intense game.
Q: What do you do outside of soccer and class?
TC: I just love hanging out with my friends. You try to get your mind off of things. Soccer is such a big part of our lives. When we step on the field it's time to work and be serious, no joking around. But once we're off the field in the locker room or at somebody's house, we just like to have fun and enjoy our lives and be normal college kids.
Q: What's your favorite hang-out spot in Oxford?
TC: That's tough. I love walking around the Square. We're all obsessed with Ya Ya's frozen yogurt. Once it opened, I think we went every day. It's so good. That and Sno-Biz. Or the Rib Cage. I love the Rib Cage food. I could probably eat a barbecue quesadilla from there every day. It sounds awful, but I could do it.
