GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!
Nothing beats striking the ball cleanly and putting it past the keeper, and no one knows that feeling better than Lindsay Cunningham '09.
After scoring two goals in her last three games, the Cumberland native sat down to talk to talk some (real) football as our Athlete of the Week.
Herald: Last Sunday, in a game versus Army, you scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute. How does it feel to score a game-winner?
Cunningham: There's nothing like scoring a game-winning goal, especially late in the game. The score was tied 1-1, and scoring that goal was pretty exciting.
After making a tough putt, Tiger Woods does a fist pump. After making a sack, Michael Strahan pretends to take a jump shot. What does Lindsay Cunningham do after scoring a goal?
Good question. I don't think I really have any trademark. I just celebrate with the team. Everyone's pretty excited when we score.
You've never choreographed anything?
No, I haven't.
I've got a couple of ideas that I'm going throw at you, if you don't mind. What if you take the ball out of the net after you score, and pretend to do CPR on it?
(Laughs.) Sounds pretty good.
Okay, how about this? You run to the corner flag, pick it up, and use it to stake the ball to the ground.
Are you serious? People do this?
No, I was just trying to be creative.
I'm not that outgoing, per se, so I don't think I'll be doing anything like that.
How did you get started playing soccer?
My dad put me in a recreational town league. We played co-ed - it was terrible.
Did your dad play soccer?
Yeah, he played soccer, too. He's from Scotland.
What's your favorite part about playing soccer?
I think my favorite part is just being part of a team. We're like a family. We eat every meal together, we basically live together and it's great to know that once the season starts, you have 32 best friends. It's pretty sweet.
What's the best part about playing at Brown?
The Brown team? Besides the fact that we're really close, I'd say that everyone is willing to work really hard at practice, at the games, in the classroom. The whole team is just really hardworking, and it's a good atmosphere to be part of.
Now, you're from Cumberland. How does it feel to be going to school so close to home?
I'm really glad that I got to go to school so close to home. My parents come to every game, my grandparents come to every game. It's nice to know that my family can come see me play easily, and it's nice to be able to go home when you want to.
What do you hope to do after you graduate?
That's a good question. The (women's) pro league is starting up again in 2008, which would be really cool. I don't really know how that's going to work, but I would like to defer real-life-like scenarios for awhile. I'll probably go into investments or banking or something like that.
