A dedicated and versatile midfielder, sophomore Priscilla Fite has contributed heavily to the Longhorns overall success in each of the last two seasons. Her tremendous skill and relentless work ethic have made her an impact player on both ends of the field for UT. This Irving, Texas, native recently sat down to go from A to Z with TexasSports.com.
A is for April Fool's
If you have recently read teammate Christy Perkins' "20 Questions" feature, you will know that last April Fool's an elaborate and widely-coordinated prank was played on teammate Carrie Schmit. One of the co-conspirators of the plan was roommate Priscilla, who says that the prank was supposed to be executed on her as well, but she was too essential to the plan to be one of the prankees (yes I just made that word up). Priscilla played her part by turning off Carrie's cell phone, setting forward all clocks in their room, allowing their teammates to somehow bungee her and Carrie's door to the door across the hall without Carrie noticing, and even running downstairs to the lobby in a pretend frenzy at what Carrie thought was 8:30 in the morning (in actuality, it was 6:30 a.m.). Now, that's dedication!
B for Bend it Like Beckham
Priscilla is the missing cast member of "Bend it Like Beckham." Don't think so? Consider the evidence: aside from the obvious being that she is a soccer player, her favorite team is the England National Team, her older brother Ben is living in London at the moment and last but not least, her favorite soccer player is none other than England's favorite pretty boy, I mean athlete, David Beckham the namesake of the movie title.
C is for Cowboy
Cowboy is the name of Priscilla's lovable, but slightly aggressive beagle/red heeler. Priscilla thinks Cowboy the canine is about eight or nine years old and looks like a cow except his spots are reddish-brown. He likes to capture and kill intruding wild animals and bring the prize victim to Priscilla. One time, Priscilla heard Cowboy barking and thought maybe he was trying to protect their family from a possible intruder. After the barking subsided, Cowboy bounced up to Priscilla proudly with an object in his mouth, which turned out to be his latest victim and intruder a dead possum. I apologize if you were eating when you read that.
D is for Divine Divan
While Priscilla does like to bake chocolate chip cookies from time to time, she leaves the cooking up to mom. Her favorite homemade Mom-meal is Mrs. Fite's version of Chicken Divan. A layer of seasoned rice on the bottom, plump, tender chicken (or turkey) on top of the rice, and to top it off, a layer of fresh broccoli and melted cheese. Sounds heavenly.
E is for ER
Priscilla is majoring in biology/pre-med right now kind of crazy and inspiring considering she is playing collegiate soccer at the same time. In just a few short years (like 10), Priscilla will realize her dream of becoming a doctor and she says she wants to try the ER, but hears it can be a little stressful. I think Dr. Carter and the rest of the "ER" gang would probably have to agree.
F is for The Fight in Fite
Fite's favorite quote is "What matters is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog." She does not know who said it, but it's quite fitting considering the feisty, hard-working player is only 5' 4" herself.
G is for Gaylord a.k.a. Greg Focker
In every great Ben Stiller movie, there is always a name or quote to be remembered. Priscilla loves "Meet the Parents" and Ben's portrayal of Gaylord a.k.a. Greg Focker, a charming and sweet but clumsy and most unfortunate man who accompanies his girlfriend on a trip every guy fears to meet the parents. One of Priscilla's favorite scenes is at the very end when Mr. Byrnes, played by Goodfella Robert DeNiro, finds some video footage of Focker yelling fervently while doing a bad karate move "Check my pulse on this question Jack, do I think you're psycho? YES. I just have one last question and it's - Can you deal with that?!"
H is for High School Standout
As a senior at MacArthur High School in 2002-03, Priscilla was recognized as one of the top high school players in the state of Texas by garnering Gatorade State Player of the Year honors.
I is for Irving, Texas
What do you know, people don't just go to Irving for football. Priscilla's favorite aspect of her hometown is simply that it is home. She values family time and loves to see her mom, dad and two brothers, Ben and Phillip. Priscilla says because she is closer in age with her younger brother Phillip, they used to bicker a lot when they were kids. Older brother Ben would of course always come to Priscilla's rescue. Poor Phillip.
J is for Just Don't Cry
Whatever you do, don't ever start crying around Priscilla. Not only do movies and music make her cry, even just hearing someone around her cry sets off the waterworks in Priscilla.
K is for Keeping the Faith
Priscilla's faith is extremely important to her. She knows that even on the worse days in soccer, she can always turn to God and rely on her faith to put things in perspective. She tries to always see the big picture.
L is for Left Lane Violators
Just because Priscilla is a sweet and religious girl, doesn't mean she is never bothered by anything. Her biggest pet peeve is when people drive slow in the left lane. C'mon it's the FAST lane people; didn't we all take driver's ed?!
M is for Mandy On My Plane
Newsflash: Yet another celebrity sighting occurs near a soccer player and a plane. While waiting to board the plane to Texas on her way back from a tournament in San Diego, Priscilla noticed a very familiar face sitting right next to her. It was none other than the multi-gifted singer/actress (and Andy Roddick's ex) Mandy Moore. Priscilla asked for an autograph and the very gracious Moore willingly obliged.
