The last time Brave SC played on the pitch at The Range at The Villages Charter Middle School, a lot of things were different. Both the team and the venue had different names, almost the entire roster of players was different, and the Buffalo were playing for the Southeast Division title.
Despite all of those changes, Saturday night’s contest against Brevard SC (0-3-0) felt like the same kind of celebration. While it was a homecoming, rather than a trophy-raising, Brave’s 5-0 win conjured images of that electric night last July when the Buffalo clinched their fourth division crown.
“The last memory from this field was the match where we won the division title,” head coach Anderson DaSilva said. “Just to be back here again and to score five goals is awesome… I’m very happy with the win.”
Midfielder Matheus Ferreira tallied a goal and an assist, forwards Alvaro Carrera and Nico Diaz each notched their second of the summer, and winger Fabio Rodrigues secured a brace, including a bicycle kick goal that brought the home crowd to its feet.
“I told the guys that we not only needed to win, but we needed a good win,” DaSilva said, basking in the glow of a mission accomplished. “We needed to put a statement out there that this is Brave. We’re back. We’re the division champions, so we’ve got to play like it. I would be happy if we had a 3-0, but the fact that we got five is even better.”
Ferreira got the scoring started with his goal, a rip from distance to put the Buffalo (1-0-2) ahead in the 12th minute.
“In practice, Coach tells me to take more shots, saying my shots are dangerous,” Ferreira said. “In the game against Brooke House, I had two good chances on the shot, so I said, ‘Let me try this one.’ As soon as the ball came to me, the idea came to take the shot. It was kind of far, but you never know. The ball went in and that was a happy, early first goal and that’s all we needed.”
After heading into halftime up by just one, the floodgates quickly opened in the second period. Ferreira found Carrera to double the lead, the second time the duo has linked up to score this season.
“We have a joke between us that Alvaro is a blessing,” Ferreira laughed. “He’s just always in the right spot, always looking for the ball, and he always makes sure he scores at least one to help us out. Every time he’s in the box, he would be my preference. I saw him raise his hand and call for the cross and it worked, so I’m happy for him.”
The stands erupted again when the Buffalo’s third goal came, courtesy of Rodrigues’ bicycle attempt on a pass from Diaz, a shot that surprised him as much as anyone watching.
“In practice, I’ve tried, but never in a game,” he said.
“Honestly, I didn’t really think much. It came about and I just tried it and I was blessed that it worked.”
Rodrigues scored the Buffalo’s fourth as well, a roller that made its way to the far post to best Brevard keeper Mateo Garcia Galan. Diaz finished things off in stoppage time with a free-kick goal from more than 20 meters out.
“We’ve played three games that have felt kind of the same, but the results are totally different,” Ferreira said after the dominant win. “We had chances to score against Florida Elite and Brooke House and, now, against Brevard, we were finally lucky. To do it at home in front of people we like, it was pretty good.”
The score validated the Buffalo’s feelings that they deserved better than the results of the first two matches when they had to settle for draws after out-playing their opponents.
“I think we’ve created chances, we’ve gone to the final third, we’ve been keeping the ball, trying to press forward, and today was a great example of what we’ve been working for. I think we deserved more in the previous games and we weren’t lucky but, today, it went in, so just keep pushing and hopefully keep getting more goals in the following games.”
The Buffalo will have a chance to prove that they’ve turned a corner in the next contest. They’ll host Brooke House Saturday night in a rematch and they’ll be looking for a result much more like their latest.
“We have a good, long week now to work and get ready,” Ferreira said. “We have another game against Brooke House and we’ve got to do differently than the last match. We’ve got to make sure we put the ball in the net and I think we’re going to come out stronger next game.”
Brave SC will face Brooke House at 7 p.m. June 8 at The Range at The Villages Charter Middle School.
For more information about Brave SC, including the roster and complete schedule, visit BraveSC.com.