Former Raider Johnson shines for Northland

• Hudson native Bryanna Johnson

Hudson native Bryanna Johnson, a sophomore defender for the Northland College women’s soccer team, has been named to the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Honorable Mention Team for the second year in a row. Northland College photo

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Bryanna Johnson, a 2008 graduate of Hudson High School, just completed her sophomore season of women’s soccer at Northland College in Ashland.

The LumberJills finished the 2009 campaign with the best record in school history, 15-4-1. Their conference record of 11-3 earned them a second place finish in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC).

Johnson, a defender for the Jills, started every game this season and was a core component as she marked up against the leading scorers from opposing teams, according to Northland coach Ashley Grant, the 2009 UMAC Coach of the Year.

“Her ability to tackle hard, judge the play and step to the ball helped shut down an attack before one could even commence,” Grant said. “Bryanna aided in the high scoring offense by starting many plays from the back that eventually led to goals.”

Johnson had two assists this season, scored one goal on a penalty kick and was named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention Team for the second year in a row.

She is the daughter of Hal and Pat Johnson and is studying Environmental Geoscience at Northland.

For the first time ever Northland advanced to the UMAC Tournament Championship, only to lose their third game of the season to conference champion, The College of Saint Scholastica, by a score of 1-0. Three of the four losses that the Jills suffered this season all came from The College of Saint Scholastica.

Tags: northland college, bryanna johnson, sports, soccer