By Aanuoluwapo Akingbemi, Oct. 4, 2022
Goalkeeper Audrey Brown has won Defensive Player of the Week for her shutout performances against the Colorado School of Mines and Regis for the week of Sept. 5-11.
For Brown, her soccer career was a long journey that required much commitment and zeal beginning at age 3.
Originally a forward, Brown became a goalie early in her career, later playing the position at the club and high school levels.
Arriving at Cal Poly Pomona from La Crescenta in 2021, Brown suffered an ACL tear that postponed her debut but also showed her how much she loved the sport.
“It was a very hard recovery and a very painful surgery. I actually had to have two surgeries because I had some complications, but in the end, if I could go back, I would do it all over again because it made me realize how much I really love soccer. I didn’t know how much I loved it until I wasn’t playing anymore for a whole year,” said Brown.
Brown was unable to play for a year and didn’t touch a soccer ball for eight months as a result of her injury. While her return to the field had many bumps, Brown credits her teammates and coaches for giving her the support she needed to get through that trying and difficult time.
“There were moments when I thought, like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so hard. I’m never going to play soccer again. I’m never going to be as good as I was. I’m never going to come back,’ and my teammates and my coaches just really supported me and pushed me through my recovery. Without them, I would not be back. They pushed me so much,” said Brown.
Brown’s first season back has been a memorable one. Her first ever college game against UC Irvine was something she considers to be one of her most memorable moments in her soccer journey.
For someone who has committed 17 years of her life playing soccer, Brown received many lessons throughout. From her coaches to her teammates, she has learned much about her sport and life in general.
Despite being on the roster, Brown recalled the effort that was needed to make it to this point.
“I learned how lucky I was to play soccer, and I learned how lucky I am to be able to be on the field. You’re not just given a spot on the team. I had to earn my way to play at Cal Poly Pomona. Things aren’t given in life, and if you don’t get it at first, it doesn’t mean you’re not going to get it eventually,” said Brown.
Brown also cited team chemistry as another of these important lessons she’s learned thus far in her soccer career.
“Team culture is so important, and it can make or break a team. Having such a great team culture this year really taught me the importance of teammates and the importance of not only having good teammates, but being a good teammate to other people. That just coincides with being a good person and treating people with respect and decency that you also want to be treated with,” said Brown.
Brown had role models to look up to throughout her journey with the sport she loves, but someone she looks up to greatly is Ashlyn Harris, a goalkeeper for Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States.
Brown appreciates Harris’ drive and talent in soccer but, Brown finds Harris’ ability to use her platform for good especially inspiring.
Brown also considers herself to be very fortunate because of the support and love she has continuously received, especially during her time recovering from her injury.
“I have had a really good support base my entire life with soccer. For my parents, it doesn’t matter if I got scored on six times. They’re going to give me a hug and tell me I’m like the best player in the world. For a long time I didn’t think I was good enough, I just didn’t think I had the talent or the ability to go play in college. My parents were the ones that were like ‘No, you are good enough, like you’re going to play in college if you want to. We’ll help you get there,’” said Brown
While Brown’s love for soccer helped her journey be smooth for the most part, she had to make some difficult decisions along the way.
One of them being deciding what school to play for in college. There were many questions that Brown needed to answer for herself, such as proximity to home, what division to play for and transfer concerns.
Bronco women’s soccer head coach Jay Mason helped her make the choice to come to CPP. Brown resonated with his athletic journey and thought it would be great to have a head coach who was a former goalkeeper himself.
Since making the decision to come to CPP, she has to come to know that it was the right decision, receiving the push from her coaches to become better.
For more information on Audrey Brown and her soccer career at CPP, visit the CPP Athletics website.
Feature image courtesy of Audrey Brown