Nov 5, 2025 3 min read

Name: Julia Brandau

Grade: Junior

School: Bentworth

Sport: Soccer

Brandau’s week: A couple of days after helping Bentworth girls soccer win its first WPIAL title by having consecutive shutouts in goal, the reality of the accomplishment still hadn’t set in yet for Brandau.

“I think I’m still in the process of letting it sink in,” Brandau said. “It still feels so unreal.”

Brandau played a major role with little margin of error. Both the semifinals and finals were 1-0 wins over Waynesburg and Sewickley Academy, who the Bearcats beat in double overtime to claim the WPIAL Class A title last Thursday.

Then, she and her teammates watched the Bentworth boys team win their third consecutive WPIAL title with a 3-1 victory over OLSH.

“It feels incredible to be a part of it,” Brandau said. “It’s cool to know that we won, but also made school history and I got to be a part of it. All the hard work that I put in was so worth it.”

Always a goalie: Brandau has been playing goalie since she was in third grade. Her time in net began as a volunteer.

“It all started when one of my teammates didn’t want to be the goalie anymore and I said, ‘I’ll do it’ to my coach,” Brandau said.

She quickly took to the position and the numbers show it. She had 10 shutouts this season.

While mastering the technical part of being a goalkeeper was important, equally or maybe even more important was finding a balance when it comes to the mental side of the game.

“It’s really hard, because you can go on the field as a field player and make mistakes and still get that chance to fix it, but as a goalie you only get one chance to make a mistake,” Brandau said. “You either save it or it’s in the back of the net. Goalies are at a big disadvantage, because you’re the last line of defense and if you make that mistake it’s on you at that point.”

Brandau gave credit to many people with helping her strengthen the mental side of her game, including her mom, Michelle, Bentworth coach Tyler Hamstra, Bentworth assistants Andrew Dyson and Caroline Rice and her goalie coach at her club team Buffy Biernesser at Victory Soccer Club in Washington.

“All the work I’ve done since I’ve been in third grade (playing goalie) has been worth it,” Brandau said. “Tyler (Hamstra) has played a big part in me always keeping my head up. My mom has always been there for me. Buffy has played a huge role in helping me. She’s been a big part of my career. When I started club soccer she was my goalie coach and ever since then she’s been my best friend and coach all in one.”

Relaxation and gaming: Soccer is a 12-month endeavor for Brandau, between school season, club season and training to go along with school work, free time is scarce. So, when she does get those rare moments of down time she likes to spend them relaxing and playing video games.

“If you were to ask anyone that knows me, they’ll tell you that if I have free time, I spend it in my room relaxing,” Brandau said. “I’m mostly in there either sleeping or playing video games. I like to play Hogwarts Legacy (from Harry Potter).”

Compiled by Jerin Steele