Their final road trip of the season was to Hawaii last weekend consisting of matches against Hawaii and UCLA. The Dons beat Hawaii with second half goals from seniors Hege Johnson and Kelli Bryant. Bryant's goal, which started with an indirect free kick, was her sixth game-winning goal of the season. "I was really excited in our last game against Hawaii because all the seniors played," Bryant said. "I played with (seniors) Felicia Brown and Trisha Popovich all my life, so it was very emotional and exciting. The win was a positive finish for us."
She sports a highly addictive smile as she eases gracefully into the seat next to me. I halfway expect her to burst out with bubbly anecdotes of rousing wins on the field, being hoisted on teammates shoulders, and carried off into the University Sports Hall of Fame. But Felicia Brown says little of near legendary status as a fore running starter for the Dons, thus amplifying her equally as a Powerhouse Person and a Powerhouse Player. Hailing from Livermore, California, Brown has honed her skills for 16 years. At the age of five, when it seems as though most of us would be running in circles, she ran circles around her competition. The only athlete in a family with two older sisters, Brown laughingly admits to being the "clown in the family." She cites the surge of support from her mother as vital in her success. "She keeps me going" Brown says earnestly. Her parental inspiration led to a similar, paternal relationship with both her teammates and her coach, Jean-Paul Verhees, whom Brown refers to as "a great person and a great coach." She is quick to add that his quirky sense of humor is "crazy," and erupts into a perfect, intoxicating grin which must be the most unfortunate distraction on the field. Although settled into the college routine of athlete-student, complete with the balancing of daily workouts and hours spent between the pages of her business textbooks or in front of a Macintosh screen, Brown is looking beyond the goal posts and has made tentative plans to let the mud dry on her cleats. A career in sports promotions—not far behind the soccer jerseys and locker rooms—is one of the many goals which she is steadfastly concentrating on. Between bouts of seriousness, in which she speaks carefully with the immaculate diction of a CNN correspondent, Felicia is very much the epitome of success. "Soccer has made me disciplined and motivated — these became second nature. They are a part of me because of soccer." When asked to recall her best game, she is thoughtful and graciously answers, "last year — our game against Berkeley. I played with my heart and soul and had the best game of my life." I notice there is a quiet pause lasting longer than a moment before she continues. "The next day, I was sitting in Crossroads with my coach. A man came up to me and said, 'Hey, Number 9!! You had a great game yesterday! My coach then said to me, 'You see, Felicia?' There is just so much support from the campus community." On a team with 26 talented recruits, one would assume that competition between players is fierce, to which Felicia replies, "It (competition) does get to you—all the time. If it didn't, you wouldn't be good. You'd be too comfortable." And yet, Felicia's air of confidence seems to leave no room for uneasiness. She seems equally at ease on the field, in the classroom, and, most recently, before the Board of Trustees speaking on behalf the students and athletes at USF. Conscientious and outspoken, she has followed the emergence of
women into the mainstream sports arena with a sigh of relief. "There is more respect for women. They are proving that they can be athletes." As for her personal goals this season, she hopes the girls look up to her and respect her as a person and as a player. The modest and often skimmed-over goal of team camaraderie for an ace athlete is undoubtedly number one for Number 9. She then jokingly narrows her eyes and says, "Statistics-wise, I have to keep working hard." For an instant of laughter there is a quick slide into solemnity, and she concludes, "No matter what the goals are, or how may assists you have, just so that your teammates know that you work hard." Selfless and endearing, Felicia Brown will undoubtedly leave more than footsteps behind (TheFoghorn).
