For the Cunningham siblings of Arlington, the 2024 fall college sports seasons couldn’t have been more different.
Senior midfielder Caitlin Cunningham, a Washington-Liberty High School graduate, played every match for the Division I George Washington University women’s soccer team and enjoyed one of her best college seasons.
During her three seasons for George Washington, Cunningham started 37 of the 42 games she played. She scored two goals and took 24 shots. She started every game as a junior and senior.
Prior to George Washington, Cunningham played two seasons at Marquette University, participating in 11 matches.
Junior wide receiver/kick returner Mason Cunningham suffered a serious right-knee injury during a preseason game for the Division III Hampden-Sydney College football squad and didn’t play any games during the 2024 campaign.
Cunningham, a Yorktown High School graduate, was a big standout during his first two seasons for Hampden-Sydney, catching 138 passes for 1,451 yards and scoring 13 receiving touchdowns. He also was the team’s top punt-returner.
Cunningham was a first-team Old Dominion Athletic Conference selection as a freshman and sophomore, as well as the conference Rookie of the Year as a freshman.
At Yorktown, Cunningham was a three-sport standout in football, basketball and soccer, and never was seriously injured. That changed when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in addition to having meniscus damage in that right knee during a preseason game last year.
Cunningham’s recovery is progressing. He hopes to be 100% by the time preseason workouts begin later this year.
“The recovery has been a long process and is going well,” Cunningham told ARLnow. “It was a big mental battle at first not being able to play, because I had never missed any playing time like that before. Maybe just a couple of days or something.”
By missing the entire 2024 campaign, Cunningham still has two full seasons of eligibility remaining. He plans to play two more seasons.
“I am really motivated to get back, return and play again,” Cunningham said. “I missed not playing.”
