By Derek Brightwell
On a team built around experience at key positions on the defense, sophomore midfielder Andrew Brody shines as a young attacker who has been among the best players for Louisville since day one.
As a freshman, Brody started all 20 games for the Cards. His eight assists were second on the team, and he added three goals in the campaign.
Brody’s success carried over to the opening night of this season and the first men’s game in the new $18.5 million Lynn Stadium.
In the 53rd minute, against then second ranked Maryland, Brody headed in the game winner. With 7,000 members of Card Nation watching, Brody helped cement Louisville as a formidable soccer school and a celebrated soccer town.
His roots in soccer go back before he was even born. His father, Scott Brody, played in college at UNLV and professionally for the Colorado Foxes. From an early age, soccer was part of Andrew’s life.
“Pretty much it was dad. Ever since I could walk, he had a ball at my feet,” Brody remembered.
“He was my coach all the way up until U13. He’s pretty much my motivation, I want to succeed for him. I want to be who I am. I want to make it big for everything that he taught me, everything that he did for me. So that’s kind of why I play, because he led me into it.”
His father’s teaching is how he was able to grow so quickly as a player and contribute as soon as he stepped on the field in a Cardinal uniform.
Head coach Ken Lolla appreciates Brody’s efforts and praised the assets he brought to the team as a true freshman.
“I think it was what he offered on the attacking end,” Lolla recalled of Brody in his first year. “His ability to run at players and create not only for himself but for others. His willingness, his courage to do it as a freshman was what allowed us to start him and allow him to play so many minutes as a freshman.”
“I just tried to listen to the older guys. I know I was one of the younger ones, but I could still have a lot to offer to the team,” Brody said about being a major player as a freshman. “I listened to their help. They helped me throughout the year. Same with the coaches; I thought I learned a lot throughout the year. I got better as the year went on. I knew I was going to try to make an impact, and luckily I made a huge impact, and I was just happy to help the team in any way possible.”
As a sophomore, it doesn’t look like Brody will be slowing down. In the first game of the season, and the opener of Lynn Stadium, Brody’s header in the upper left corner was not only the historic first goal by a man in the impressive stadium but also the game winner.
“It was awesome,” Brody remembers of the energy of the crowd after that goal. “We’d pretty much been defending the whole first half. I thought Maryland had gotten the better of us. So to come out, we had dominated the start of the second half. And to get that reward, to get that goal in front of all the fans and everybody here, it was just huge. The expression on all of our faces to go and celebrate together as a team with the crowd roaring us on, it was great.”
The gravity of that goal and what it meant for the program still overwhelms Brody.
“It’s crazy. I don’t think it has sunk in quite yet,” he said. “It’s awesome. I’m happy that first and foremost we got the win. That was a huge win for our RPI, beating Maryland. But nah, I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.”
The win was huge for Louisville, vaulting them 12 spots in the polls to number two. The goal also earned Brody ACC Player of the Week honors. The award, while great, is not what Brody cares most about. He knows that it’s all about the team first.
“It’s definitely all about the team. So without the team, I wouldn’t have been ACC player of the week,” Brody said of the importance of both moving up in the polls and the honor. “We still had to get that win. So without my team helping me out, I wouldn’t have even gotten that award. So as we move forward and progress, it definitely has to be all about the team.”
The team first mentality is what Brody is all about. Combined with his skill-set, it makes him a player who will be able to continue to dominate for the Cards.
“He’s a wonderful teammate,” coach Lolla said of his young midfielder. “He works hard everyday in training. He’s very supportive, and he’s a very dynamic player. In college soccer on his own he can create opportunities, and that’s special. And we’re just so excited he’s here.”
