New Zealand National Team: Started all five matches for New Zealand at the 2016 OFC Nations Cup and helped the group capture the tournament title with a 4-2 win on penalty kicks against host Papua New Guinea in the championship game ... just days after finishing his freshman season at Wisconsin, Brotherton started and played the full 90 minutes at center back to earn his first cap with New Zealand in a 1-0 win against Oman on Nov. 12, 2015.
Honors: 2015 Big Ten All-Freshman Team ... 2016 All-Big Ten second team
2016: Started all 16 games he appeared in for Wisconsin, missing three games due to a call-up from the New Zealand men’s full international team for appearances against the Mexico and the United States… team captain and anchor of the Badger defense that recorded six team shutouts on the year… Brotherton scored three goals on the year and the first of his career against Rutgers (10/1), Maryland (10/14), and Milwaukee (10/18) … he recorded 15 shots on the year, six of which were on net … named to the All-Big Ten second team … 2016 Academic All-Big Ten honoree … named to Midwest All-Region second team
2015: Started all 17 games he appeared in for Wisconsin, missing only two games due to call-up from the New Zealand National Team ... anchored UW's back line to three shutouts ... recorded 11 shots, three of which were shots on goal.
High School: Joined the program having just played in the 2015 FIFA Under-20 Men’s World Cup for host country New Zealand ... started all four games for New Zealand at the U-20 World Cup and scored a goal in the team’s decisive win that advanced them out of group play for the first time in history ... was among 22 players called up to participate with the full New Zealand National Team for its friendly against Korea in March of 2015 ... a member of the New Zealand U-20 Extended Squad in 2014, he was the New Zealand Schoolboys vice-captain in 2013 and toured the United Kingdom and Ireland competing against all the home nation’s national schoolboy teams ... scored goals in the team’s wins over both Wales and Northern Ireland, while also helping the club to draws with Scotland and England ...club team experience includes Wanderers SC 2014-15, Western Springs AFC Men’s First Team 2014, Auckland City Football Club Youth Team 2013-14, Central United Football Club U19s 2012, Auckland City Football Club Youth Team 2011-12 and Forrest Hill Milford Football Club U15s 2011 ... on the Western Springs AFC Men’s First Team, he helped the club become NRFL Division 1 champions in 2014 en route to being named the Most Improved Player for that year ... was Sportsman of the Year as a member of the Auckland City Youth Team in 2013-14, as the squad was National Youth League Champions ... attended Westlake Boys High School, where he played in a school-record 82 games for the First XI ... a team captain as a senior at Westlake, he played in 27 games and had 15 goals for the First XI en route to earning school colors for soccer, the Golden Boot (First XI leading goal scorer), the Ken Armstrong Cup (greatest contribution to senior football) and the Colin Pascoe Cup (sportsmanship) ... he and Westlake earned a second-place finish in the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier League and a second-place finish in New Zealand ... his junior season, he played in 24 games and had five goals for the First XI helping his team to become Auckland Secondary Schools Knock-Out Cup Champions ... tallied six goals in 30 games for the First XI, as his team finished fourth in New Zealand that season ... as a freshman, was named Second XI Player of the Year ... also competed in water polo.
Personal: Intends to major in business.
Trask on Brotherton: “Sam’s academic and soccer background make him one of the top players to arrive in college soccer this season. Sam is a dominant left-footed central defender who recently starred for the New Zealand Under-20 National Team in the World Cup this summer. Sam helped lead the All Whites to the knockout stages of the World Cup and even scored a very important goal in group play that allowed the team to advance. Sam will be a model student-athlete here at Wisconsin and will immediately be expected to solidify our backfield.”
Tiemeyer on Brotherton: “In addition to being an outstanding student, Sam will bring maturity to our backline. We expect Sam to be a factor in the back verbally, through his ability to win tackles, his passing ability and instigating our team’s possession.”
Brotherton's Career Statistics as of November 11, 2015
| Career Game Highs |
|
| Shots |
3 | vs. Marquette (Oct. 7, 2015) |
| Shots on Goal |
1 (3x) | MR at Saint Louis (Oct. 14, 2015) |
| Goals |
-- |
| Assists |
-- |
| Points |
-- |
| Point streak |
-- |
| Multi-point games |
-- |
