Sabrina Bryan Details Dual-Sport Days at Hofstra; Studying to become Doctor of Physical Therapy

Sabrina Bryan is a current physical therapy student at Slippery Rock University, but prior to this, she was a dual-sport athlete at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Soccer was the sport that helped bring her to Hofstra as the Canon McMillan graduate was a standout for the Washington County school.

(Photos from Hofstra Athletics submitted by Sabrina Bryan)

As a member of the Canon-Mac Big Macs, she helped her team win the 2016 state championship in Class AAAA. Individually, her high school accolades include leading her team in scoring in three of four seasons, finishing as the program leader in scoring in postseason player, finishing second all-time in both goals and assists for Canon-Mac, being a three-time All-WPIAL and WPIAL-All-Star, being named All-State in 2016, being tabbed the Almanac MVP and to the Almanac Elite Eleven as a senior, and being a Pittsburgh Post Gazette All-Area Team as a senior.

She also achieved highly on the club soccer circuit as a member of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds organization. She helped the Riverhounds to a U16 Southeast Regional championship and a spot in the US Club Soccer National Semifinals in 2015.

When it came to pick a school, Bryan did not feel a connection to stay in Pittsburgh to continue her career, but eventually, Hofstra came into the equation. The coaches even showed up to the Greater Pittsburgh Area to meet with her and her family in her home.

“Coming across Hofstra was a true blessing,” Bryan said. “I wanted to be a part of their program because I felt I could really make an impact and felt the coaches and I had the same vision on how to make that happen. We were able to have some of the most successful four years in program history when I was there.”

In her four years, Bryan started in every contest that she played in, 75 in all. She scored 33 goals, dished out 27 assists, and scored 10 game winning goals for the program from 2017 to 2021.

Her college career concluded with being named a CAA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll student in each of her first six semesters. Her sophomore season was one she took a leap in as she racked up selections to the United Soccer Coaches Association All-East Region Second Team, the All-CAA First Team, and she was named to the CAA All-Tournament Team. Her junior year with The Pride finished with even more accolades as she was named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second Team, the United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team, the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region First Team, the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-East Region First Team, was named the CAA Attacking Player of the Year, was selected as All-CAA First Team performer, made the CAA All-Tournament Team, was tabbed as an All-ECAC Team, was the.Front Row Soccer Co-Player of the Year, and lived up to her preseasons expectations after being named to the CAA Preseason Team going into her junior season. Her senior season was one affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but still one that she finished on a positive note. In just nine matches, she was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region First Team, the CAA Attacking Player of the Year, an All-CAA First Team performer, a 2020-21 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List player, and a.2020 Women’s Soccer Senior CLASS Award Nominee. She also was noticed as one of the top players in the country, being named the 39th best player in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer’s postseason Top 100.

She graduated from Hofstra as the all-time assist leader with 27, ranks fourth in program history in points with 93, is sixth all-time in goals with 33, and finished first in the nation in points per game, assists per game, and total assists in 2021. Her favorite moments and accomplishments include being named an All-American, having a SportsCenter Top 10 Play, scoring two goals against Boston College in an upset victory in the NCAA Tournament, and scoring a game-winning goal against Loyola Chicago in the NCAA Tournament. While soccer was her first love, she earned the opportunity to be a part of the women’s track and field team at Hofstra for two years. She and some of her soccer teammates agreed to do this in order to help the women’s track team that was added to the athletic department a few years ago. Bryan became a sprinter for The Pride and shared a funny story about her first collegiate track meet, the first track meet of her life, in fact. “I went to run the 100m dash and I remember the girl in the lane next to me asked if I was going to change into my track shoes. When I told her I didn’t own any, she was a little taken aback. But, I explained to her the scenario and she was really nice about it and showed me how to use the starting blocks and everything. I did pretty well though and was able to keep up, so it was a fun experience.”

With her college athletics career behind her, Bryan is now focused on becoming a sports physical therapist. She liked Slippery Rock because it was near home and was a familiar program for her family. Her older sister, Samantha, is finishing up in the program presently, and she has enjoyed the program. She said this about her next goal of becoming a sports physical therapist. “I feel that having been a high level athlete, I can help my patients based on my experiences. I also think I can relate to them on a psychological level, too. Going to Slippery Rock means having great resources and professors, and that is a big reason for what led me there.” A college career filled with so many experiences in two different sports may be over, but a career in athletics is something likely to be in her future in a few short years. Congratulations on all you accomplished as an athlete, and best of luck at Slippery Rock, Sabrina! Thank you for the chance to highlight your standout soccer career ⚽️👩‍⚕️