Alex Bramall named ESPN RISE all-American

Newburgh Free Academy midfielder Alex Bramall had never heard of it.
The ESPN RISE Fall Boys’ Soccer all-America team. A classmate informed Bramall that he made the squad in between classes on Thursday.
Interested, Bramall went online and did his research. According to ESPN RISE, Bramall, who helped Newburgh to the Class AA state title this fall, is one of the 12 best players in the country.
“That’s sick,” said Bramall, the only player to win the Varsity845 Player of the Year award twice (2008-09). “It just shows that all of my hard work paid off. It’s a big honor, something you have to be proud of to reach.”
Bramall was named a National Soccer Coaches Association of America all-American, along with teammate Wes Finch, a midfielder, in December. The Goldbacks finished 19-1-2 and ranked 12th in the NSCAA High School poll and seventh in ESPN Rise’s Fab 50 national rankings. Before this season, no Section 9 team had ever won a state Class AA tournament game. Newburgh won four matches.
Bramall, a senior, scored 17 goals with 11 assists this fall and put up the game-winner with five minutes in a 2-1 win over Brentwood in the Class AA state championship. That helped him make the ESPN RISE team – selected by editor Sheldon Shealer after consultation with coaches and journalists from around the country.
All 12 players on the team will play Division I next fall and Bramall, set to play at St. John’s next year, will face many of them in the Big East.
“I know a lot of these kids,” Bramall said. “So the competition starts now and we will continue into college. That’s good, that’s how it should be. I’m looking forward to going against a lot of these players in college.”