MaxPreps 2013 Soccer Early Contenders: Our Lady of Good Counsel girls

What do you do for an encore when you've already accomplished everything?

Try to do it again. It's called the pursuit of excellence.

Our Lady of Good Counsel coach Jim Bruno and his players are masters at it. They are also one of 10 fall girls teams to be honored as a national title Early Contender, presented by adidas and Dick's Sporting Goods.

Bruno, the only coach Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) has known since going co-ed in 1988, carries a 394-92-47 mark into the 2013 fall season. The Falcons have been ranked No. 1 in the nation three times and have been in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Top 25 poll 18 times. They have also won eight Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships and have been to the playoff final 11 times.



It never gets old. The challenges never cease, either.

For example, Good Counsel expects to excel this season despite missing the 101 career goals of striker Midge Purce, who has moved on to Harvard. In all, the Falcons will be playing in 2013 without four NCAA Division 1-bound players they leaned on a year ago.

No matter. Bruno returns a player he calls one of the top goalkeepers in the nation, Michigan commit Megan Hinz. Like in Purce, the coach also has another player to summon who's part of the United States Women's National Team player development pool, midfielder Imani Dorsey.

See all the 2013 Fall Soccer Early Contenders

Bruno loses a host of top defenders from his back four in 2012, but has another stellar group waiting to step in. Purce is gone, but Nia Dorsey, the younger sister of Imani Dorsey, is ready to flourish up top.

"We have depth at all of our positions," Bruno said, "and feel this team has even better balance offensively and defensively than the 2012 team."



That's what you do for an encore.

In addition to a challenging WCAC schedule, Good Counsel is playing four teams that were ranked in the NSCAA’s top 25 last season, including No. 1 Maria Carrillo of California. The Falcons will also travel to Nashville to face Tennessee powers Brentwood and Franklin.

See the entire Our Lady of Good Counsel photo gallery

Local outlook: “Their kids are not cocky; they’re not arrogant. They’re good and they know it, but they don’t make a big deal of it... It’s a classy program top to bottom.”
- Severna Park coach Todd Clark, as told to Eric Detweiler of the Washington Post (@edetweiler)
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State classification: Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC)

Enrollment: 1,200

Athletic Director: Mark Jankovitz

2012 finish: 16-1-2 (No. 6 NSCAA poll)



Head coach: Jim Bruno

Years at school: 25

Career record: 394-92-47

Notable team achievements: Good Counsel has been ranked No. 1 in the nation three times and has been in the NSCAA’s top 25 an amazing 18 times. It has also won eight Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships and has been to the conference final 11 times.

Notable soccer alumni: Midge Purce represented the United States at the 2012 U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan.

Notable non-soccer facts about school: OLGC graduate Jelani Jenkins (U. of Florida) was selected in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins.
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Key Player losses:

F Midge Purce (Harvard)

D Jordyn Brock (Virginia Tech)

D Caroline Kimble (Louisville)



M Hollie Byer (George Mason)

M Maggie Boyd (Davidson)

Key Returners:

GK Megan Hinz

M Imani Dorsey

D Maddie Pack



D Karli Cirovski

D Lexy Andrews

F Nia Dorsey

M Courtney Parr

Rising Contributors:

D Lexy Andrews



M Suzanne Kimble

F Nicole Bautista

F Julia Abbott

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Toughest game: "In our back yard we face a tough WCAC schedule, and play the top three teams in the IAAM, top two from the ISL and one of the best public schools, Whitman. It's hard to pick one," said Bruno.

Question marks: Purce scored a lot of goals. A whole lot. So the big question has to be about who will pick up the scoring slack and the role of go-to player.

National look: Good Counsel doesn't have to look any farther than its WCAC schedule to gauge the national waters. Rival Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), finished No. 25 last season in the final NSCAA national poll, showing that the Washington, D.C. area is indeed a soccer hotbed.

In summary: "The quote on our shirts is 'In Pursuit of Excellence'. I think that sums it up. I will also steal the great Vince Lombardi quote, '(Gentlemen) Ladies, we will chase perfection, and we will chase it relentlessly, knowing all the while we can never attain it. But along the way, we shall catch excellence.'”
- Head coach Jim Bruno
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