ST. JOHNS

Brave SC and Florida Elite have squared off in plenty of hotly contested matches over the years and the rivals submitted another chapter Monday night when the Buffalo opened their USL League Two season with a 1-1 draw at Creekside High School in St. Johns.

Brave (0-0-1) scored first but left with just a point after Florida Elite (1-0-2) netted a quick equalizer to salvage a point in its home opener.

The home side brought early pressure, which the Buffalo absorbed before starting to take control of possession and pace.

“Those 10-15 minutes, if you’re able to hold the game and not concede, that’s when you can start to manage the match and that’s what I think we did today,” center back Henrique Gallina said.

“Then, after that 10-15 minutes, we understood their game, what side to explore, started moving the ball and getting creative, getting more confident in the game and we got a goal.”

Brave’s lone score of the match came in the 30th minute. Yuki Nakamura lobbed a pass forward for fellow midfielder Matheus Ferreira, who tracked it to the touch line and swung an arcing pass back in front of the goal. Forward Alvaro Carrera charged, leapt up and headed home the Buffalo’s first goal of the season.

“I was able to see Yuki when he played that through-ball to Matheus,” Carrera said, “and I know Matheus well enough from last season and training and we just know each other so much to the point that I knew he would look for me back post. I just had to make the run and anticipate it.”

The celebration didn’t last long, though. Florida Elite found an equalizer before the halftime horn, jumping on an errant pass to score its goal.

“We had a little bit of time and space with the ball and I was looking for a penetrating run, a ball in through, and they were smart, they were playing us, letting us play to one side,” Gallina said. “Once we played to our left back, that’s when they collapsed, they pressured and they were able to obtain the ball, counterattack and score a goal.”

While it was one of relatively few mistakes from the Buffalo, it proved costly.

“We gave them the ball in our half,” head coach Anderson DaSilva said. “The build-up was supposed to be fast and we were too comfortable with the ball… It was a frustrating goal, but it’s early on, there’s something we can learn from it and we have to adjust in practice.”

In the second half, the Buffalo returned with more energy and saw plenty of chances.

“We came back a little more aggressive,” DaSilva said, “more speed in the wide areas, which is what we wanted in the first half.”

However, Brave was unable to convert any of those opportunities to a goal and split the points with Florida Elite. Despite some disappointment in the result, the Buffalo were optimistic after the conclusion.

“The first few weeks are about getting to know each other,” forward Oscar Resano said. “Yes, we have a good base of guys from last season, but we also have a ton of new faces and they’re extremely talented and quality guys that we know are going to play a big part for us. We know it’s going to take some time to settle in and we’re excited for how high our ceiling is.”

Brave SC will face League Two newcomer Brooke House FC May 29th in Winter Park in its next match.

For more information on Brave SC, including a complete schedule and roster, visit BraveSC.com.