Center/midfielder Nicole Esterbrook ran the field for the Liberty County Lady Panthers soccer team this season.

Her improvement from the time she started playing soccer has been nothing short of "remarkable," head coach Marissa McCarthy said.

Now, Esterbrook’s hard work is being rewarded. She signed Thursday to play soccer at Brewton-Park College during a ceremony at the LCHS media center.

"This is a very exciting time for me because I felt like I was able to work with Nicole through her progression over the last two years," McCarthy said.

Esterbrook, 17, said Brewton-Parker women’s soccer head coach Brittney Gadd visited her during Liberty’s last game of the season.

"She was actually the first coach that came and talked to me," Esterbrook said. "When I

visited the school, I really loved the team, I really loved how the girls bonded, and it was kind of like a family."

Gadd was not at the signing, as she was on a mission trip to Africa, Brewton-Parker Athletic Director Daniel Prevett said.

That is in keeping with the small college’s mission as a Southern Baptist institution. Prevett said the school has about 350 students who live on campus in Mount Vernon, Montgomery County. He added that the college is in a rebuilding mode. He is new to Brewton-Parker, the college has a new president, and Gadd is newly hired.

"We’re looking to the future really, and girls like Nicole and girls especially from the state of Georgia and close by us that we can build around and who really just give us depth ... and then off the field can be just good girls of character," he said.

Also present for the signing were her parents, Robert and Rosario Esterbrook; brother, LCHS sophomore Isaiah Esterbrook; her teammates and other Liberty County students and faculty.