Brinkley Field and coach Adrian Solca bring home the national championship trophy for Solar Red
In an embarrassment of riches for the Lady Wildcat soccer team, Brinkley Field’s club team earned the national championship in their age bracket over the weekend. Brinkley’s Solar Red 94 team defeated the McLean Strikers of Virginia at the US Youth Soccer national championship game in Overland Park, Kansas Sunday, one day after classmate Glory Williams, playing for Sting 95, beat the Scorpions from Massachusetts.
“It was an incredible experience – truly surreal,” said Brinkley after the game. “My coach, Adrian Solca, told everyone ‘we are gonna win it,’ and he was right.”
“In this heat my feet were burning from the turf, but even in adverse playing conditions, it helped to know that I was not alone. My teammates and I got a burst of energy at the end and started cheering for each other. I learned to rely on my friends, and we all dog-piled on each other at the end. It was our ultimate goal to win nationals, and we knew that, with every win, we were one step closer.”
“Our high school team is close, too,” added Brinkley. “We work together to use positive energy to win the game. I can’t wait for the season to start so we can kick some butt.”
When not playing soccer, Brinkley studies (she’s currently ranked 8th in the class) and dances with the Wildcat Wrangler country-and-western dance team. She took time out from training this summer to attend Young Life Frontier Camp in Colorado with her LHHS classmates.
“Brinkley throws everything she has into anything she does,” said proud dad John Field. “She is extraordinarily focused, and she does well because of the great passion she brings to everything.”
I hope Brinkley is spending the rest of the summer charging her cell phone. College coaches can’t extend scholarship offers until September 1, and I’m thinking she’ll need all the battery life she can get to handle the recruiters who’ll be speed-dialing her digits.
