Majestics’ Moss: Always moving forward

It takes a referee's whistle to slow Kimmy Moss down.

And even then, the Northern Virginia Majestics' 20-year-old midfielder isn't likely to stand still. On game days, she is in constant motion—racing from one end of the soccer field to the other in a quest to control possession of the ball.

Keeping up with her is no simple task, either.

Moss has built up so much stamina with aerobics training and middle distance workouts for the George Mason University track team that she can basically run for hours.

So 90 minutes on a turf field essentially translates into an all-out sprint.

"She certainly is a 90-minute player. Playing in this heat on these large fields, there aren't a lot of players who can stay in for 90. She's just very fit and very ath-letic," Majestics coach Jac Cicala said. "And her versatility gives us a chance to play her at [midfield] or up top.

"I put a lot of pressure on my flank middies to do recovery work and she's one of the few people who can maintain that for a 90-minute pace."

As she prepares for her junior season at George Mason, Moss is using her time on the field this summer to create new endurance levels.

"As I've been in college, I feel like I've evolved into a player with more of an attacking mindset," she said. "I just can't get enough of attacking. I just want to go, go, go, go, go."

Even when she's back on defense—her primary position at Mason—Moss finds herself preferring to "push forward."

The surprised reactions she gets from opposing defenders are often a reward in themselves.

Goals are nice, too. But Moss has grown so much as a player over the past six seasons that her style of play works no matter where she is on the field.

"It's exhilarating to get up the field when you're a defender. Nobody expects you to be up there, you're just flying up the field and it's sort of like a little surprise attack," Moss said. "When I was younger, playing with my travel team [the Braddock Road Fury] it was enough for me to take on the best forward on the other team and try to shut her down. I loved that.

"I was so content with defense," she said. "But as I moved into high school, I started playing center mid and all of a sudden I started getting this attacking mindset."

In four seasons at Broad Run, Moss had 12 goals and 47 assists as the Spartans qualified for three Group AA state tournaments. She earned all-state honors for the first time as a sophomore and coach Claire Collins facilitated her star player's transition from stopper to playmaker by encouraging her to push the ball toward the net.

"She supported me and pushed me in the right way so I could really grow as a player," Moss said. "I appreciate all she did for me. She gave me confidence to start taking people on when I'd only played defense before."

Moss never backs down these days.

She started all 19 games during her sophomore season at Mason and wound up with two game-winning goals—one in overtime to beat Hartford, 1-0, and another in the Patriots' 2-1 tri-umph over James Madison.

Moss also had two assists in a 9-1 victory over Howard and she's carried that aggressive approach with her to the Majestics.

In her first season in the W-League, she is second on the team in minutes played with 647 and has learned even more about moving the ball in transition from Cicala, who coached the women's program for 12 seasons at George Mason and once led the Lake Braddock boys' soccer team to four state championships.

"Jac's been good for me because he gives me a lot of instruction and I can work with it right away," said Moss, who is still seeking her initial W-League goal.

"I feel like I'm right on the cusp of learning how to finish now. Now that I'm attacking, I'm starting to take ownership of my role as an outside mid. I want to put some points on the board. I want to score so bad, so every game I'm trying to shoot as much as I can and set up my teammates. I know a goal is coming. It's right there."