Absegami High School Senior Lea Manning Makes a Difference on Defense

Lea Manning admittedly didn’t like the idea of moving to defense.

The senior saw herself as more of an offensive player on the soccer pitch, playing in the midfield or up top for most of her career.

However, Manning swallowed her pride for the benefit of the team, and her effort on the backline was one of the reasons why the Braves were one of the best teams in the Cape-Atlantic League and in southern New Jersey.

“I always preferred to be an offensive player, but the team needed someone to help on defense and I was fine with it,” Manning said. “I figured Coach (Elizabeth Lee) can teach me a bit about how to play in the back and we did well. It worked out well, at least I thought it did.”

Lee agrees.

Absegami was a stingy defensive team, as they amassed a 16-3-1 record this season with only one loss coming against CAL competition.

“She is one of the players you don’t notice because she is so consistent and does her job every single game,” Lee said. “She is very skilled, she is strong and talented.”

Lee added: “What I always tell the players is that the more positions you play the more versatile you get over four years. She is willing to do what is necessary for the team. She has played different positions and she is very solid. She is very composed, she knows the game and she makes smart decisions. She is not the fastest, she is not the biggest, but she works hard. She doesn’t say a lot, but she asks great questions. She is a workhorse and I couldn’t ask her to be more fit. She does her job.”

The Braves scored plenty of goals this season with Jenna Seddon and Erica Skroski leading the way, but sometimes the defense was overlooked.

Absegami allowed more than two goals just once this season, and gave up one goal or less 16 times. The Braves registered nine shutouts.

“I was nervous at the start,” Manning said. “Playing defense can be scary because I didn’t want to get blamed for any goals. I didn’t want it to be my fault. I got really used to it. I have great teammates who helped me get the hang of it. I was skeptical at first but I liked it by the end of the year.”’

Manning is a complete player and soon realized that she can use her offensive skills on her club team and the early years of high school from out of the back line.

Manning often rushed up field to aid the Braves’ offensive attack.

“That was my favorite part,” she explained. “It took a while to get used to going up and sprinting back. Once I got used to it I loved getting into the attack and sending balls across. It was good to get into the offense a little bit.”

“She is so smart on defense because she can shut down girls who are faster than her,” said Lee. “She is so patient one versus one and then she turns around and gets into the attack and she has a great across.”

Manning is still deciding on what college she will attend next year, but has plans on playing soccer.

With her experience on defense, whatever schools she attends will be getting a versatile player.