Keeping the faith

BY THE NUMBERS 

8 — Age Bramley started playing goalkeeper. 

4 — Years Bramley has been Lakewood Ranch’s starting goalkeeper. 

6 — Weeks Bramley missed during both his freshman and sophomore seasons after dislocating his right and left kneecaps, respectively. 

3 — District championships Bramley has won while playing for the Mustangs. 

LAKEWOOD RANCH — After countless hours of preparation, Liam Bramley has only a few seconds during a soccer game to prove himself. 

It’s in those moments, though, the Lakewood Ranch senior goalkeeper comes alive. 

Bramley, who has earned the starting job all four years of his high school career, changes his focus from the entire field and locks his eyes on the soccer ball coming his way. 

He is, literally, the Mustangs' last line of defense. 

In that one instant, his ability to maneuver his 5-foot, 11-inch frame in front of the ball as it rockets toward the goal could decide the game. 

“It all comes down to being able to make that big save when you’re called upon,” Bramley said. “Some games you may only touch the ball once or twice, but when you do, you have to come up big for the team.”

In four seasons, Bramley constantly has produced the big save. He has three district titles to his credit and his team is off to a 5-2-1 start. They have allowed seven goals and Bramley has posted four shutouts.

More often than not this season, Bramley finds himself standing in front of his net watching the action unfold, on the other end of the field with the ball rarely crossing to the Mustangs' side. 

Boredom undoubtedly has to be a factor. 

That's OK with Bramley who loves watching his offensive teammates have success. That makes his job that much easier.

“In terms of being successful, I’d rather be bored because at that point we’re obviously winning,” Bramley said. 

The Mustangs have 10 more regular-season games and Bramley has to keep his concentration so he is ready for the big moments.

“He’s a really good goalkeeper just in the way he stands out for the team and the way he communicates,” sophomore forward Pablo Vargas said. “He puts 100% effort into his play."

Since the Mustangs know Bramley will stop just about everything that comes his way, Vargas said it takes off the pressure for the offense to score multiple goals. They don't have to take chances.

Bramley has been a keeper since his first competitive U9 soccer season. 

His reasoning was simple. It went against the norm. Goalkeeper was not a popular position. For him, it was a chance to leave his mark on every game he played. 

It was also a position that fit him naturally. Bramley was a quick study and he picked up the basic requirements associated with being a goalkeeper easily.

Then it became a matter of learning how to be a leader and how to make an impact when he wasn't actively involved in a game. He said much of his success stems in large part from being able to communicate with his teammates. 

“It’s probably the one position that requires leadership and a lot of communication,” he said. “The keeper can see everything on the field while the other players only see what’s in front of them.” 

Bramley said he approaches each game with the same intensity and attention to detail no matter the opponent.

He goes through his same warm-up ritual, beginning with footwork exercises and eventually moving to diving stops. 

“The preparation doesn’t change because you never know when the team is going to have a bad day,” Bramley said. 

Besides the three district titles, Lakewood Ranch has earned a regional final performance and a state Final Four appearance during Bramley's sophomore season. 

And since he is undecided about playing soccer in college, this might be his last chance to lead a competitive team to a title. He wants to win more soccer hardware to Lakewood Ranch's display case.

“That’s sort of been the standard while I’ve been here,” Bramley said. “Winning the district title for a fourth time would be incredible and hopefully we can make another deep run through regionals and on to states.”