Speedy Brynn Bobby factors in all 4 Brighton goals in soccer win over Northville

BRIGHTON — When watching Brynn Bobby sprint past defenders while controlling a soccer ball, it’s natural to wonder how well she would do in another spring sport.Had Bobby chosen to stick with track and field, she would undoubtedly be one of the fastest sprinters in Livingston County.Her 200-meter time of 27.

84 seconds as an eighth-grader at Scranton Middle School in 2022 would rank second on the current Brighton High School team and fifth in the county. She won the 200 four times in five races that year.But she preferred using her wheels on the soccer field.



“My speed is my key move, I’d say,” Bobby said after scoring two goals and two assists for Brighton in a 4-3 victory over 14th-ranked Northville Tuesday at Sloan Field.“I ran track in eighth grade, but then stuck with soccer through high school.”It was Bobby’s speed that stuck out to Brighton coach Ryan Carriere when he brought her up to the varsity midway through the season two years ago as a freshman.

That was a team good enough to win a district championship, so a ninth-grader had to be special to make the roster.RELATED:Friendly rivalry: Brighton senior, Hartland freshman bond through mutual love of track and fieldRELATED:Replacing two-time all-stater, Pinckney's new softball lead-off hitter hovering around .600“Athleticism,” Carriere said.

“In the beginning, it was eye-catching how she could separate from a defender. Tonight, the two goals she scored she created tons of separation.”Contributing to all four goals against Northville boosted Bobby’s team-leading totals to 10 goals and six assists.

She had nine goals and two assists in her first full varsity season last year.“Especially losing a couple of key players last year, I knew we needed some new people stepping up and making an impact,” Bobby said. “I would say my confidence has leveled up.

That’s what’s really been helping me.”Bobby set up Brighton’s first two goals by Kate Malachino and Ella Vandemergel in the last 14 minutes of the first half.She extended the lead to 3-0 with 20 minutes and 23 seconds left in the game before Northville’s Ava Unger scored two goals 44 seconds apart to make it a 3-2 game with 12:09 remaining.

With the Mustangs pushing up, Bobby had plenty of room to sprint toward the net after taking a pass from Malachino to make it 4-2 with 2:30 left. But Northville kept battling, getting within a goal when Amelia Derek scored 17 seconds after Bobby and putting two shots just over the crossbar in the final two minutes.The Bulldogs (10-3) survived to earn a badly needed victory.

They were 8-1 and ranked 10th in Division 1 before losing back-to-back games last week to Hartland and Salem.Brighton hit the reset button against a Northville team that needed a victory against the Bulldogs and Thursday against Novi to win the KLAA West. By winning, Brighton secured a second straight division championship for archrival Hartland, which finished 6-1 in the West.

“We came back from a couple tough losses,” Bobby said. “I think we took out our anger tonight and really played hard. It was definitely tough on us mentally.

We really came into this game knowing we were coming for blood and we were gonna come back and get that win.”Brighton could see Northville and/or Hartland again before the state playoffs begin. The KLAA is holding a league tournament, which begins next week, for the first time.

Each team will play three games, with the top eight teams playing in the championship tournament and the bottom eight in their own.Contact Bill Khan at [email protected].

Follow him on X @BillKhanThis article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brynn Bobby factors in all 4 Brighton goals in soccer win over Northville.