All anyone could see were the defenders.
Somewhere among the four players was Dave Brown.
Suddenly, between the legs of a defender, the ball appeared; right behind it was Brown. A few more jukes and Brown had the ball positioned for a perfect shot, which caught the near post for a goal.
That scenario has happened often because Brown, a senior midfielder on the Strath Haven boys' soccer team, regularly draws two, three or four defenders to the ball.
When that happens, Brown still has the skills to create a goal-scoring chance for himself, or in most cases, create an opportunity for one of his teammates. Brown returns this season as one of the most dangerous playmakers in Southeastern Pennsylvania and a major reason why the Panthers are once again a regional power.
Brown, who stands 5-foot-4 and weighs 140 pounds, scored five goals last season, but had a team-leading 26 assists for Strath Haven, the PIAA Class AAA state cochampions.
He is a creative dribbler with an uncanny ability to maneuver his way through a maze of defenders.
"It's something I got from my father," Brown said. "He'd always get angry at me when I was growing up every time I used to dribble the ball and was being selfish. That's where the attitude came from to create scoring situations for my teammates when I can."
One of Brown's other strengths is an ability to recognize situations on the field. Because of his small physical stature, he knows heading the ball into the net is something that would be difficult around taller defenders.
So Brown compensates with his exceptional footwork and quickness with the ball.
"I know what I'm capable of doing, and I know shooting from long distances isn't one of them, that passing and dribbling are my strengths," Brown said.
Teammate Scott Spangler likens Brown's skills with a soccer ball to those of 76ers star guard Allen Iverson with a basketball. Both have the ability to work their way through traffic and congestion quickly. Brown opens up space for his teammates, while Iverson looks to shoot.
"Dave can create anything by himself," said Spangler, a senior forward who led Strath Haven with 29 goals last year. "Dave creates a lot of things by dribbling real well. The ball just sticks to his feet.
"Dave could probably make someone fall, if he gets the opportunity. With Dave around, it eases a lot of attention on me. We have other forwards and scorers on our team, and he creates space for us all. He probably assisted on about 20 of my goals last year."
