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State Gazette Girls Soccer Defensive Player of the Year: Dyersburg Lady Trojan Anna Fisher
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Dyersburg Lady Trojan Anna Fisher
JASON PEEVYHOUSE
A few months after wrapping up a career on the soccer pitch at Dyersburg High School which saw her help lead the Lady Trojans to four straight state tournament appearances, black and gold senior defender Anna Fisher has been named the Girls Soccer Defensive Player of the Year for this past girls soccer season.
Over the course of her high school career, Fisher has been the team’s most reliable defender according to Lady Trojan Head Coach Musa Manneh.
“Anna is Miss Reliable,” Manneh said of the senior defender. “That’s what I would call her. When she plays a position on the field for you, as a coach, you really only worry about the other positions because she solves it.
“When Anna plays defense – and that’s her thing – she fixes whatever defensive frailties you may have. She can play any position. But as a defender, she’s very, very smart and a very, very good reader of the game. She pretty much is a student of the game and a feisty fighter.”
Manneh added Fisher is going to be one of those players a coach has who is very hard to replace.
“We appreciate the four years she gave us,” Manneh said. “Anna is one of the key reasons why we made it to state four years in a row.”
Fisher started all four years during her time at Dyersburg High School. A multiple-time All-District selection and two-time Tennessee Sports Writers Association Class AA All-State Selection, this marks the second straight season Fisher has won the State Gazette Girls Soccer Defensive Player of the Year Award.
With those accolades, it was likely a scary thought for opposing teams that Fisher improved every year she was in high school, including her final season as a Lady Trojan soccer player.
“You could see her leadership was just amazing because she basically just took responsibility and talked to the girls,” Manneh explained. “Even in situations where she was a little bit far away from the situation, she stepped in and showed the girls what to do and what the expectations were.
“And, usually, if you know her, she’s very reserved. But, on the field, she took command. Her leadership, obviously, came on full bloom this past year. But, her game, she’s been improving year after year.”
Dyersburg’s head coach added he and the team are happy for Fisher and that she is moving on to bigger and better things in life.
“Man, but what a loss for us,” Manneh added.
Every player has intangibles which don’t show up on a stat sheet or even to the eyes of a casual fan. Fisher was no different on the soccer field.
“Anna is such a fierce competitor,” Manneh explained. “She has that fire in her where if you step on that field against Anna, she wants to beat you.
“Every coach needs that, especially in a center back. With that kind of attitude, we’re in every game. Whenever we play, you know it’s going to be a fight to beat us because of what Anna brings to our defense. With that kind of intangible, some people can play ball. They can play defense but other people will call that heart and I think that’s what drives her.”
After four years of success and honors at the high school level, Fisher will leave a legacy at Dyersburg High School.
“I think a stable defense that all the teams around us would know ‘you’re playing Dyersburg and it’s hard to score on them’ is the legacy she leaves,” Manneh explained. “And, for the other girls having been around her, whether hits one year, two years or all three years like our seniors now, there hasn’t been a better defender to learn from. That’s an incredible legacy for our team to learn from.
“It’s also a legacy of winning. Anna’s a winner. When she gets on the field, she’s trying to win. And, hence, four years straight of going to state.”