Sydney Cummings first visited Guyana in 2007, when she was nine years old.
She didn’t go back until 11 years later–in May 2018–when she represented the South American country in a World Cup qualifying tournament.
Cummings, who grew up in Millstone Township and plays soccer for Brown University, is half Guyanese. Her father, Gavin, grew up in Guyana and his family still lives there.
The bloodline was enough to qualify Cummings for the Guyana Women’s National Team.
In pool play of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Tournament from May 23-27 in Guyana, Cummings started every game and played every minute at center back for the host country. Guyana fell short of qualifying for the World Cup, winning once and losing twice to finish second in its pool.
But that didn’t take away from Cummings’ experience.
“It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I was surrounded by completely new people, coaches and players,” Cummings said. “It was also so cool to represent more than just a school and team but a country. It’s bigger than yourself.”
Unlike her first visit in 2007, Cummings was also able to appreciate spending time with family members she rarely gets to see.
“When you’re 9, it’s scary to go to a different country. It’s very different from the US. But to go back and see it as an adult, all these beautiful things, it made me feel so connected to the country,” said Cummings who starred at Saint John Vianney High School in Holmdel. “My family there took care of me like I was their kid. I saw my dad’s old schools and family home. I learned a lot about the relationships in my family, how deep the love runs. They were friends, really good friends, for a long time. They stayed at each other’s houses, went to the same schools. The love is a lot deeper than I thought.”
“It was a tremendous opportunity and gift,” said Gavin Cummings. “She wouldn’t have gotten it if she wasn’t as smart and talented as she is.”
Gavin Cummings is right. Sydney did not even have to try out for the Guyana team. Coach Ivan Joseph saw enough on film and heard enough from coaches to be fully sold on Cummings.
“The Guyanese National Team is relaunching. The role of organized sports is not the same here. There are no organized sports for women. If you’re playing in Division 1 (college), you’re able to contribute right away to the Guyanese Football Federation,” Joseph said. “That elevated her in the pool. What elevated her to starter was that she was physically fit, knew our zone system, and was technically skilled. She played the game how we wanted it played.”
Cummings impressed Joseph in the tournament. She quarterbacked a defensive unit that allowed fewer goals than any other team in the pool.
“She was the only defender who played every minute. So she was integral to our defensive group,” Joseph said. “The talent is faster and higher level in the NCAA, so that helped her.”
Joseph plans on continuing the Guyana program beyond this one qualifying tournament. He hopes Cummings, who also started every game for Brown in her freshman season last year at the Ivy League college, will continue to play for the national team.
Brown posted four shutouts this past fall with help of her play at center back. She also contributed to her college winning 11 games, the most Brown had won since the 2000 season.
“She is 100 percent the type of player we want to be the typical Guyanese player moving forward. We hope she’s able to stay with the program,” Joseph said. “I’ve talked to her once since the tournament. She enjoyed it and will try to help as much as she can. But she has a lot of commitments.”
“It was disappointing to fall short. When you’re so close and you can taste it and the final whistle blows and it’s a tie, it hits you hard. It was a sad moment,” Cummings said. “So of course I’d want to do it again. It’s also just awesome to play for the national team. And to represent a part of my family and heritage, it’s something not everybody can say they got to do. It’s awesome. I’d love to do it again.”
