In the Clutch, Kay Was Goal-Oriented

There’s no way around it. Brandon Kay is a prime-time player.

A senior midfielder at Royal High, Kay is The Times’ player of the year for boys’ soccer in the region.

“Brandon had a lot of experience to fall back on,” said Coach Kevin Corley, who estimates Kay scored close to a dozen winning goals in three seasons as a starter.

“But he’s a rarity as far as enjoying the big games more. He doesn’t get anxious or tense.”

Kay admits being nervous only once, before playing in the Southern Section Division I title match earlier this month.

“My stomach got a little tight during warmups,” Kay said. “But once they called our names out during introductions, I was fine.”

Despite being shadowed by a defender, Kay scored midway through the match to give Royal a 1-0 victory and its second division title in three years.

On the scoring play, Kay sent a pass to teammate Kendall Simmonds on the right wing, then ran down a deflected shot by Simmonds and scored without settling the ball.

“On that play, he got taken down just as he made the pass,” Corley said. “The guy who took him down stayed down and Brandon jumped right up and went to the goal. As soon as he struck the shot he was running back upfield with his finger in the air.”

Kay, 5 feet 10 and 160 pounds, earned All-Southern Section Division I honors after scoring 13 goals and making 12 assists. He is still relishing the title but said his recollection of the goal is hazy.

“I’ve replayed it in my mind a few times but my memory’s kind of blurry because it happened so fast,” Kay said.

After the goal, Kay moved to sweeper, where he started as a sophomore and for part of this season, to secure the victory. Such versatility, combined with a mastery of balls in the air, make him the best all-around player in the region.

“He’s a soccer fanatic,” Corley said. “He’d stay after practice with us to watch film on teams or to talk about things we were doing. He just loves the game.”

Kay, who has played soccer since he was 4 years old, has signed with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.