Brookylnn Pollmiller’s reaction to the final goal of her high school career speaks to who she is more than individual stats ever could.
Rampart’s leading scorer sent a header off a corner kick past the opposing keeper and into the goal as the PA announcer counted down the final 10 seconds of the Rams’ 3-2 loss to eventual 4A state champion Evergreen in the state semifinals.
“I have to take the good from that moment because I was super thankful that my best friend was able to cross the ball and I was able to hit it off of her cross,” she said. “That was really memorable and when I look back at that game, that’s what I’m able to think about. It does suck that it wasn’t earlier, but it’s also like that’s how it ended is being able to score and just walk off the field knowing I accomplished that.”
For Pollmiller, the sport isn’t about results, goals, and assists, but rather about having fun with great teammates and working hard for something greater than herself.
That doesn’t mean Pollmiller’s numbers were anything short of outstanding.
She scored 21 goals and earned 22 assists this spring. Her 21 scores put her at 55 career goals for Rampart, snapping a 30-year record. The previous mark of 47 was set by a Rampart staff member.
She was also named to the Colorado High School Activities Association’s all-state second team.
Pollmiller is the Gazette’s girls’ soccer Peak Performer of the Year.
Beyond the individual accolades, Pollmiller helped lead Rampart to a superb season which saw the Rams win 14 of 15 matches heading to the semifinal against Evergreen.
After scoring 14 goals alongside nine assists in both her sophomore and junior seasons, Pollmiller improved greatly for her swan song. She grew as a playmaker in part because she joined the Real National Colorado club team a couple of years ago.
The new team was a result of making the most of a tough time.
“I did Pride (Soccer) basically from when I was little up until my sophomore year,” she said. “We found out that we were not going to be in the ECNL level anymore, which is the league that we we’re in. … That was taken away from Pride and I always had a dream to play college soccer and I wanted to continue to try to play at the highest level possible, which is ECNL for girls. And I just tried very hard to find club teams up in Denver. I was super blessed to be able to have the opportunity to play on (Real National Colorado). “
Not only did Pollmiller capture an ECNL national title with Real, but she honed her skills competing alongside players at the club level. She took the lessons learned from her club season back to Rampart.
“When she has the ball and other teams know her dynamic and how she plays, and they tend to double or triple team her, she was able to find those outlets, be that decoy and set up her teammates more so this year,” Rampart coach Carisa Whitson said. “I think she’s just developed and learned how to be a more dangerous player, not just as a goal scorer, but also setting up her teammates.”
“I really love being able to set my teammates up for that type of success,” Pollmiller said. “Club taught me a lot about that and just finding the through balls, and finding little pockets to be able to set up my teammates or finding little pockets for me to be able to shoot.”
Pollmiller made those improvements in order to make the most of a bittersweet final year with her Rampart teammates, particularly the large 12-player senior class. Pollmiller said she played with 10 of those girls since the fifth grade.
“We treat each other like second families,” Pollmiller said of her fellow classmates. “We watched each other grow up. And playing together it’s always been so much fun. We always work hard for each other and we always are so supportive of each other and it’s just been really, really fun. I wouldn’t want to play high school with any other girls.”
Every moment spent together was special and cherished, whether it was on the field or off, in practice or during a game.
Pollmiller entered the Rampart program as a freshman and looked up to then-senior captain Sophie Kincaid. What stood out to the young player wasn’t Kincaid’s numbers but her love for the game, and the fact that through a strong work ethic, she earned an opportunity to continue playing at the collegiate level.
Pollmiller and the senior class kept that tradition going.
“Every single senior on that team was a leader,” she said. “I think we just proved our team culture and how to work to overcome things and be able to work through tough things. … We worked hard every single game, every practice, just to make it as far as possible.“
Their resolve translated to the field. In the Rams’ run of 14 wins in 15 matches, Rampart averaged nearly five goals a contest and earned 11 shutouts.
One of those was a 4-1 win over Liberty for senior night at the end of April.
“We were a little nervous, Liberty’s a good team, and we obviously don’t want to lose on our senior night,” Pollmiller said. “Going into it, we were just super excited to celebrate each other and this group of girls that we’ve played together forever. We just wanted everyone to find some sort of success that night and I think it did really make it super memorable being able to get up by that much and we had fun. We had a lot of fun that night.”
Of course, not every night ended with victory and Rampart’s season came to close with a second-straight appearance in the 4A state semifinals.
But not just Pollmiller watched Kincaid, no doubt the younger members of Rampart’s team watched her this season and learned the real priorities of being part of a team. They’ll have a guide to help them chase their dreams as Pollmiller continues hers at the University of South Dakota next season.
“She’s so humble. She doesn’t want the light on her,” Whitson said. “Her ability to stay humble despite all of the attention, handling the pressure like she did and continuing to improve game by game, even though she was highly marked, sometimes double-teamed, triple-teamed every game. She really just set the tone culturally for our team.”