Current Athlete Of The Month: Adney Brannigan

The Nantucket High School girls soccer team has continued to show growth and improvement over recent years. After finishing with a 2-13-3 record in the fall of 2021, the Whalers have gone 28-23-4 over the past three seasons and made the state tournament in all three years. A major contributor to that success has been Adney Brannigan, a captain in each of those past three seasons for the Whalers.

Recognized as a leader early on in her high school career, Brannigan also caught the eye of her teammates and coaches for her high-level of play on the pitch. An ankle injury last fall took a good chunk of her junior season away, but that didn’t stop her from becoming Nantucket High School’s all-time leading point scorer in girls soccer on Wednesday. Her 84 goals (two points each) and 61 assists add up to 229 points and surpass the 225-point mark set by 2013 Whaler alum Alexa Crosby, who played four years of college soccer at the University of Vermont.

“I always set goals for myself, something I want to accomplish, or something I want the team to accomplish,” Brannigan said. “After losing my junior season due to injury, beating the all-time goal record sort of became out of reach. So my Mom and I did some research on past records, and we found that Alexa Crosby held the all-time points record. She held the record at 94 goals and 31 assists, tallying up to 225 points. Roughly two weeks ago, I decided I wanted to beat that record, so it remained as a thought in the back of my mind the last couple games. As of yesterday, I knew I had to score at least five goals to beat the record, so I went into the game hard and strong, and I did it.”

Brannigan – needing five goals to break the record – scored six in the Whaler’s 9-1 victory over the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins on the road Wednesday afternoon. It was the second time in her past three games that she scored six goals.

"It's been great watching her over the years," girls varsity soccer head coach Doug LeBrecht said. "I started coaching Adney in CPS (middle school). That is when I got into coaching at the public schools. Immediately she always stood out as a hard-working player, a goal scoring player. She was always helpful. Even then, I was confident in my coaching abilities, but I was new to coaching at the public schools, and she immediately started helping. She always helped with practices. She was always looking to fill that captain's role and staying with the team and trying to help the team and help the coaches. It was great watching her grow. She always had a dominant left foot and was a goal scorer. It was cool to watch that develop and become stronger and stronger. Then when I got into the high school level (Adney's sophomore year). She continued to always work hard and was always willing to try to be the best striker that she could. It helped me coach. It was a great experience. I was psyched to be a part of that.”

When asked how her game has grown over the past four years, Brannigan said it was thanks to her teammates and coaches who always helped her and made her a better player. She said they have helped her not only on the field as a player, but on and off the field as a leader and captain.

“Over the past four years I’ve learned a lot from my teammates and my coaches,” Brannigan said. “The biggest changes I’ve seen is in my leadership. As a sophomore I became captain and although I didn’t quite feel ready, my coaches encouraged me, and my older teammates led the way. Eventually, after gaining confidence I felt more comfortable on the field and off the field being a leader.

“Through this program and being a part of sports on Nantucket, you have great teammates but also instant friends,” Brannigan continued. “Everyone is supportive of your accomplishments, and everyone wants to see you succeed."

Brannigan is hoping to play soccer in college and has talked with several schools who are interested in adding the all-time leading point scorer to their program. But Brannigan made it clear education will be the primary focus of her decision.

“I’d like to play in college, and I’ve talked to a lot of schools but college in my mind is for the education,” she said. “So if I can find a good mix of a school I like and a school that I can play at, then great. However, even if I don’t end up playing in college, I know that soccer will continue to be a part of my future.”

LeBrecht added that he will not be surprised one bit if Brannigan decides to play soccer at the next level and is certain she will enjoy plenty of success.

“She has always been so motivated,” LeBrecht said. “There's never a practice where you have to tell Adney, 'Hey Adney, pay attention here. Adney, get in shape.’ She's always, even in practice, giving 100 percent. She's always, always helping people. In the offseason, she's always sending you different things from Instagram with different players and different plays. She's always got that on her mind. She definitely deserves what she has. She works hard. She really, truly works hard. I hope another soccer team at the college level recognizes that. She will work hard for you."

Brannigan also offered some advice to young soccer players on the island who hope to one day play at the varsity level for the Whalers.

“I would say that mindset is everything,” Brannigan said. “You’re your own biggest critic but you’re also the only one that can truly push yourself. Sure, your coaches and teammates can also encourage you, but everything else comes from within.”

The Nantucket Current runs a series where we highlight an athlete on the island once per month – sometimes under unique circumstances, we will feature more than one.

This player doesn’t always need to be the superstar or flashy athlete. It can be someone whose greatest contributions come when no one else is looking or be someone whose impact is substantial during the game but wildly under-appreciated by the common spectator.

If anyone has nominations they'd like to make moving forward, please email your suggestion to davidcreed@n-magazine.com.

Portraits by Kit Noble