After being named 2009/2010 Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year, Brown moved on to Notre Dame where he would play in 63 games scoring 14 goals and nine assists over the course of his collegiate career.
During the 2013 season, Brown allotted five goals and three assists including the equalizer for ND in the College Cup Final against the University of Maryland Terrapins.
His current team, the Real Monarchs, are official affiliates with Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer providing a direct route to the MLS for Brown pending an impressive rookie campaign.
#CollegeSoccerExposed got Brown's take on college soccer, his time with Notre Dame and his plans with the Real Monarchs.
CSE - Fundamental: What's the best part about college soccer?
Brown: I'd say the best part about college soccer is being able to get a great education while playing the game I love. Soccer won't last forever so being able to get an education while playing is a benefit that will last my whole life. The team camaraderie is also something that you don't get at any other level. In club soccer, you don't see your teammates everyday like you do in college so you develop stronger bonds with guys. And once money becomes an incentive in the pros, it can change the way a lot of guys play the game. So in college soccer, you see players all buy in for one similar goal.
CSE - Fundamental: What's the worst part about college soccer?
Brown: The worst part about college soccer is its rules, there should be similar rules to FIFA, maybe the only exception being the substitution rule so that more players are given the opportunity to represent their school. A longer season could also be beneficial since it could allow for more time in between games, especially at the conference tournament and college cup weekend when there are two games in three days. That doesn't allow for the best quality from players on the field as legs get tired in the finals.
CSE - Player Specific: Talk about what it was like winning the college cup as well as scoring the equalizer in the final.
Brown: Winning the college cup was the best day of my life so far. It was really just the result of all 30 guys on our roster buying in and doing whatever it took to win, no matter what their specific role on the team might have been. From Harry Shipp, a 2013 Hermann trophy finalist to our freshman walk-on, every single guy worked for each other from January of that year until the final whistle blew in the national championship. Scoring in that game was also obviously something I'll never forget, but it was just me going out there and doing the job I was called upon to do. Coming in off the bench so early wasn't easy to do but I was able to get into the game and give our team the boost we needed down 1-0. I felt I should've scored another in that game so I'm glad my roommate at the time, Andrew O'Malley, was able to bail me out with a great header.
CSE - Player Specific: How has the level of play at Notre Dame helped you to improve as a player?
Brown: The level of play at ND was as good as it gets in college soccer. The staff, from our coaches to our trainer to our strength and conditioning coach and everyone else who does the work that goes unseen to the public, they all put us in a good position to succeed with all their great preparation, and then it's just up to us to produce on the pitch. It's definitely the most professional environment I've been in so far and my growth both as a player and as a person can be credited to everything I learned there.CSE - Player Specific: Whats the next step for you in your soccer career?
Brown: I'm now heading out to Salt Lake City on Sunday to play for the Real Monarchs of the USL, affiliates of Real Salt Lake. They've given me a great opportunity to make it as a professional so I just want to make the most out of it and help the team be as good as we can be. I'm excited to get out there and back on the field with a new organization that's looking to make an immediate impact in the USL.
It's clear that college soccer has impacted this young professional, but Brown has taken the pass less traveled in the states. An American out of college signing professional without going through the draft; begs the question,what purpose does the draft truly serve? With seniors in college consistently by passing the draft and signing contracts, could the draft be obsolete?
Keep it here for weekly installments, as we expose some of the greatest and poorest aspects of college soccer as told by the players.
#CollegeSoccerExposed
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