When soccer players enter college and stare down the barrel of a compressed two-week preseason, it can be a struggle to acclimate quickly and make an early impact. But, for men’s soccer’s freshman forward Nicholas Simmonds, that was not the case.
Simmonds, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound physical presence, started at forward in the opening game of his inaugural season, against San Diego State, even over a returning MLS SuperDraft selection in junior forward AJ Smith.
Simmonds has since started and starred in all seven of Virginia’s games this season, netting a team-high four goals. With every goal, Simmonds has stepped into the role of a clutch forward, and it is a fitting dawn to this chapter of his soccer career.
His first career goal, a header off a broken-down corner kick against George Mason, served as a spark of hope in a lopsided 4-1 affair in the Cavaliers’ lone loss so far this season. Despite Virginia’s backs being pressed against the wall, Simmonds answered with his team grasping for life.
Simmonds’ second goal, a late-game equalizer against Virginia Tech in Virginia’s ACC opener, his first match in the Commonwealth Clash, came in the 79th minute. In the waning moments, it brought Virginia over the hump to a 2-2 draw.
His third and fourth goals came in a package deal that helped set the tone in his biggest collegiate game yet, Sept. 19 against No. 1 Wake Forest. Bringing his best in a game of high magnitude, Simmonds notched his first career brace in just the first half, scoring the opening goals as the Cavaliers incinerated the nation’s top-ranked team 6-3.
Just seven games into his young career, Simmonds has already proven himself as a consistent contributor. And the freshman’s career is just getting started.
“He's been very good,” Coach George Gelnovatch said. “He's been one of our more dangerous guys. But, you gotta remember, the guy's still a first year. He's only gonna get better.”
That growth over time has been a staple of his career so far. Simmonds, at a young age, was never a prodigy. His father, Greg Simmonds, experienced Simmonds’ development over the years and credited it to his growth mindset.
“He was, as a young kid, always on the third team, second team, and never really made the elite team till he was like 12,” Greg Simmonds said. “He was that kid that just had to work very hard to achieve what he wanted to achieve, but his passion was to play the game that he loves at the highest level.”
At just 16 years of age, as a high school junior, Simmonds debuted with the Richmond Kickers, in USL League One. That experience early on helped shape him to be who he is as a player now.
“I got to learn a lot,” Simmonds said. “I got to play with pros and it accelerated my development a lot. I think it set me up for success [at Virginia], to be able to play at a pro level.”
There are a lot of parallels between Simmonds’ time with the Kickers and his season so far with the Cavaliers. Simmonds became the club’s youngest goal-scorer at 16 years and eight months, similarly to how he was the first freshman on this Virginia squad to notch a goal. His goal with the Kickers came off a corner, just like his goal against George Mason, and the goal itself served as an equalizer against Central Valley Fuego FC, just like the goal against Virginia Tech.
“I learned a lot of hard lessons that built character, but helped me and shaped my mentality, to what I think it is now,” Simmonds said of his time at the Kickers. “And kind of the success I'm having here is because of that.”
Apart from playing locally in Richmond, Simmonds also represented the Jamaican national team on the international stage, playing for the U17 and U20 squads.
“Being able to represent my country from where my dad’s from is something that I take pride in, and is very special to me,” Simmonds said. “Getting that opportunity is second to none, and something that I don't take for granted, because a lot of people can't say that they got to represent their national team.”
The U17 call-up was in 2023, as his debut for the Reggae Boyz came against Guadalupe in the 2023 CONCACAF U17 Championship, a qualifier for the FIFA U17 2023 World Cup.
The latter was in 2024, when he represented Jamaica once again in the 2024 CONCACAF U20 qualifiers. He proved there that his knack for goal-scoring is not only present in the United States, as he knocked in his first international goal against Grenada in a 2-0 win. Playing internationally has helped sharpen Simmonds' mindset moving forward with the Cavaliers this season.
“I think one thing it really showed me was how to make an impact early and kind of how to put your first foot right," Simmonds said. “One thing I really, really focused on when I got [to Virginia] was making my impression and proving that I'm good enough to play from day one.”
His mentality and eagerness to prove himself comes from a motivation that resides close within his household. Greg Simmonds played soccer for Howard, graduating as the all-time leading scorer for the Bison, and has played in MLS, for the Jamaican national team and for the Kickers.
His sister, Kameron Simmonds, played Division I soccer at Tennessee and is now at Florida State. She also has experience with the U20 Jamaican team, as she represented it in the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U20 Championship.
“Being able to follow in my dad's footsteps and my sister's footsteps is something I take pride in … just seeing their level of discipline everyday, " Simmonds said.“When you have people like that in your house, it drives you.”
Hard work and passion will take an individual far in any field, and Simmonds is a testament to that. His presence as a lethal weapon has paid dividends for a Cavalier team that currently sits tied atop the ACC standings heading into a home game Saturday night at 7 p.m. against North Carolina. Virginia is 5-1-1 and undefeated in its last three games, all against top-10 teams.
Simmonds walked off the field late in the game against Wake Forest to a large ovation. It already seemed like a career pinnacle. But over his life, he has proven that he just keeps going up.
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