Bryan Station breaks streak. ‘All they needed was someone to believe’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bryan Station ended a 37-game district losing streak with a 4-1 win Monday.
- Coach Stephanie Durbin has led steady improvement since taking over in 2022.
- Team unity and effort drive current 3-1-1 record amid tough regional competition.
For the past several years, Bryan Station girls soccer has not been for the weak-willed.
When Stephanie Durbin took over as head coach in 2022, she inherited a program that had endured five consecutive losing seasons under three different head coaches, including winless campaigns in 2019 and 2020.
Those losses included 18 defeats by the former mercy-rule margin of 10 goals (it’s now eight). That means if the other team had a 10-goal lead after a half or at any point in the second half, the game was over. Turn off the scoreboard. Pick up your things.
Durbin knew what she signed up for. The road to sustained success in the 11th Region, one of Kentucky high school soccer’s toughest divisions, can seem all uphill.
It has been. The Defenders have gone 3-10-4, 2-18-1 and 5-9-1 since Durbin took over.
And their losing streak against 42nd District rivals — Henry Clay, Frederick Douglass, Sayre and Scott County — extended to 37 games after a 6-0 loss to Frederick Douglass last week.
But that streak ended Monday with a 4-1 win at Scott County, Bryan Station’s first win against a district foe since Sept. 28, 2017.
Durbin admitted crying on her way home that night as the weight of the streak slipped from her team’s shoulders.
She stopped herself from tearing up Wednesday in talking about it after her team took down 12th Region opponent East Jessamine 4-0 on the Northside to improve its 2025 record to 3-1-1.
“It has not been an easy road,” she said. “But I believe in these girls. That’s all they needed was someone to believe.”
Senior Fabianna Herrera has been through plenty of hard times as a four-year starter. She recognizes the difference in this season’s team.
“We’re playing for each other, and I think that’s what matters,” Herrera said. “I think last year and a lot throughout my past couple of years here, we didn’t play for each other. This year, our team loves each other and we’re playing for each other.”
Herrera had two goals and two assists against Scott County and another goal against East Jessamine on Wednesday.
Heavan Dobson, a junior, scored a pair of goals in each game. She appreciates the progress Station has made.
“It just shows how much hard work we put in,” she said. “It just means a lot. It’s so special that we’ve been able to build our program.”
Durbin said the girls team can sometimes feel overshadowed by the success of the school’s boys team, which hasn’t had a losing season since 2017 and won the 2019 42nd District title. Several boys team players cheered on the girls Wednesday.
“It’s nice to actually have some wins and get recognized in the school. And I know the girls love hearing their name throughout the school,” Durbin said. “I’ve taught most of these girls, so it makes me more excited for them. Because, you know, you would hear in the hallway, ‘Oh, Station girls soccer sucks.’ And now, we’re like, ‘No. We don’t.’ ... We’re getting there. We’re working.”
Other teams in the city, like Lexington Catholic, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Henry Clay and Sayre, can boast district and region championships or record-setting goal scorers and winning seasons year after year. The best of those teams often have rosters full of year-round club players.
“We may not have all the girls in the top clubs, but when you play for each other, you do good things,” Durbin said. “They work hard for it. And like they said, they’re playing for each other this year.”
However this season turns out, Durbin’s mission will remain the same.
“You just have to share your love of the game with them and hope they see it too, and they love the game just as much,” she said. “That’s all you really can do. You can only ask for their best.”
This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 7:21 AM.
