GCC grad Brenna Springer finds new, more comfortable home with Seton Hill women's soccer

Brenna Springer needed a fresh start.

Like many high school athletes, she was enamored with the idea of playing at the Division I level, so the former Greensburg Central Catholic star accepted a scholarship to play soccer at Akron. The experience left a lot to be desired.

During her freshman season with the Zips, which was interrupted by covid and moved to the spring, she suffered a second knee injury. (She had torn her ACL between her junior and senior year of high school.) Once she returned from her rehab, she appeared in only three matches during her sophomore season.

Springer was dissatisfied both athletically and academically. She decided to transfer and wound up landing not far from her home in Ligonier: Seton Hill.

Being close to home wasn’t a huge factor in her decision, she said, but, “now that I am closer to home, I love it even more. I love spending time with my family, and I’m able to go to more family events and not miss out on them. It’s definitely a big plus.”

Springer’s presence has been a big plus for the Griffins, too.

Through the first seven games, the Griffins are 3-1-3 (1-1-3 in the PSAC). Springer has appeared in six, starting one, logging 211 minutes and contributed two assists.

Springer arrived on campus last spring to begin the process of getting accustomed to her new surroundings and new teammates. And it was just about that time that Adrian Blewitt was named the team’s coach.

There was a lot of “newness” to absorb, but Springer said she feels like the transition was a smooth one.

“That was the goal of me coming in the spring was to get comfortable with the girls and getting to know the team, how people play and them getting to know how I play,” she said. “When we started in the fall, we weren’t playing catchup. So I think I am pretty comfortable.

“With the new coach, we’re kind of all on the same page right now just figuring out what he wants out of us and his expectations and just trying to meet them.”

Seeing a lot of familiar faces on the roster was helpful. Seton Hill’s roster has 15 other players with WPIAL ties, and Springer had at least some level of familiarity with them, either having played with and against them or by reputation.

One name she was glad to see on the roster was Maddie Carr. The junior from Serra Catholic was one of Springer’s frequent foes in high school. Carr leads the Griffins with three goals.

“It’s been fun to play with her now,” Springer said. “She was always a tough person to play against in high school with her speed, so it’s nice to have her on my team now.”

Springer is playing midfield, her natural position, and she prides herself on defense. That commitment helped the Griffins stifle opponents early on, as they yielded zero goals through the first five matches.

“First I think in the midfield, we need to be hard tacklers,” she said. “We need to be winning the ball in the air. … All-around we are just winning the ball in the midfield. That’s our first job.

“I need to turn quickly, so I should be turning to the point of attack … providing a lot of movement offensively that makes us more difficult to defend.”

Springer said she is fully healthy now and growing more at ease with her new team each day. That, she said, should lead to better performances as the season progresses and a higher finish in the PSAC West than their predicted fifth place.

“Now it feels like a good place for me, better environment all around,” she said about Seton Hill. “I am happier with how I am playing. I mean, I’m always wanting more out of myself. I’m not always going to be my happiest with where I’m at.

“The team all around I think is playing great. We’re really playing for each other right now, so I’m happy with that.”