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2004
The Consummate Team Player
by Jeremy Ruane
 If there are two words which best sum up Priscilla Duncan, they are these - team player. The New Zealand women’s soccer star is a real rarity in this day and age, being someone who much prefers savouring the successes of the teams in which she is involved than someone who seeks individual glories.
"Being captain of Epsom Girls Grammar School when we won the 2000 National Secondary Schoolgirls Tournament, and being named MVP when Ellerslie won the Uncle Toby’s Final the following year were special", says the talented midfield general, "because they were achieved in the process of helping those teams achieve their objectives.
"But I generally don’t pay too much attention to individual honours which come my way. While it’s obviously nice to be recognised for being good at something you enjoy, realising your goals as part of a team is more fulfilling to me".
Sadly for this immensely gifted young star, team triumphs have been few and far between in her career to date, with the aforementioned honours being the only occasions when she has enjoyed being part of a title-winning side on the national stage.
The individual honours she has amassed, however, indicate hers is a pretty special footballing talent - you don’t get to be named New Zealand International Young Player of the Year in consecutive seasons (2002 and 2003), and Auckland Young Player of the Year (2001) without possessing that all-important ‘X factor’ which sets you apart from your peers.
It’s something Priscilla has in abundance, although she’s far too modest to admit it! She is as adept at the defence-splitting pass and the bone-jarring tackle as she is the surging run and powerful long-range shot - little wonder Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is one of her favourite players.
 "I watched The Reds a lot when I was younger, and have stayed loyal to them", says the six-times-capped international, who began her football career fifteen years ago. "I was really interested in it. I didn’t have anyone I knew who was involved in the game, but I said to my parents when I was six that I wanted to play soccer.
"At the time, we lived in Wellington, so I joined the Waterside Karori club - my dad, Alex, was one of my coaches there".
Not long afterwards, the Duncan family moved to
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Auckland. "I joined the Eden club, and came under Barbara Cox’s guidance, while playing with the boys till I was thirteen. After that, I opted to play for my school, Epsom Girls Grammar, and we competed in the Northern League Second Division during the 1990s, as well as the schools competition".
Simon Henson was Priscilla’s coach at EGGS, as the school is fondly known, and she was one of a number of players who followed him to Ellerslie, on whose books she has been ever since. Meanwhile, rep honours came her way at both Under-17 and Under-19 levels for Auckland and New Zealand, along with the biggest break of her career to date.
"Life at Southwest Baptist University in Missouri is certainly challenging. I’m majoring in history, with a communications minor. I’m quite interested in journalism, and newspaper writing in particular.
"One of the best post-graduate courses for this is at Missouri State University. I would like to go there, and definitely want to come back here and study further once I have completed my scholarship".
The academic aspects of the US scholarships which an increasing number of our women’s players are taking up are very important - they don’t head Stateside simply for the football, although that is unquestionably a big part of the attraction.
"It’s certainly good fun", says Priscilla, "and I’m learning a lot about the game. I’ve never met someone who knows as much about soccer as our coach, Pete McGovern - he’s been particularly helpful with my defensive game.
"We’re a good bunch of girls, heading towards the same goal - contesting the national finals. At the moment, we’re still building towards that goal, through a mix of training and friendlies - our actual competition season is short but quite intense, from August to November".
The talents of this twenty-year-old - she turns twenty-one in May - aren’t confined to fields of footballing or academic pursuits. She’s also musically inclined, with singing abilities complimenting her guitar- and piano-playing prowess.
"I like to do anything outdoors as well, but the conditions aren’t the greatest in Missouri for that sort of thing. Back home, though, I’ll happily go tramping, camping, skiing, down to the beach …"
The Bic Runga fan also has a fair idea of what she wants to do after completing her degree. "I’ll go travelling for certain, before settling in New Zealand and establishing a career for myself. That said, I might yet continue the law degree I started in Auckland".
Those plans could change, however, if this midfield dynamo, who loves lollies, Thai and Indian cuisine, continues her current rate of progress on the football field. "If the opportunity arises, I’d like to play professionally, be it in China, Japan or Europe - the chance to experience life elsewhere is something which really appeals to me".
Meanwhile, Priscilla, who names Brad Pitt and Meg Ryan as her favourite actors, wants to be an integral part of the national team in the years to come. "I want to help the younger players come through and be part of the squad which gets to the Women’s World Cup Finals and the Olympic Games - that would be the biggest thrill of all, for all of us".
On that note, no-one could possibly disagree with the outstandingly talented Priscilla Duncan, the consummate team player.
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