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Brown Filling Need For Bulls In Goal

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By CHRIS ERRINGTON Tribune correspondent

Published: November 27, 2007

Wiregrass Ranch girls soccer coach Amanda Devona freely admits that if she could, she'd certainly oblige sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Brown by allowing her to play in the field. Luckily for the Bulls and for an accommodating Brown, those times have been limited.

Brown has been nothing short of brilliant this season and is a major reason the Bulls' youthful team is a respectable 2-5-2 and hasn't allowed a goal in two straight games - a 0-0 tie against Land O' Lakes and last week's 2-0 victory at Hernando. Wiregrass Ranch played at Hudson on Monday night and will host Gulf on Wednesday and Nature Coast Tech on Friday.

"I know Kelsey does like to play the field a lot and she's one of my most skilled players," Devona said, "but she was also our best option to put in goal and that's where she's needed most. She's done an outstanding job for us so far and we're looking for her to be a leader of this young team."

While freshman Kayla Robinson was tied for third in Class 4A-District 8 with seven goals entering Monday's match, the focus still is on Brown.

Thanks to extensive work practicing in goal while playing with the CPUSA club team, Brown is no longer just a body minding the net. She's a more confident, more talented and most importantly, more legitimate, goalkeeper.

Often this season, she's had to be that way to survive. Now with the ability to challenge opposing offensive threats, usually one-on-one, Brown has risen in stature among the state's goalkeepers to nearly unprecedented heights. Entering Monday's game, the sophomore was tied for second in the state with senior Jackie Sullivan of Naples Neumann in saves with 90, just one behind state leader junior Danielle Howell of Fort Myers Evangelical Christian.

The way Brown sees it, the best is only yet to come.

"I've really been working on coming out of goal and challenging shooters more than I did last year," Brown said. "Most of the shots I face are just me against the shooter, one-on-one. I've also gotten better at stopping direct kicks and helping guide the defense so they can help me out as much as possible.

"Some of the saves I've made have been easy, but a lot of them were really hard to make. This year we have new players in front of me, so together we're working better as a team."

Thanks to Brown in goal and Robinson's offensive talent, a Rams team that starts eight freshmen could be a viable district threat for at least the next two seasons. While Devona said Brown clearly has the talent to play at the next level, there's no denying her presence in goal has made a world of difference in just one year.

"Last year, the majority of our games were 8-0 by the mercy rule," the coach said. "This year it's been completely different and Kelsey's been a huge part of that. She's been asked to handle a lot more duties than she should, but she's handled them very well. She's taking a lot on her shoulders and we're a better team because of it."

Correspondent Chris Errington can be reached at cerrington@pop.tampatrib.com

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