NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Abi Brighton and her Vanderbilt women’s soccer teammates didn’t exactly swagger into Orange Beach, Alabama, ahead of the 2020 SEC Tournament. Nearing the apex of an unusual fall, which featured games against solely SEC opponents during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commodores were struggling to play consistent soccer. But spirits lifted and frustrations faded as their bus pulled up to the Alabama hotel.
Brighton and her teammates marveled at the oversized waterslide, at the beach and oceanside trappings. After everything that fall had thrown at them, on and off the field, they felt stress lifting—almost as if they were starting a vacation. As they gathered their things to file off the bus, head coach Darren Ambrose steered into the vibe.
“Just go have fun,” Ambrose told them. “Don’t overthink it, just play. Let’s just play.”
They did just that—earning the bracket positions to stay through the entire tournament: The Commodores rolled to their first tournament title since 1994, outscoring opponents 14-4.
Already a midfield starter in her debut season, Brighton scored twice in the tournament—including a goal against Mississippi State that made ESPN SportsCenter’s top plays of the day. She’s now at the other end of the athletic timeline, a graduate student ready to lead the Commodores into her final SEC Tournament (in Pensacola, Florida).
BANGERS 🚀 ft. Abi Brighton.#SCTop10 | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/evFebwENrt
— Vanderbilt Soccer (@VandySoccer) November 16, 2020
Brighton arrived at Vanderbilt in the middle of the pandemic that upended daily life. She’s competed for five seasons in a college sports landscape that’s morphing in real time, from the growth of the transfer portal to the advent of NIL. A leader, captain and all-conference midfielder, she embodies the unchanging values that shaped a successful program—even as she helps that program navigate a new era of change and challenge.
She’s lived in interesting times, as the apocryphal proverb goes. She’s thrived by never letting go of that piece of advice on the bus in Orange Beach: “Let’s just play.”
“Any college player goes through a lot of trials and ups and downs—you never know if you’re going to get injured or have the best game your life,” Brighton said. “I feel like one of the biggest ways I’ve grown is just being able to adapt to those times. I would say it’s pretty hard to shake me up as a person…