SOCCER PHENOM MUNOZ PUTS HER BEST FOOT FORWARD
Published on September 09, 2003
BY MATT REUTER
Just two games into the
women's soccer season, first-year striker Shannon Munoz is already proving
herself a major contributor to the team's early efforts. She assisted on
Columbia's first goal in a 2-1 victory over Fordham on Sunday and provided
an important attacking presence in both games.
"Shannon's a workhorse up top. She's always working to win the ball and get it forward," said senior captain Tara Davis about her budding teammate.
Munoz hails from the Southern California town of Coto de Caza, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. She played three years on her high school's varsity soccer team, the Santa Margarita Eagles, and nine years on a local club team, the Southern California Blues.
"Soccer's brought so many things to my life that I wouldn't otherwise get a chance to do," Munoz said. These include forming friendships with teammates, traveling to tournaments across the country, and even going to Brazil to compete as part of an American Olympic development team.
Munoz's teams were also highly successful; she played on two Division III state championship teams with her school's team and saw her club team's ranking rise as high as second in the country. Coming to Columbia was a major adjustment for Munoz. She moved from teams that routinely won major championships to one where championship success is far more elusive, passing up scholarships to top collegiate soccer programs in the process. Adjusting to the play of fellow members of the team proved more jarring.
"I played with the same girls on club for nine years then had to adapt to 23 strangers with 23 different ways of playing in two weeks," Munoz said.
The annual graduation of team members will preclude the kind of constancy that Munoz enjoyed on her club team. However, Munoz found that the large number of first-years (nine out of 24 total players) made the adjustment process easier and more enjoyable. She and fellow first-years came out of the preseason feeling integrated into the team, she said.
Munoz loves every minute of playing soccer at Columbia, saying it "brings the best of both worlds. I love being part of the life and energy of the city, and playing soccer in New York City is a huge bonus."
Competing for Columbia also enables Munoz to balance a strong academic curriculum with soccer, something she feels would be impossible at a top-tier soccer school.
On the field, Munoz excels as a striker--a player who frequently attacks the goal and attempts to score. Her speed and dribbling skills, coupled with similar abilities in fellow first-year striker Cassie Hamar, give the Lions a formidable presence near the opposing goal.
Munoz said she finds the striker position exciting "because you get to be next to the goal and try to make things happen." She also said she doesn't shy away from pressure to score tying or winning goals.
Munoz's presence on the women's soccer team has impressed those around her. Davis noted that Munoz says little on the field and in the locker room, but her relentless physical energy and desire to win every ball reverberates throughout the team.
Women's soccer head coach Kevin McCarthy said he sees Munoz as a fine example of this year's recruiting class, a player who "combines her talent with a willingness to work very hard." Munoz said she feels her years of soccer have given her an excellent grounding for performing in that other position Ivy League athletes must fill--the role of student.
"The lessons you learn in soccer can be applied to all areas of life, including discipline, teamwork, and work rate," Munoz said. With these lessons in mind, Munoz said she is prepared for her future years as a soccer player at Columbia.
"Soccer's brought me this far in life, and I'm really excited to see where the next four years will take us as a team," she said.
Munoz and the women's soccer team next take on Army tonight at home, followed by weekend matches against Florida International and Miami. The team's record stands at 1-1 after a loss to Colgate and a win against Fordham last weekend.