One of the most valuable traits an athlete can possess is the ability to perform in the clutch. That what turns the Michael Jordans of the world from stars into superstars, thrusts the Christian Laettners and Adam Vinatieris into the spotlight, and, most notably, makes Emory men’s soccer star Dylan Price a force to be reckoned with on the field.
After scoring the first goal in both of the Eagles’ last two wins–shutouts over Birmingham Southern College and Millsaps College–Price has run his career total of game-winning goals to seven, good for sixth-place in program history. The sophomore forward has already knocked in the game-winner in each of the Eagles’ five victories this season, placing himself in tie for the third most in a season, even with United Athletic Association (UAA) play yet to begin.
“I definitely always want to be someone that can get the job done when it matters,” Price said.
Price’s knack for putting the ball in the net isn’t limited to crunch time. He scored his first collegiate goal in a 2011 loss to Roanoke College and never looked back, leading the Eagles with seven goals in his freshman campaign while finishing second on the team with 15 points.
The two most dramatic of these were both “golden goals,” coming in the overtime periods of deadlocked games against Covenant College and New York University on October 5th and October 30th, respectively. Price was only the fourth Emory player of all time to record multiple golden goals in one season.
For his efforts, Price was named Honorable Mention all-UAA and got placed on the Roanoke Invitational All-Tournament Team.
He has started off this season hot as well. After notching his first career hat trick against Birmingham Southern and adding goals against Millsaps and Sewanee, Price has already topped his freshman year totals with 17 points and eight goals with more than half the season yet to play.
Price also leads the Eagles with 41 shots, 20 of which were on goal. He is tied for the team lead in both points and goals.
Price believes that his improvements as a sophomore are mainly a result of added confidence and increased time on the field.
“Just having more confidence and experience helps a lot,” he said. “Freshman year is always tough. You don’t necessarily realize what you can do until you have a year under your belt.”
Price’s success at Emory was preceded by a four-year run on the Langley High School (Va.) soccer team, where he served as a captain from his sophomore year onward. He earned all-district and all-region honors in 2010 before being named region and district Player of the Year as a senior, along with beingnamed to the all-state team in recognition of a dominant campaign in which he tallied 18 goals and 10 assists.
His soccer career started at the age of five, though it took him a while to recognize his passion for the game.
“I wasn’t very good when I was younger,” Price said. “I realized in middle school that this was something I wanted to do in college.”
Soccer, it turns out, would play a large role in his decision to become an Eagle.
“Soccer was what led me here,” Price said. “I was looking at schools to play soccer at, and I realized [Emory] was my favorite. It’s a great school.”
Price excels off the field as well as on. He plans to enter the Goizueta Business School for his junior year and pursue a co-major in Business and Russian. In his spare time he enjoys relaxing and playing sports with his friends, but, as he notes, “soccer takes up a lot of time.”
Price’s peers and teammates are quick to describe him as a role model on the team, even as a sophomore.
“He says what he wants to when he wants to, and really gets the team pumped up,” senior defender and co-captain David Garofalo said.
Garofalo also cited Price’s consistent effort.
“He’s an incredibly hard worker,” he said. “Off the field, he’s just a great kid.”
Having already topped his numbers from last season, Price has his eyes set on a much different prize in 2012–a UAA title.
“As a team, we definitely want to win the UAA,” Price said. “We’ve got a great team. I’m good friends with a lot of them. There’s a real team attitude towards everything we do. Individually I just want to keep being effective, keep scoring goals, and do what I can to help the team win.”
With UAA play fast approaching, the Eagles host University of Chicago this Saturday in their conference opener. The team will be looking to Price for his clutch play and leadership more than ever.
–By Ryan Smith
The Emory Wheel was founded in 1919 and is currently the only independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University. The Wheel publishes weekly on Wednesdays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions.
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