Sherando star becomes known for clutch play

Dennis paced Warriors' high-powered offense by tallying area-best 27 goals

By Jeremy Stafford - jstafford@nvdaily.com

STEPHENS CITY -- Big players score in big games.

Those words, spoken by Sherando coach Rob Kilmer, reverberated in Brittini Dennis' skull as she took the pitch against Brentsville on May 21. Given the situation, the game was certainly one of the biggest of Dennis' career: Her Warriors were down 1-0 to the Tigers.
But never mind that it was the Northwestern District tournament final, or that Brentsville loomed over Sherando as an undefeated district power.

Dennis, The Northern Virginia Daily's Girls Soccer Player of the Year, knew that the importance of that championship game rested on the likelihood that the match was probably the last one for the Sherando seniors, who had never before defeated the Tigers.
But Dennis was a big player. She brushed away the Tigers' undefeated record; she cast aside the thought that, while Sherando was certainly a good team, it couldn't overcome mighty Brentsville.

"They've impacted me a lot," Dennis said of her senior teammates. "They're the reason I am who I am today. They're the reason why I act the way I do.

"They've taught me a lot of what I do now to teach to the younger girls."

So for the sake of the seniors, the big player did what big players do. In the 27th minute, Dennis evened the score on a breakaway goal with what Kilmer describes as maybe the fastest pair of legs in the region.

"There hasn't been a faster player yet, that I've seen," said Kilmer, who managed to scout such region powerhouses as Charlottesville, Heritage and Group AA state champion Broad Run. "Everyone that's been with me and seen those games would agree with me that she's the fastest player."

But Dennis isn't just fast. She's not that player that depends on beating defenders to long balls played to an open space.

She's a bona fide talent.

She thrives in the presence of competition, and she's driven to stand out among it. She stood out when she played recreational soccer growing up.

So how did Dennis fair when she joined an all-star league when rec soccer became too boring? She was a standout talent there, too.

Even playing on a Division 5 travel team became droll and tedious for Dennis, who seemed unique among her friends for surrounding herself with soccer, attending camps and skill sessions in her spare time.

"The talent was better, but then again it got to the point where some people didn't want to move up in that class," Dennis said of the all-star league. "[For them,] it's just to have fun and do it, and I got to the point where I want to progress and move up."

Dennis tried out for a Division 1 travel league, not so much to actually make the team as to experience the thrill of playing against the very best in the area.

Dennis made the team, though, the Loudoun 91G black of Washington Area Girls Soccer League. And when she finally joined the Warriors, a team with an astounding roster of future college players like Molly Hopkins, Jesse Sites and Nikki Rhodes, it was just more of the same for Dennis.

"On a team loaded with talent, obviously there's going to be stars rising to the occasion," Kilmer said. "To me, she's the example of that."

This season Dennis scored 27 goals, which tied with Rhodes for most in the area. Her 51 career goals is the second most in Sherando history.

But the Sherando seniors finally played their final match in a loss at Charlottesville in the region quarterfinals. And that senior class, so latent with ability, now leaves the responsibility of continuing Sherando's winning tradition up to Dennis and the underclassmen she helped develop.

"I don't know -- I don't even want to think about it, knowing my seniors are leaving," Dennis said before her voice trailed off. "I'm like, 'OK, what am I going to do?'"

But Dennis knows what's needed of her. The big player must rise to the occasion and face a new challenge. Her voice returned to her, and there was no hesitation in what she said: "This is where I need to step up to where I need to be as an individual, and learn how to do it on my own."