Brave SC’s last trip to Showalter Field ended with a dour finish. Wednesday night, a gloomy start turned quickly to celebration as the Buffalo (6-0-2) overcame a rain delay of more than an hour, dominating Brooke House FC (0-5-6) in a 5-0 win in Winter Park.
“They’re delivering,” head coach Anderson DaSilva said of his squad. “We’re actually getting even better in the second half. The first half was a little bit slow, but we’re moving the ball even faster and running a little bit more in the second half.”
The Buffalo saw some early chances thwarted, but cracked the scoreboard in the 20th minute on their unlikeliest attempt. Center back Henrique Gallina ripped a line drive from near the sideline at almost midfield, which skipped off the post and into the goal.
“Once I saw Yuki (Nakamura) turning and the space in the middle of the park, I was like, ‘This is my chance to take a shot and take a risk,’” Gallina said. “I knew the field was slippery from the rain we got before the game, so I thought maybe it was going to bounce and maybe we’d get a rebound. I didn’t think it was going to go off the post and go in. Luckily, it did.”
The shot surprised everyone on the field, including DaSilva, who had a great look at the play from a few feet away on the Buffalo bench.
“At that point, we were getting into the final third, but we weren’t patient enough to finish,” the coach said. “It took him from almost half the field taking that shot. That’s the thing — I encourage them to take shots on goal. Not from that far, but you’ve got to be unpredictable.”
That goal carried Brave SC to halftime with the lead, though not one they were comfortable with after allowing a late equalizer to Brooke House in the teams’ first meeting.
“We spoke in the locker room about the importance of the first five or 10 minutes of the second half, considering we were only one goal ahead,” Gallina said. “Last time we were here, it was the same case. We were one goal ahead late and we let two points get away.”
He resolved that problem quickly, rising up to head home an Alvaro Carrera corner kick to double the lead in the 50th minute.
From there, the game turned into a rout. Nico Diaz scored in the 58th and Carrera added another in the 76th. Nazar Deputat finished the 5-0 result with a shot from the left sideline to the right post, recording his first of the year in a Buffalo kit.
“It felt really good,” the Brave SC veteran said.
“Especially coming off the bench, once the game is in that flow, it’s a lot easier just to hop in the game and play with freedom and that momentum. As soon as we got in there, it was just pass, pass, pass and getting opportunities to score.”
With their latest result, the Buffalo are now 6-0-2, winners of six straight contests, including three consecutive clean sheets and a goal differential of +21 over the streak.
“I think we just got momentum for the season,” Gallina said.
“We’re still on the rise. We’re still getting to know each other more and more in training and I think you can see on the field the confidence, the connection, the passes, the chemistry of the players.”
Brave SC’s next game will be a home rematch with Florida Elite SA Saturday night at The Range at The Villages Charter Middle School.
For more information on Brave SC, including the roster, Southeast Division standings and a complete schedule, visit BraveSC.com.