COVINGTON, Ga. — Alcovy’s Daphne Ramirez has done a lot for Lady Tigers soccer. Now she hopes to do the same for Brenau after signing her letter of intent Tuesday.

As Alcovy’s goalkeeper, Ramierz has helped take the Lady Tigers to postseason play three out of her four years in the backfield.

“She’s not going to make a mistake that will lose the game for you, but she might come up with a save that will win it for you,” said Alcovy girls coach Chris Ubriaco. “She’s gotten better as a goalkeeper, but the way she’s really grown is as a leader. She’s always been very vocal but now she’s really stepped into that leadership role. Some people are born for it and some people try to fake it. She was definitely born to be a leader.”

That leadership quality has paved the way for Ramirez to be in the net while playing for the Brenau Golden Tigers. Even though she was a four-year starter at Alcovy, Ramirez knows that she may not have the same opportunity at the next level. However, she is okay with the competition that the next level will bring.

“I’ll be competing against a senior goalkeeper and she has four years on me,” Ramirez said. “But I’m excited. I think that as long as I give it my best I’ll have a shot. That’s just as important to me.” 

Ramirez knew from the start that Brenau was the best choice for her as it was the first school she looked into attending. Not only did the school make her feel at home, she also liked the team chemistry and camaraderie.

“When I first went to visit you could tell that they all actually liked each other,” she said. “They were very warm and welcoming. That’s very important to me because team chemistry is the most important.”

Ramirez knows a lot about team chemistry as most of the Alcovy players have been together since their freshman year. 

Ubriaco, who has been Alcovy’s head coach for the past three years, hates to see her go. In Ramirez he had a team captain, last year’s MVP and a solid player in the backfield.

“That’s tough to replace no matter what you have coming back,” he said. “Her personality is unbelievable. She’s a winner on the field, she’s a winner in the classroom and as a person she’s flat-out amazing.”

As a senior, Ramirez has 35 saves stopping 90 percent of the shots coming her way. She’s blocked one of two penalty kicks and has one shut out win.

While having played for Alcovy for four years, Ramirez knows that she has to leave. 

She’s been apart of the program’s building process, having seen it grow from a team that every opponent wanted to schedule for senior night to a squad that had to be respected and looked upon as a postseason contender. 

But what she’s going to miss the most are the memories made.

“Every good thing has come to an end,” she said. “We have to go to a new chapter in life. It’ll be sad in the beginning but I think it’s something we’re all ready for.

“I would tell (players coming behind her) to enjoy the little moments that you have with your teammates, because they’re the things you’re going to look back on the most.”