Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame
The ball is positioned in the right corner and the Rhodes and Sewanee soccer players are positioning themselves for a Lynx corner kick. The Sewanee coach is hollering, “Who has #3? Who has #3?” The ball is kicked to the goal area, and in the midst of a sea of red and purple jerseys, Neil Brunetz rises a foot above the other players for an unbelievable header into the goal. This scene became a familiar sight for Rhodes players, coaches and fans when Neil Brunetz donned a Lynx uniform from 1993-96.
Neil was an outstanding student at Kirby High School and was one of Memphis’ more highly recruited soccer players, so it was a real coup for Coach Andy Marcinko to convince Neil to attend Rhodes. During Neil’s career the Lynx soccer program attained unparalleled success winning the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) title in 1993 and making two appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament in 1994 and 1995.
As Coach Marcinko stated, “Neil was very talented, but what separated Neil from other talented players was the energy and passion he brought to every practice and game. It was infectious and the key to our success.” During Neil’s career he scored an amazing 64 goals and 150 points. During his senior season he scored 23 goals and 51 points, which led the SCAC in 1996.
Neil was named First-Team All Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and All Region each of his four years at Rhodes. In 1996 he was named Second-Team All American by the National Soccer Coaches Association. He also participated in the NSCAA/Umbro All America game, one of two Division III players selected to play in the game. In 1997, to honor his outstanding soccer career, Neil received the 1997 Walter E. Gay Award, which goes to the outstanding senior male athlete at Rhodes.
An International Studies and Russian major, Neil attained his law degree in 2001 from the University of Tennessee. He currently serves as an attorney with Miller and Martin in Chattanooga. Neil Brunetz set a standard of academic and athletic excellence at Rhodes which has served as an inspiration to Lynx athletes for the past 15 years. In recognition of his amazing career, Rhodes is honored to induct NEIL ANTHONY BRUNETZ into the Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame this 29th day of October, 2010.
