BRIGHTON — When Anna Brown-Nall showed up for Brighton’s soccer tryouts, her coaches and teammates didn’t see her as a 5-foot-10 freshman without a minute of high school experience.
They quickly considered it the answer to the Bulldogs’ most pressing question heading into the season.
Brighton returns talent throughout its roster from a team that won a district championship but had a huge hole in the net following the graduation of Jesse Gerych.
“The whole team feels comfortable with her,” Brighton coach Ryan Carriere said after Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Hartland at the Bulldogs’ indoor facility.
“The first time they met her at tryouts, everyone felt very, very comfortable knowing they had a goalie who was good technically.”
Brown-Nall has held the role for eight years, but has done so within her age group, in the relative anonymity of the youth travel ranks.
There is more spotlight on players when they reach the high school varsity level, especially for a program as successful as Brighton’s. Brown-Nall wasn’t sure what to expect when he joined a veteran team with high expectations.
Due to the nature of her position, Brown-Nall needs to be assertive and take a leadership role in helping organize the back end.
“I was really nervous about it, but I think everyone realized that I know most things, so I think they learned to listen to me,” she said. “I got used to it. I’m not nervous to say what I’m thinking.”
Brown-Nall said her teammates made her comfortable with the transition to high school football.
“They were all very welcoming,” she said. “They all made me feel like part of the team. It was very easy to join and be able to help the team.”
With Brown-Nall playing nearly half this season, the Bulldogs have allowed just 14 goals in 15 games, including six against state-ranked Division 1 teams.
She’s only 5-3, but she makes up for her lack of height with her knowledge of how to play the position. Her biggest save of the game came when she jumped to deflect a shot from fellow freshman Claire L’Esperance of Hartland with 16 minutes remaining in the first half.
“I actually don’t think (my height) affects me,” said Brown-Nall, who made seven saves. “Maintaining good technique is all that matters in a goalkeeper. Having the best technique means that some of the best goalkeepers, even if you are a little shorter, can hit those high or low balls, literally any shot. It doesn’t matter if you’re tall or short.”
On the other side, Hartland junior Jenna Brock made five saves to earn her third consecutive shutout. The Eagles are just 1-0-2 in those three games because they have scored just one goal.
Back-to-back scoreless draws reduced Hartland’s margin for error to win the KLAA West. The Eagles are still in first place at 8-1-3 for 27 points, while Canton and Salem are in second place at 6-1-4 for 22 points after their Tuesday games were postponed by storms. The threat of thunderstorms moved the Brighton-Hartland game indoors.
Hartland will host Novi on Thursday and travel to Plymouth next Tuesday to wrap up the division schedule.
“Hopefully we can restart the offense and our defense stays right where it is,” Hartland coach Andrew Kartsounes said. “I told the girls after the game that it’s still all in our hands. We don’t need help. We just need to do the work on our end. If we do that, we can be where we want to be by the end of next week.”
Winning the division and going far in the state playoffs will be more difficult if the Eagles have to play for some time without senior midfielder Katie Swirczek. The two-time All-Livingston County selection injured her knee with 28:48 left in the game and was unable to put weight on her right leg as she was helped off the field.
“We hope for the best,” Kartsounes said. “There are only a few weeks left. Whenever she’s out, it will definitely change things for us at the center. Hopefully it’s sore and we’ll go from there.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Freshman Anna Brown-Nall met urgent need for Brighton football