N is for North Carolina
Domination Priscilla says in her opinion, the most dominant team of all-time is the North Carolina Women's Soccer Program. After conducting a little research of my own, I am forced to agree with her. Heading into the 2004-05 season, the Tar Heels had posted a 559-21-19 record and 18 National Championships the most in any ACC men's or women's athletics program. Not impressive enough for you? The Tar Heels also boast alumni among the likes of Kristine Lilly, a member of the 1996 Gold Medal United States National Team, Carla Overbeck, co-captain of the 1999 United States World Cup Team which captured the gold medal and perhaps the most famous soccer player of all-time Mia Hamm who led the Tar Heels during her UNC career to a 92-1-2 record and four NCAA titles in '89, '90, '92 and '93.
O is for H2O
Did your parents ever tell you that if you cross your eyes for too long that they will eventually remain crossed, and now you still don't do it even though you know it's not true? Well, Mr. Fite told his daughter when she was learning to swallow pills, to sit up to where her upper body was at a 90-degree angle to her lower body and have plenty of H2O on hand to wash that little pill down her throat or else. She still does it to this day.
P is for Prisca
Unless you are thoroughly familiar with Christianity, you may not know that Priscilla's name came from the name Prisca - the given name of one of the earliest evangelists of Jesus Christ, according to the Bible. Apparently Prisca's name is almost always listed in front of her husband Aquila's causing many biblical scholars to take this as indication that Priscilla was more important than her husband in those early decades. You also may not know that Priscilla's dad wanted to name her Prisca, but thankfully Priscilla's mom put her foot down and declined her husband's kind nomination on behalf of their infant daughter.
Q is for Quiet
Priscilla is known among family, friends, teammates and pretty much anyone who has ever met her to be a little on the quiet side. She says however, when people get to know her, she tends to well, still be quiet.
R is for "Recess"
As in the ABC Saturday morning cartoon not the playground time we all secretly miss. If Priscilla could be a character in any cartoon, she would choose to be in "Recess" and play the part of the spunky, feisty and athletic Spinelli, "The Enforcer." Quite a departure from the normally peaceful presence Priscilla exudes.
S is for Sandy Beaches
Spinelli (see "R") wants her honeymoon to be somewhere warm with sandy beaches, a view of the deep blue ocean and a hammock to rest in. Oh and someone to share it all with would be nice too.
T is for A Tale of Two Cities
Well actually it's just one city Austin. Priscilla loves that ATX is like two cities country and city rolled into one. On any given Sunday, Priscilla can be found relaxing by the lake, hiking and exploring the sprawling hills of Austin or trying out a new restaurant with friends in this truly unique Texas city.
U for MULAN
One of Priscilla's favorite Disney films is "Mulan," which stars the voices of Eddie Murphy and Ming-Na (now Dr. Chen on "ER") and tells the legendary tale of a young girl who risks her life to save her father's life and her country by posing as a man and enlisting in the national army. Great family fun.
V for Veterinarian Saves the Day
When Priscilla was five, she accidentally (well why would anyone do this on purpose) stepped on a needle and it went into her foot backwards. She screamed "Ouch" and eventually had to get stitches. When the stitches were ready to come out, she had her uncle who just so happens to be a veterinarian take out the stitches for her. With her people doctor's permission of course.
W for Wakeboarding Teammate
Kristen Teter and Priscilla have a little somethin' in common they both love to wakeboard. To the unfamiliar, myself included, wakeboarding is a form of waterskiing in which both feet are attached to a board that resembles a cross between a water ski and a kneeboard. Wakeboards allow riders to lift off the wake making a multitude of tricks possible. Wakeboarding was also referred to as "Skurfing" in the early years of the sport.
X for Xcuse my Nidge
Eh? Well, when Priscilla first stepped onto the Forty Acres last year, her coaches and teammates decided she needed a nickname because Priscilla was simply too long a name to yell out on the field. So Teter came up with "Pidge," which the team immediately adopted. Later on, teammate Ashley Foster came up with "Pidge my Nidge," which really has no significance other than the fact that it rhymes.
Y for Yo Adrian!
You will probably never find Pidge quoting "Rocky," because her favorite actor is the multi-talented romantic comedy buff Tom Hanks. While she cannot pinpoint a favorite Hanks film (there are just too many), she says she admires the two-time Oscar winner for his versatility and ability to adapt to any role.
Z for RiZZo
Just to clarify I'm talking Mike Eruzione "Rizzo," not Stockard Channing's "Rizzo." Pidge says her favorite sports movie of all-time is "Miracle," because Rizzo and team were so inspiring to watch on the silver screen. In fact, on the way to playing the Aggies for the first time this year, the soccer team watched "Miracle" for a little inspiration. Unfortunately, the Longhorns did not record a win that night, but like the 1980 U.S. hockey team, they continued to work hard and are now headed to the third round of the NCAA Soccer Championships for the first time in school history. Hook 'em Horns!
