KAPAA — In the fall, one of Kauai’s young soccer players will continue her journey on the East Coast.
Kapaa High School graduate Brianna Binder will attend Williams College, a NCAA Division III liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Binder received a scholarship and will join the school’s women’s soccer team.
“I feel like it something I have to get used to, but it’s one thing when I was looking into colleges, I wanted to get a little bit out of my comfort zone,” Binder said Friday in Kapaa. “Like, if I went somewhere in California, I used to live there. I have family there, so that would be normal. I wanted to get out there and experience something new.”
Binder is a four-time Kauai Interscholastic Federation All-Star for girls soccer selection, three times for Kapaa High School and once during her freshman year at Island School. She is also a two-time Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II All-Tournament Team selection.
This past season, Binder was the state’s leading scorer in Division II with 28 goals, according to ScoringLive.
“It’s exciting, but I’m humble about that stuff. I don’t want to brag, but it is nice to know that all the work I’ve put into playing soccer is paying off,” Binder said.
Binder visited the the school last fall and verbally committed to Williams College in September.
“They brought me over with the other recruits. It was fun,” she said. “We got to stay with the freshmen who played soccer there, stayed in the dorms, and we followed them to classes — got the whole Williams experience.”
Soon after she visited the campus, Williams College was in the hunt for a national title.
In December, the Ephs defeated University of Chicago to win the school’s second NCAA Division III women’s soccer national championship in three years, according to Williams
College Athletics.
“They were actually in mid-season when I went there. It wasn’t until towards the end of November, or October, that they won,” Binder said. “They’ve won in the past before. It was really cool to see, to watch them as they were doing it. We were up, like, at 5 in the morning watching their games. … I got to know how the team plays. I like their style of play.”
Binder said she was considering a handful of schools and narrowed it down to two — Williams College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), an NCAA Division III private school in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
A factor that swayed Binder to attend Williams College was how similar Williamstown was to Kauai, even though it’s far east.
“It is a small school. That is one thing I liked,” she said. “As they say, it’s a ‘cowtown.’ I feel like, yeah I’m going really far away, but I’m not going somewhere where it’s that much different. I’m not going to a big city or a big college. It’s not going to be too different. I’m not going to get overwhelmed. It’s something I found that I liked, and knowing that I’ll be going for a great education is even better.
“Also, I love the girls. Everyone is so positive. That’s the thing. The coaches say, ‘Once you play here, you’re going to love playing soccer even more.’ That’s their whole experience. They’re not playing to win. They’re playing just for the sake of playing soccer.”
Kapaa High School varsity girls soccer head coach Mytra McKeague couldn’t be reached for comment Saturday.
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Are you taking your game to the college ranks? Share your story with us. Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com.
