Soccer
Favorite athlete: Julie Ertz
Favorite team: US Women’s National Team
Favorite memory: Winning state finals against our rivals
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that happened while competing in sports: Running up for a head ball and completely whiffing it.
Music on mobile device: Taylor Swift
Future plans: Go to college at either ESU or Eastern University for exercise science
Words to live by: “Strive for excellence and success will follow.”
One goal before turning 30: Go on a missions trip or have a stable job
One thing people don’t know about me: I love paddle boarding and hiking
Miranda Kullmann's physical therapist told her to take a walk.
Eight months after tearing her right ACL, all Kullmann wanted to do was get back on a soccer field and play again. However, she couldn't complete a strength test that would clear her to get back for her junior season at Souderton. Sensing she was capable of it, her therapist told her to take a walk, clear her head and try again.
Settling back into the weight machine, Kullman nailed it.
"I actually failed the test twice, the first time I just failed it and the second time was a month later," Kullmann said. "I just couldn't lift it, I was getting all upset and I got up frustrated. He told me to take a walk and come back. He was about to fail me again, but I got back on the machine and cleared the weight three times.
"It was a turning point for me in realizing it's all a mental thing. You have to have the mindset of knowing you can do it, and if you don't think you can, then get into the mindset that you're going to at least try."
There are a couple things that immediately stand out about Kullmann, who just capped her career at Souderton by helping the Indians win their first state title in the history of the girls' soccer program.
First, the tenacity with which she plays the center back position. Few players around are as strong making tackles as Kullmann.
Second is her energy. Her passion for the game pours out in droves as she charges at an attacking player, determined to take the ball away from them.
Third, and most defining, is the way the senior just refuses to ever give up, even after losing most of her freshman year and all of her sophomore year to knee injuries.
"Something that I hope someone can take away from me is to just never give up," Kullmann said. "There might be games you don't think you did well or a girl may have beat you, but you just keep trying and if you see something you didn't do well, ask yourself what can I do better. If you keep going at it and going hard, you'll get there."
Souderton coach Lindsy Jones couldn't have asked for much more from Kullmann this fall. Her play on the field spoke for itself, but there was so much more the senior offered that aided the Indians on their run to a state title.
"It's something that comes from her - she's the type of person that will never give up," Jones said. "She just has this fire within. She's a tough girl and gives 100 percent in everything. She didn't see those knee injuries as a chance to be down on herself. She said 'I have two more years left and I'm going to make the most of them,' and to me, that says a lot about the type of person she is."
For Jones, the defining Kullmann moment was the off-the-cuff pregame speech the senior defender made prior to the District I 4A title game against Conestoga. Kullmann said she didn't have anything planned but took inspiration from a pretty famous source.
The defender laughed about it, noting that Souderton ended up losing the district title game in overtime, but it was her way of giving some clarity to what proved to be the midway point of a remarkable postseason run.
"I did my best Jason Kelce speech like the Eagles," Kullmann said, still laughing. "I kind of pointed out our flaws throughout the season but said 'look where we are now.' That was the moment - we got to the district final and no one expected that for our team. For everything I pointed out, I said, ‘Look where we are now, it's insane,’ and I think every girl could feel it. It was electric, really."
Growing up with three sports-obsessed older brothers meant Kullmann never had a chance to be introverted or quiet. Everything was a competition, and watching her brothers compete, mainly in soccer and baseball, made Kullmann want to follow in their steps.
While her brothers put most of their energy into baseball, Kullmann wanted to go down a different path. She played basketball and ran track through middle school, but track was too individual so she opted to pursue soccer all-in.
"I wanted to do my own thing," Kullmann said. "I needed the whole aspect of a team being a family, trusting each other and working together to get a win. That was where I saw soccer being what I was most interested in."
*****
Kullmann's passion and determination as a freshman caught the attention of Souderton’s coaching staff. Any time the team did one-on-one drills, Kullmann tried to put herself up against a senior or one of the team's best players, knowing even if she lost the drill she'd come out of it with a good lesson.
Fueled by years of competing with her brothers, Kullmann showed plenty of potential.
"She played a few games freshman year and I could tell she was very talented so we knew she'd be a varsity player when she was ready to come back," said Jones, the jayvee coach at the time.
Unfortunately for Kullmann, it would be a couple years before she got a chance to follow up on those flashes of potential.
In the first half of her freshman year, the defender partially tore the ACL in her right knee, sidelining her for the rest of the season. Surgery wasn't needed, so Kullmann instead embarked on a six-month rehab that could get her back for club soccer and her sophomore year.
Again, fate intervened. In the first week of preseason her sophomore year, Kullmann re-injured the same knee, this time completely tearing the ligament, putting her on the shelf again and this time requiring surgery and a more intense rehabilitation process.
"It showed me how strong I could be and how determined you need to be to get back,” Kullmann said. “Everybody can see themselves succeeding, and even when I was injured the first time, I could see myself back on the field. Of course, I could picture that success, but what was going to get me there was trying my best in everything I do."
