Brighton soccer goalie continues strong freshman year in 0-0 tie with Hartland

BRIGHTON — When Anna Brown-Nall showed up for Brighton soccer tryouts, her coaches and teammates didn’t view her as a 5-foot-3 freshman without a minute of high school experience.

They quickly regarded her as the answer to the Bulldogs’ most pressing question heading into the season.

Brighton returned talent throughout its lineup from a team that won a district championship, but had a gaping hole in net following the graduation of Jesse Gerych.

“The whole team feels comfortable with her,” Brighton coach Ryan Carriere said following a 0-0 tie with Hartland Tuesday at the Bulldogs’ indoor facility.

“The first time they met her at tryouts, they all felt really, really comfortable knowing they had a keeper who was good technically.”

Brown-Nall has played the position for eight years, but has done so within her age group within the relative anonymity of the youth travel ranks.

There is more of a spotlight on players when they reach the high school varsity level, particularly for a program as successful as Brighton’s. Brown-Nall wasn’t quite sure what to expect when she joined a veteran team with high expectations.

Because of the nature of her position, Brown-Nall has to be assertive and take a leadership role in helping organize the back end.

“I was pretty nervous about it coming into it, but I think they all realize I know most of the stuff, so I think they’ve learned to listen to me,” she said. “I’ve gotten used to it. I’m not nervous to say what I’m thinking.”

Brown-Nall said her teammates have made her comfortable with the transition to high school soccer.

“They were all really welcoming,” she said. “They all made me feel like part of the team. It was pretty easy coming in and being able to help the team.”

With Brown-Nall playing all but one half this season, the Bulldogs have allowed only 14 goals in 15 games, including six against state-ranked Division 1 teams.

She is only 5-3, but makes up for a lack of height with her knowledge of how to play the position. Her biggest save of the game came when she leaped to deflect away a shot by fellow freshman Claire L’Esperance of Hartland with 16 minutes left in the first half.

“I don’t think (my height) affects me at all, actually,” said Brown-Nall, who made seven saves.  “Keeping good technique is all that matters in a goalkeeper. Having the best technique makes some of the best goalkeepers, even if you’re a little shorter, being able to get those high balls or low balls, literally any shot. It doesn’t matter if you’re tall or short.”

On the other end, Hartland junior Jenna Brock made five saves to earn her third straight shutout. The Eagles are only 1-0-2 in those three games, however, because they’ve scored only one goal.

Back-to-back scoreless ties have narrowed 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 at 6-1-4 for 22 points after their games Tuesday were postponed by thunderstorms. The threat of thunderstorms moved the Brighton-Hartland game indoors.

Hartland will host Novi Thursday and travel to Plymouth next Tuesday to wrap up its division schedule.

“Hopefully, we can get the offense restarted and our defense will stay right where it is,” Hartland coach Andrew Kartsounes said. “I told the girls after the game it’s still all in our hands right now. We don’t need any help. We just need to get the job done on our end. If we do that, we can be where we want to be at 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 any length of time without senior midfielder Katie Swirczek. The two-time All-Livingston County selection injured her knee with 28:48 left in the game and couldn’t put weight on her right leg as she was helped off the field.

“We’ll hope for the best,” Kartsounes said. “There’s only a couple weeks left. Any time she’s out, it’s going to definitely change things for us in the center. Hopefully, it’s just 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 has filled pressing need for Brighton soccer