FORTVILLE — Being named a Daily Reporter Hancock County athlete of the year is nothing new for Mt. Vernon junior Kylie Brandes.
In her freshman year she was named the county’s top girls tennis player, and as a sophomore, she earned that honor again along with being named the girls soccer athlete of the year.
As the 2023 Daily Reporter Hancock County girls soccer athlete of the year once again, her bid to repeat as a multi-sport athlete of the year is underway.
“Last year was kind of the first year where everything was going through her. Some of her success last year was letting the game come to her and taking advantage of opportunities that were given to her,” Mt. Vernon head coach Aaron Britt said. “This year, she was more demonstrative, and took it upon herself to create chances when we needed, which was good to see. There were areas when the team was struggling, that she kind of pushed the envelope a bit and was more vocal in pushing her teammates along.”
Brandes keeps getting better.
In her sophomore season, she accumulated 30 points by scoring 10 goals and adding 10 assists over the course of the Marauders 17-game season.
This year, she nearly matched that mark over the Marauders seven-game conference schedule.
In games against Hoosier Heritage Conference opponents, she recorded 27 points, with eight goals and 11 assists.
“I had a lot more confidence going forward and taking people on and just knowing that I can beat people,” Brandes said. “It definitely helps when the whole team is pitching in and all playing together. It helps the flow of the game and helps me get into spots and areas that I need to be in. The team this year was very special to me because of all the seniors. It’s going to be really tough next year with all of them gone.”
In the big-time games, she stepped up even more.
In a 4-0 win over county rival Greenfield-Central, Brandes scored a goal and added two assists, in Mt. Vernon’s regular-season finale with a share of the HHC title on the line, she scored a goal and assisted on three other Marauders goals in a 5-0 win over Pendleton Heights, and in the Marauders 3-1 sectional loss to East Central, she scored the team’s lone goal.
“The games that matter more, she’s always ready,” Britt said. “More often than not, she’s going to be successful in those games.”
Her total season stats of 16 goals and 12 assists earned her all-conference honors for the second straight year, along with being named first-team all-district by the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association.
Her 12 assists were a team-high and were tied for third in the conference.
“I definitely try to look for other people and try to pass to see if there’s better options than just trying to go two-on-one,” Brandes said. “Assists are almost more important than goals.”
It wasn’t just the amount of assists that she got that improved from last season, according to Britt, it was how she got them that was better than a season ago.
“Last season most of those assists came off of corners, but this year there were a lot more in the run of the game. Most teams we play would send multiple people to double or triple her on defense, so it was cool to see her be strong on the ball and find other people,” Britt said. “She’s not just a one-trick pony that’s only going to score on free kicks or assist on corners. If you pressure her, she’s going to find teammates in good scoring chances.”
The same went for the goals that she scored. In year two as the Marauders go-to player on offense, her trust and confidence in herself was more evident.
“Set pieces are where I normally get a lot of them, but this year I was able to take some more people on and trust that I can do that and be able to finish in the spots that I need to,” Brandes said.
After helping lead the Marauders to a 10-5-1 season, and a third straight HHC shared or outright title, for the two-time girls soccer player of the year, there’s just one hurdle to overcome and one more goal left to check off of her high school soccer career — beat East Central.
The Trojans have ended the Marauders season in all three of Brandes’ years on the team.
Next year, in her senior season, she’s hoping to get one more chance.
“I just really want to beat East Central,” Brandes said. “That’s always our challenge.”
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2023 All-Hancock County Girls Soccer Team
Pos. – Name, School;Class
D – Allie Blum, New Palestine;12
M – Kylie Brandes, Mt. Vernon;11
M – Reagan Britt, Mt. Vernon;11
D – Elise Gawrys, Mt. Vernon;12
F/M – Mattie Isger, Mt. Vernon;12
F/M – Paige McCarley, Greenfield-Central;10
GK – Jessica Merritt, Greenfield-Central;12
D – Vivian Miller, New Palestine;12
D – Kalyn Moss, Greenfield-Central;12
D – Lilian Muhlenkamp, Mt. Vernon;12
F – Tylar Whitaker, New Palestine;11
Player of the Year: Kylie Brandes, Mt. Vernon
Coach of the Year: Erin Clark, New Palestine
Honorable Mention
Greenfield-Central: Alyssa Deckard, Tessa Joyner, Callie Means, Ainsley Robinson
Mt. Vernon: Esther Isger, Addison Lockwood, Hannah Monroe, Ava Stephenson
New Palestine: Nevaeh Gebhart, McKenzie Hacker, Rylee Hurst, Abby Lambdin