Kullmann had no doubt she was going to come out of rehab stronger and no doubt she'd be back for her junior year.
Defenders have to be tough by nature. It’s how they step into a tackle and expect to win the ball, so Kullmann was undaunted by the challenge in front of her. But it's still a long road for even the most determined, and the senior got to see just what she was made of.
Motivation wasn't a problem. A tough day or a taxing rehab session only prompted Kullmann to ask "what more can I be doing?" Any talk of her coming back a lesser player after two major injuries only pushed her to work harder, and she re-directed any frustrations into a push to do more.
Kullmann knew she wouldn't be the exact same player, but if she was coming back different, she was going to be the best version she could be of that player.
After passing that final strength test on her knee, Kullmann was finally able to get back on the field. Her return was well-timed as Souderton's defense had just graduated some key players and needed players to step in.
"Part of having a successful team is you don't mold everyone to be the same,” Jones aid. “What you do is allow them to be themselves and find the right place that allows them to do that.
"The way she plays - she's meant for that position. You need someone who's aggressive, not afraid to tackle hard."
The defender did come back a different player, but in a good way. Kullmann, who doesn’t think she lost any speed, returned to the pitch a much stronger and more physical player and also much more confident in herself.
She caught a bit of a break with her injury in that it involved only her ACL, so she didn’t need any kind of brace coming back.
"I not only didn't need the brace, but I didn't want my brace," Kullmann said. "I didn't want my performance to be judged because my injury happened. I wanted to just be judged on my performance."
Jones used the word positive to sum up Kullmann's attitude around the team. The senior, who was given the Spirit Award at the team's season-ending banquet, wanted her teammates to find the same passion she thrived on.
"She'd get into that zone, you'd see the furrow in her brow and the intensity would come flowing out," Jones said. "We didn't see a lot of it early in the season and we were missing that. We were too relaxed, so she started bringing it a lot more. She'd keep it to herself, but as she got more confident in herself, it spread to the rest of the team.
"She's so goofy too, she's just so funny. It was really nice to have that side of her come out as well."
It didn't take long for Kullmann to face a test on the field, and when the center back came out of her first hard tackle intact, she knew she was back. Her mentality is to acknowledge what happened but never to dwell on it, and it hasn't slowed her down.
The senior acknowledged she's gotten a bit more adventurous with her defending this year, developing an affinity for slide tackles. She added the move to her arsenal and is getting pretty good at it, even if it does cause a few grimaces in the stands.
"Myself and Sara Readinger - we always talk about slide tackles and everyone else on my team can't figure out how I don't get called for fouls on slide tackles because I go in straight on,” Kullmann said. “That feeling, sliding in and clearing the ball or hitting it away, I can't express it. I love it, but my mom doesn't like it when I do them."
Enthusiasm is infectious, and Kullmann remembered that when any of her teammates would get fired up over a play or have an extra bit of energy pregame, she always seemed to play better. While she didn't wear a captain's armband, Kullmann was very much a leader for Souderton and one of the team's loudest voices.
Jones loved the way Kullmann let her passion drive her play, but the coaches did have to remind the senior to make sure she was channeling that energy productively.
"There were times we had to reign her back a little bit," the Indians’ coach said with a laugh. "But you don't want to do that too much, it's her style. You embrace it and work with it, because it's something you absolutely love to have in a center back especially coming from someone like that."
Souderton's defense was nearly impenetrable all season. The Indians shut out 17 opponents, a number that included five scoreless draws. They earned their last shutout in the final game of the season when they held rival Pennridge goal-less in the state title game in Hershey.
For Kullmann and the rest of the defense, which included senior keeper Lindsey Pazdziorko, seniors Kailee and Sam Harwick, juniors Darby Kramer and Payton Carroll and sophomore Gianna Natale, it was a mark of immense pride. Kullmann gave special thanks to Kailee Harwick, her center back partner, for being so sound in coverage and allowing her to be more aggressive with her challenges.
"It's insane, there was a quote in one of the articles that called us the unsung heroes and it was amazing being a part of it," Kullmann said. "I really can't express how much pride I have in the girls and we wouldn't have won without any of them, we worked so well as a defensive unit."
*****
Kullmann plans to play in college and is currently weighing offers from East Stroudsburg and Eastern.
The senior is also a member of Souderton's Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a group she says that has also been a major influence.
"That club gives you hope. Throughout my high school career, it's what I was searching for," Kullmann said. "I was always searching for strength, being the best I could be and hope, and that club exerts it."
Kullmann's walked a long path during her time at Souderton, a path that included her crucial lap around a rehab facility, but there's no doubt it was worth the final destination. No matter how many more years she plays or where else she goes, Kullmann will always be a part of Souderton's first state championship team.
"Every time I say it, it still feels unreal and feels like a dream," Kullmann said. "Through everything, coming back from my injuries, the feeling doesn't get old. I'm so happy to be part of the group of girls we did it with and we really were a family through the entire ride. It's my senior year and to top it off that way, it's just incredible."
