Having made a successful start to her collegiate career, Reggae Girl striker Jody Brown says she intends to continue growing and improving, both evenly and rapidly, to further fuel her offensive game.

The Florida State University (FSU) freshman scored once in her team’s 5-0 rout of Notre Dame in their Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) clash on Thursday, as they made the season opener against a tough opponent look easy, following a very abnormal preseason.

Brown, who was a member of the historic Reggae Girlz team at the Fifa Women’s World Cup last year, hopes the momentum from that debut goal from off the bench, and by extension, the blowout win can catapult her as she sets her sights on achieving even bigger goals over the season.

“It’s an amazing feeling to score on my debut because I believe it is important to grasp every opportunity you are presented with and make every moment count. So I’m really happy about how I started and I am hoping there will be many more goals to come,” Brown told the Jamaica Observer on Friday.

“It’s funny because the break from the pitch due to the [COVID-19] virus would have played a role in my performance because the time off helped me to focus more and I found myself in a place where I wanted to get better. So I really used it [the break] to my advantage everyday and prepared as best as I could and the hard work showed in my game,” she added.

The 18-year-old, who had long committed to FSU while at Montverde Academy, said the decision to join the Tallahassee-based university was a no-brainer and she is buoyed by the prospects to come.

“When I visited FSU in my sophomore year in high school, I immediately felt at home, so I decided that FSU is where I will continue my studies and continue my growth in soccer,” Brown, who was one of the youngest players at the World Cup, noted.

“It’s a school with a very rich sporting history and a very positive environment where everyone wants to see each other do well, so it’s a really great thing to be a part of, and I’m so happy to be in that group with them,” she shared.

With the first game now behind her, Brown will now turn her attention to the remaining matches entirely against ACC opposition this fall, before the NCAA Championship, which was moved to the spring due to coronavirus (COV ID-19) concerns.

As such, the diminutive striker, who is capable of beating the defence in various ways with her pace and dribbling skills, heads back to the drawing board to continue working on improving her craft.

“I’m taking my time and trying to set goals I want to reach every day as it is my first year, so for now, I just want to continue working on my growth, stay focused and keep pushing to be better every day,” said Brown, who has represented Jamaica at all levels.

“So I’m definitely trying to be realistic, but still push myself at the same time and just try to keep the momentum going this year. Once I’m working hard and making an impact then more positive results are going to come for me because I think the most important thing is being consistent,” the St Ann native ended.