Sophomore Kristin Cummins, the leading scorer for the Longhorns with five goals on the season, was named Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week. She scored a hat trick for UT last week in their 4–3 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Cummins, a Texas native, graduated from Lewisville High School in three years.
“I decided that I would focus on school and play on the club team. I also trained at a center called Paradigm back home,” Cummins said. “So I was there for a majority of the week. So it was just really hard for me to incorporate [high school soccer] too.”
Cummins has no regrets about graduating early.
“I couldn’t imagine just coming [to UT] this year. But it was hard not being with my friends in my graduating class,” she said. “But at the same time they were very supportive and they all really wanted me to do what I wanted to do.”
While she may make it seem easy, Cummins admits that it’s not easy to balance soccer and academics. She said the sport is a huge time commitment and that ultimately school comes first.
Cummins, a government major, plans on attending law school either at Texas or a school on the West Coast.
“I’ve thought about playing professionally but you never know how that goes. There is nothing that says that I can’t tear my ACL tomorrow,” she said.
Head coach Chris Petrucelli said Cummins was a little immature when she began soccer at Texas.
“Her first year, she was obviously a young player. At times freshman year you could see that. But she has matured very quickly,” Petrucelli said. “She is not a young player anymore and she has really stepped up her game. She looks like a mature player now.”
Cummins said her goal for this year is to continue scoring. She said winning the Big 12, making it to the Final Four and winning the national championship are among her goals.
Despite being only a sophomore, Petrucelli said he continues to be impressed with Cummins’s hardworking attitude.
“Her work ethic is inspiring to other players. There is more to her than scoring goals. She sets a good example for her team,” Petrucelli said.
