Posted 8:45 p.m. September 10, 2006

    OR's Buckley: The Natural

    By Mike Blackerby
    editor@oakridgesports.com


    There’s no question that Brianna Buckley is a prototype defender.
    Oak Ridge coach O.J. Sheppard would take it even a step further.
    In Sheppard’s eyes, Buckley was born to not only play, but excel on
    the soccer field.
    “I remember when Buckley came to a tryout four years ago,” recalled
    Sheppard.
    “I never even needed to watch her touch a soccer ball. I could tell by
    the way she walked on the pitch and by the muscles in her legs that
    she was a player.”
    A player indeed.
    Buckley, a senior captain for the 7-0 and No. 2-ranked Lady Wildcats,
    has been a four-year mainstay during the best run in Oak Ridge girls’
    soccer history.
    If Buckley and the Lady Wildcats don’t make it to their fifth-
    consecutive state tournament this season, consider it a major upset.
    Oak Ridge fell just shy of winning its first soccer state championship in
    2005, falling 1-0 to Collierville in the finals.
    An All-State selection as a junior, Buckley has a good shot at coming
    close to Britta Byrne’s Oak Ridge record of playing in 109 games
    during her Lady Wildcats career.
    Buckley, who was the 2005 Region Defensive Player of the Year, had
    already played in 82 games coming into this 2006 season.
    She has a well-earned reputation as a fierce, relentless and physical
    outside defender.
    “I hear a lot of people say they hate to play against me,” chuckled
    Buckley, almost seeming to relish the concept.
    “I love playing defense. When I go out there I give it everything I can
    and try and not let my man beat me. I’m a very physical player.”
    In any sport, you’ve got to love to play defense to be good at it.
    Such is the case with Buckley.
    “You don’t get as much glory in the back as the forwards do. Coach
    puts a lot of trust in you to mark your man back there and not let him
    by you.”
    Sheppard said that Buckley has few equals across the state at her
    position.
    “I’d say she’s the top defender in the area. When you look at the best
    defenders around the Eastern part of Tennessee she has no peers.
    Around the state she has very few.”
    Sheppard said that Buckley’s physical ability is unmatched in any
    nook or cranny of the state.
    “Buckley generally plays 80 minutes a game and typically draws the
    toughest assignments. She can also strike a ball as well as a guy. She
    can knock the ball 70 yards.”
    Buckely has also recorded some remarkable numbers.
    In 2005 she won 97 percent of the tackles in her area, 98 percent of
    the aerial balls she fought for and 85 percent of the balls knocked in
    her space.
    Buckley said she likes the make-up of these Lady Wildcats, who
    return to action at 7:30 Tuesday night against visiting Powell at the
    Oak Ridge Soccer Stadium.
    “We’re taking it one game at a time. We can’t look too far ahead. I
    have high hopes for this team. We’ve been so close the last fews
    years and gone a little further every time. Our goal is to win it all.”
Brianna Buckley gets physical with a
Farragut player last week.
Oak Ridge Lady Wildcat Soccer