AOTW: Elise Brubaker, freshman soccer player

Why Elise Brubaker was selected: Brubaker scored the deciding goal in the team’s regular season finale. The Lady Colonels defeated host Manhattanville in a 2-1 decision. Brubaker’s upper-right connection was enough to clinch the first No. 1 MAC Freedom seed in program history. Congratulations, Elise!

Elise Brubaker
Freshman Soccer Player

Nicole Gaetani

Elise Brubaker Freshman Soccer Player

What head coach John Sumoski said: “She’s got great fitness, strength, speed and skill, but the thing that sets her apart is her desire.  I tell the girls there are two components that we look at, can you run and will you run.  There are plenty that have one component or the other and at certain degrees.  Elise has both at such a high level.  She will be a huge success in anything she does because she’s very simply a winner with a strong mind.”

Name: Elise Brubaker

Year: Freshman

Major: Mechanical Engineering, aspirations to apply to bioengineering/ biomedical engineering program

Hometown: Northumberland, Pa.

High School: Shikellamy HS

Position: Midfield

Driving force for your decision to come to Wilkes?

Wilkes is one of the few schools in Pennsylvania that has a bioengineering/biomedical engineering program and women’s soccer.

   

Post graduation plans in terms of a career?

My hopes are to find a job within my field soon after graduation.

Favorite building on campus?

Stark. I cannot wait for the renovations to be complete

What came first? The chicken or the egg?

God.

Hopes for this season as a Colonel?

To win the MAC Championship and make a run in the NCAA tournament.   

When/Why did you first begin playing?

I started playing when I was 7 years old.  My parents wanted me to try different sports to find one that I like, and this was the perfect fit.  I have a twin sister who also started playing when I did.  She was the first of the two of us to score a goal, but she does not play any more.  I am the one who stuck with it.      

If you had to choose one thing about your program that you could improve, what would it be?

I would change the way the bleachers are facing so the home fans do not have to look into the sun.

Other interests or hobbies off of the field?

I am a self taught knitter who enjoys and attending a knitting club back at home with elderly ladies at our public library.  I also enjoy snowboarding and cooking.    

Most influential person in your life?

I have had a lot of positive relationships with many coaches over the years.  A few that come to mind are Johnny Evans, Chris Colescott and Frank Omlor.

A quote you live your life by?

The person that said winning isn’t everything never won anything

-Mia Hamm

What does “Be Colonel” mean to you?

To have pride in your school your classmates and your sports teams.  Be an integral part of the Wilkes community.

If you could have dinner with a famous person from the past, who would it be?

I would have dinner with Henry Ford because he was a famous inventor who was tenacious.  He wanted to invent engines and vehicles that most thought were impossible to make.  He also wanted them to be affordable and accessible to everyone.   

Coke or Pepsi?

Neither- I do not like soda.

Anyone to give a shout-out to?

Number 23 (Alondra Cervantes) from Eastern who gave me this nice black eye…

-Complied by Luke Modrovsky, sports editor