Jul 12, 2016 4 min read

Sabrina Bryan is dangerous on the soccer field. The offensive-minded midfielder and attacker has proven as much in recent years, whether playing for Canon-McMillan or the Riverhounds Academy traveling team.

A year ago as a junior, the two-time WPIAL Class AAA all-section forward scored 20 goals and collected 21 assists for the Big Macs, after finding the net 27 times and setting up her teammates nine times as a sophomore. Those numbers, and her varied skill set, helped make Bryan a Division I prospect.

But it’s hard to make an impact from the sideline, where many first-year college players often find themselves. Naturally, the gamechanger wanted to join a team where she could contribute immediately.

“If I could avoid (redshirting), that’s something I would be (OK with),” Bryan said.

Though she took some time searching for an ideal fit, not committing to a school until this past March, Bryan believes she has found the place where she can achieve that early success: Hofstra University, a Division I mid-major on Long Island.

“They see me coming in and being an impactful player right from the start,” said Bryan, who has spent the summer training with Riverhounds Academy and lifting eights. “And that’s something that really got my attention.”

Of the players listed on Hofstra’s 2015-16 roster, only two had redshirts, one because of injury and the other taken while a player attended another school. The 2014-15 Hofstra team consisted of a single redshirt.

Bryan decided on the Pride, who have made three of the past six NCAA tournaments, over Providence College, the University of New Hampshire, and Valparaiso, among others.

The staff’s shared philosophy on redshirting endeared the program to Bryan, and her versatility made her intriguing to them. She can play multiple attacking positions well.

“They love my speed on the flanks. They loved how I have the ability to serve the ball in with both my feet,” she said. “How I wasn’t afraid to cross the ball and go to the goal at the same time.”

Bryan said Hofstra coaches first reached out to her via email a summer ago after watching a tournament game she played with Riverhounds Academy, a youth team associated with the pro team based in Pittsburgh. Former club teammate and recent New Brighton High School graduate Maya Watkins already committed to play for Hofstra in 2016, and members of the coaching staff watched a younger team that included Bryan to see if there were any more people they should target.

Bryan received a scholarship offer in the middle of February and visited campus by the end of the month.

Having made her college decision by the end of her junior year, as she planned, Bryan now is free to focus on the dual individual tasks of improving her defense, which she described as an area of weakness, and scoring more goals for a Big Mac team that missed qualifying for the PIAA tournament in 2015. They lost to Fox Chapel, 2-1, in the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals.

“In order to go further than before, I’ll just need to get more goals,” she said. “Each season, I need to get more goals, and this season needs to be one where I get the most.”

Her aspirations include going undefeated in section as well as returning to the WPIAL championship and the state final. During her sophomore season, Canon-McMillan advanced to the PIAA Class AAA title game, losing 2-1 to Central Bucks West in overtime, after also losing by a goal, 1-0, to Seneca Valley in the WPIAL championship.

“When you fall short in a championship, it’s just such a bittersweet feeling,” Bryan said. “I just want to end my senior season on wins instead of second places.”