STATE EXTRA: Wilson keeper the ‘main cheese’

FISHERSVILLE

Ask Brittany Reid about the defenders in front of her and she makes them sound like the greatest thing since bread and its eventual slicing.

“I know if I make a mistake, they’re right behind me,” said Wilson’s sophomore goalkeeper.

With her four defensive counterparts within ear shot, the rest of the Green Hornets’ backfield unit let out a chorus of, “Awww, how sweet.”

“If we’re the sliced bread,” said defender Tori Amato, “then she’s the main cheese.”

Laughter quickly follows.

Welcome to the defense.

At the anchor of that defense is Reid, who is your typical, all-out aggressive keeper who now finds herself having to play a tad or so below her normal speed.

The reason? An in-practice collision with defender Ashleigh Harris introduced the two girls’ skulls. Reid took the brunt of the shot and had to sit out two weeks with a concussion.

“I begged the doctor to [let me] come back,” she said.

Harris, at the mere thought of that fateful day, winced in pain and rubbed the back of her head.

“You’ve gotta give the defense some love,” joked coach Scott Crist.

Despite the intra-squad injury, the defense has loved the Green Hornets back. And it’s a unit that plans on being together for quite some time. All four defenders — Harris, Amato, Danielle Adams and Chloe Cawiezell — are sophomores, just like Reid.

But, like the rest of the Hornets defense, the keeper plays beyond her years.

Charged with being the on-field director of security for the Hornets, Reid isn’t a yeller. She’s more a loud talker who gets her defense into position. She’s also aggressive. Remember, she cracked heads with a teammate in practice.

“Now I try not to be too, too aggressive,” she said. “And it’s really tough. They know when I go out, I can’t go halfway. I have to go completely.”

But the 16-year-old said she knows she can rely on the girls in front of her if things do go awry.

“It has to go through them before it gets to me,” she said.

Hearing her comment elicited more, “Awww, how sweet.”

“It’s nice to have a supportive goalie,” said Harris, “who really trusts us.”

Reid nodded her head.

It goes both ways.