Bowie High Grad Simms Quickly Carving Out 'A Very Significant Role' for Miami's Soccer Team

Watching Maddie Simms play during the Elite Clubs National League event in mid-July, Tom Anagnost says it was easy to see why Simms was such a high priority recruit for Tricia Taliafero and the University of Miami’s previous coaching regime.

Anagnost replaced Taliafero as the Hurricanes’ head coach following last season.

Simms, who starred as a forward at Bowie High School for four seasons prior to graduating in the spring, had originally committed to play at Miami, at that point under Taliafero, during the winter of her junior year at Bowie. And even after Taliafero’s contract wasn’t renewed during the latter part of last year, Simms decided to stick with her commitment to the Hurricanes, something which Anagnost says will pay immediate dividends for Miami.

The Hurricanes began preseason practice earlier this month and Simms has already done enough to cement a job as a starting defender.

She started in, and played all 90 minutes, during Miami’s 1-1 tie with Portland, the seventh-ranked team in the country, in an exhibition game last week.

“We envision a very significant role for her,” Anagnost said. “Right now, she’s our starting left back, so I’d say her role is very, very important. She’s going to be one of the key organizers of our back line , organizing that side of the field, and basically telling the players in front of her where to go the entire match. It’s a big role.”

Yet, for as well as Simms has fared as a defender during the early part of her time with the Hurricanes, she was actually know much more for her prowess as a goal scorer during her time at Bowie.

A three-year starter at forward for the Bulldogs, capable of scoring in a variety of ways, Simms finished her high school career with an eye-popping 95 goals, including 70 during her final two seasons. in last year’s Class 4A championship game, the first title game appearance for the Bulldogs in school history, but Simms guided Bowie to Class 4A South regional championships during each of her last three years with the Bulldogs.

Now, she hopes for similar success with Miami, which finished last season 10-8-1, but failed to qualify for the ACC tournament.

“I just want to play and be able to help the team get the results we want, which is of course to win a lot of games,” Simms said. “That’s what I’m hoping for this season. I’d also like to be able to go to the ACC tournament at some point, make the NCAA tournament, too, and possibly even make a run at a national championship.”

And with the progression she’s made even during the early part of preseason practice, Anagnost envisions Simms being a key piece in the Hurricanes’ quest to reach that level of success.

Anagnost described Simms as being a good all-around athlete with a nice blend of speed and quickness that also plays with a certain level of physicality. He said Simms is already “one of our more difficult players to get around,” and only sees her getting better as he continues to progress.

“I think she’s got a pretty high ceiling,” Anagnost said. “A lot of her growth will be contingent upon how committed she is and how badly she wants to be great, but she’s already improved quite a bit even in just the time she’s been here. She’s done well so far. We’re happy with how she’s been playing and are expecting her to continue growing and getting better.”