Writing HERstory: Taylor Price’s lasting legacy

Taylor Price’s Virginia Tech journey reads like a blueprint for resilience. From a history-making hat trick to two ACL recoveries and a senior-year surge, the Northern Virginia forward has turned setbacks into fuel, on the scoresheet and inside the locker room. Her first “I’m back” moment arrived on Breast Cancer Awareness night, when she became just the 12th Hokie to record a hat trick. “Getting that first goal again was so rewarding,” she recalled. “After that, I kept finding myself in goal-scoring spots.” 

The first ACL tear taught Price patience; the second, suffered after the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament, when Tech eliminated Tennessee, demanded a plan. With a compressed timeline, Price set a single target: be ready for the opener. She let her athletic trainer, physical trainer, and coaches know her goal; they matched her urgency. Cleared at six months, she returned with conviction. “I play like I have nothing to lose,” “I’ve already been through everything. I’m not going to play half as good as I know I can be.” 

While Price is out on the field, threaded through her ponytail is a small green ribbon. She wears it for mental-health awareness and in memory of her aunt who passed away from suicide. The ribbon is her quiet invitation to conversation of mental health awareness for all people who struggle and the importance of it in our world. Taylor shared her thoughts that high performance and hard days can live side by side, and help is part of the work that needs to be done. “Those conversations need to happen,” she says. “Going to sports psychology here was the best decision I ever made.” Teammates know she’s the first to reach out too after hardships, the steady nudge toward resources, and the presence that helps fellow athletes feel they belong. 

Price and teammates pride themselves on being a tight-knit community, spending numerous hours together on and off the field. 

After losing 11 seniors and gaining 11 new freshmen, Price noted the culture of the team to be always changing, always inviting, and always replicating one big family.  

In the classroom, she shifted from criminology to sports media & analytics, drawn to storytelling, marketing and the ways sport gathers people. It fits the way she leads: attentive to small moments that never make the highlight reel but make the team. Community fuels the rest. “Support from Hokie Club, alumni and fans helps so much,” she says. “It motivates us on the field and in the classroom. We wanted to do it for the people who were doing it for us.” 

Goals matter. Wins matter. But the legacy Price hopes to endure is presence, advocacy, encouragement, and an anchor for her teammates. After two comebacks and a senior season already stacked with defining moments, her standard is simple: no one does this alone. 

Writing HERstory Campaign  

Tech Athletics launched a multi-platform brand campaign celebrating the incredible achievements of its female student-athletes, both past and present, while inspiring the next generation of women who aspire to achieve their dreams through athletics. In partnership with Truist, Tech will share stories of its past and current female student-athletes over the course of the calendar year. Ranging from podcast interviews to feature stories and more, the incredible moments and achievements by women over the years in Virginia Tech Athletics will be celebrated. To make an impact on female sports at Tech or to sign up for the monthly Writing HERstory newsletter.