Brown Leads Tennessee High Girls To Win In District Soccer Tournament

BY ALLEN GREGORY
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Ice Brown commands attention on the soccer field.

The Tennessee High senior plays the game with a blend of speed, creativity and precision. That potent approach has yielded over 30 goals the past two years, including 18 this season.

Brown warmed up a chilly Monday night at the Stone Castle, scoring one goal as the fourth-seeded Vikings stopped No. 5 David Crockett, 7-0, in the opening round of the District 1-AAA girls soccer tournament. THS (10-6-2) travels to top-seed Dobyns-Bennett Tuesday for a 5 p.m. match.

According to Brown, success in soccer boils down to the basics.

“I pretty much just try to push the ball forward, get the defenders off their feet and take quick shots,” Brown said.

Brown’s teammates followed her lead Monday, as the Vikings built a commanding 5-0 halftime lead. Sophomore midfielder Sierra White placed the Vikings with three goals and one assist, while juniors Sarah Guthrie and Andee Barbe and senior Taylor Miller also contributed goals for THS.
It added up to a fun night for third-year Viking coach Kevin Mooney.

“We’re blessed to have some really good athletes on this team,” said Mooney, a THS graduate who played soccer at Carson-Newman.

Mooney has become accustomed to watching Brown set a torrid pace with her speed and ball skills.

“Ice is strong as an ox, and that really helps us with controlling the ball and getting the ball where it needs to go,” Mooney said.

Meanwhile, it was a frustrating evening for Crockett coach Tony Snapp.

“We missed a golden opportunity three minutes into the match, and then [Tennessee High] on a couple of gimmie-goals,” Snapp said. “We got outplayed but [Tennessee High] kept the starters during the second half and kept things going. I think we’re better than what the scoreboard showed.”

Snapp was impressed with the THS scoring leader, who hopes to play at Spelman College in Atlanta next year.

“Brown is the offensive player of the year in the Big 9 Conference, but we just didn’t defend her the right way,” Snapp said. 

Since being introduced to soccer at age five, Brown has constantly been refining her game. She spent her sophomore year at East Literature Magnet School in Nashville, then made a smooth transition back to THS.

“It wasn’t hard to come back at all,” Brown said.

Mooney feels confident that Brown has the versatility to adapt to the next level of soccer.

“I don’t know at what level, but there are definitely college teams out there that could use a girl like Ice,” Mooney said.

Brown is one of five senior starters for THS, which faces perhaps its stiffest challenge of the season tonight against powerful Dobyns-Bennett.
“We’ll have our hands full, so we have to make sure that we play our best game,” Mooney said.  “We’ve struggled at times, but I really think we are better than a fourth seed and I think we can play with the big dogs on our district and region.”

Monday was the final home match for Brown at the Stone Castle. She’s eager for more challenges.

“There was a little bit of emotion there tonight. I could have done better, but we got the win and we still have to play Tuesday,” Brown said.