As Hofstra women’s soccer head coach Simon Riddiough and former associate head coach Toby Bischof packed up their car and hit the road, they had no idea what they were in for. It was February, a snowstorm was raging on and a six-hour drive to Pittsburgh was ahead of them, all to watch one potential recruit play and meet her family. And to top it off, their windshield wipers were broken driving down the snowy highway.
Was it worth it? At the time they had no idea. “I was scared for my life [but] I didn’t know that that six-hour drive was going to be worth what it was,” Riddiough said. “I would do it 50 times over.”
“In hindsight, it was probably the best decision we’ve ever made,” he added.
That recruit was Sabrina Bryan, now four years later, a name synonymous with Hofstra women’s soccer.
A part of a three-time defending Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship team, Bryan is proving to be one of Hofstra’s greats, leading the team both on and off the field.
Last season alone, the senior was the 2019 CAA Attacking Player of the Year and received national recognition being named to the United Soccer Coaches All-American Third Team. Ahead of this season, she was picked for the 2020-21 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
A prolific goal scorer with 33 career goals heading into this year’s CAA playoffs, she ranks sixth all-time in goals and first in program history in assists with 27. The Pennsylvania native and Riverhounds Academy alumnus not only scores points, but does so at the right time, coming up big for the team when she’s needed most.
In 2018, she scored two goals in a NCAA Tournament First Round upset against Boston College that saw the Pride win 4-1. And in 2019, in front of a packed Hofstra Soccer Stadium, Bryan scored the match-winning goal in overtime against Loyola Chicago to send her team once again to the second round of the national tournament.
However, while individual accolades are nice, Bryan’s focus is on the entire team’s goals and always has been. “Definitely the first goal I always have coming into the season is [to be] CAA champions and just trying to get further with the NCAAs,” she said. “It is obviously nice to get the recognition [but] it’s just kind of a reassurance. It’s not really the goal that I’m looking toward.”
Her team mindset and desire to always improve has made her one of the program’s best, evolving from a player who can create opportunities out of nothing to one who can finish them as well, according to Riddiough.
“She’s become a pretty much exceptional, all-around player,” Riddiough said. “She’s also combining with her teammates around her and when she does that we’re pretty much unstoppable at times.”
Bryan’s talents don’t come easily, though. She works tirelessly, developing both herself and others around her along the way. “The ability to have one of your best players, if not your best player, work as hard as she does in practice and challenge people as she does in practice and in game day, it just brings the whole level of the program up another notch,” Riddiough said.
Bryan is a special player in more ways than one, including being left-footed. Left-footed players are rare in soccer and are valuable when they come along. When she was just starting to play, Bryan’s father recognized this.
“I used to be right-footed when I was younger. I’m naturally a right footer,” Bryan said. “There’s not many left-footed players. My dad knew that when I was growing up so he made me train every day with my left foot until I liked it more than my right.”
“I’m definitely more left-footed now but I can play with both. It’s definitely helped me,” she added.
Regardless of which foot is scoring the goals, Bryan is helping lead the Pride during a historic time as they set their sights on a fourth consecutive conference championship.
“I don’t even know if I could put it into words [what it would mean to win],” she said. “There’s not many people in their college history that can say that they went four-for-four. We definitely want to try and make that happen.”
With this unique season shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, what motivates Bryan to work toward her goals is simply the fact she’s playing at all. “Especially this season I think just reminding myself how lucky I am to be playing,” she said. “Knowing that the time is counting down ... I definitely try and make the most out of every single game and practice.”
Having developed close friends in her teammates over the years, ones who constantly push her to be a better player and person, will make graduating even more bittersweet. “Just being comfortable with the team as the years go on is really what helped me grow. We rely on each other to be a family ... and to help each other get through tough situations,” she said.
Upon leaving Hofstra, she’ll take her exercise science degree to graduate school, pursuing a career in physical therapy. However, her dream has always been to play professional soccer and will continue to work at that goal.
When Bryan signed with Hofstra at the end of her junior year of high school, the program was optimistic. They believed she could fill a starting position right away and hopefully make an impact on the team. The rest is history. However, just as important as her traits on the pitch are those off of it.
“She does the right thing in all aspects, whether it’s in the community, in the classroom or on the soccer field,” Riddiough said. “We got very lucky because those characteristics you don’t really know until you get the kid. As much as you do the research and you get told that this kid is going to be this way sometimes that’s not necessarily true.”
He continued, “With Sabrina, we hit the jackpot and we’re very fortunate that she got through all four years at Hofstra and probably the most successful four years in [program] history. She’s been a huge part of it.”
This article appeared in the April 13, 2021 publication of The Hofstra Chronicle.
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