Mathias Tieppo hasn’t faced many tough moments this year. With Brave SC taking the opening lead in its first eight matches and so few shots coming his way in recent weeks, the summer up to Saturday night had been a relatively easy ride for the goalkeeper.
However, when his number was called, he delivered in one of the biggest spots of the season. Already trailing and staring the possibility of a two-goal deficit in the face, Tieppo dove to his right and saved a Florida Elite SA penalty kick that sparked a comeback effort, leading to a 3-1 win over the Jacksonville club at The Range.
“If they scored that goal, the game would definitely be different,” midfielder Matheus Ferreira said. “We would have had to chase so much and score three goals to win the game. It would be very hard, but Mathias is unbelievable… This win, definitely a big part of it is his big save in the first half.”
The Buffalo (7-0-2) trailed almost immediately, surrendering a goal just 85 seconds into the contest. Angus Taylor knocked one off the left post and into the right netting for the earliest concession in the history of the club and of Tieppo’s entire career.
“I’ve never been scored on so early,” Tieppo said. “First time ever. We were surprised because they were pressing, and we’ve been in that situation before, especially last year, but we’ve never been scored on to start off so early. It was like, what happened here?”
It was the first time since 2022 that the Buffalo trailed in the first half of a match, rendering many of the players stunned.
“This is my second summer and we’ve never started behind,” Ferreira said, “so it was kind of a shock, for the new guys and the old guys returning.”
Florida Elite (6-2-3) continued its press for the next several minutes, frustrating the Buffalo as they struggled to settle into their possession-based game.
“They were pressing two high with a lot of intensity,” head coach Anderson DaSilva said. “It’s a risk that they took and it worked for them. When you score in the first couple minutes, you still have the energy to keep pressing. It’s not like when you press for 15 minutes and get one to go in and then you sit back. They had more energy to keep pressing us, which was a problem.”
The game turned, though, on Tieppo’s penalty kick save in the 30th minute. The keeper was responsible for creating the penalty situation, sliding out to stop a run by Ethan Newsome. As Newsome set the ball for the penalty kick, Tieppo knew he had a chance to erase his mistake.
“In my mind, after I conceded the PK, the first thought was, ‘Maybe I could have anticipated that one,’” he said. “If it’s maybe my fault, I’ve got to save it.”
Anticipating a shot to his right, Tieppo dove and stopped the shot, sparking a renewed energy in the Buffalo. Over the final 15 minutes of the half, they suddenly became much more dangerous, though they didn’t find a goal before halftime.
“We were all shocked and waiting for what Coach was going to say,” Ferreira said. “He actually motivated us all a lot by saying, ‘That happens. We’re going to see things like that in playoffs and we’ve got to be able to see stuff like that and go through it stronger.’ And we did in the second half.”
The Buffalo returned to the pitch and took just 12 minutes to equalize. Alvaro Carrera sent a corner kick into the box which was headed out to Ferreira. The midfielder put the ball on the ground and turned a shot toward the right goalpost, which took a deflection and bounded in to tie the match.
“Coach keeps telling me in practice, ‘You have to shoot,’” Matheus said. “I would not take that shot because I took a few touches trying to find someone and I was like, ‘Man, I have nothing to do. I’m going to take the shot.’”
Less than 10 minutes later, Brave took its first lead of the game. Carrera settled a cross from Niclas Wittur and smashed it into the net to go ahead 2-1.
“We knew that we were going to score,” Carrera said. “We knew we were going to win the second half and that’s what happened… It felt nice to score, but it’s not just me. Everybody had something to do with it, every role.”
Tieppo made two more saves in the second half to keep Florida Elite from battling back, and Nico Diaz iced the game by scoring on a penalty kick in stoppage time.
After a bizarre, wet and trying game, the Buffalo emerged victorious, passing yet another test this season.
“They did better than I thought,” DaSilva said.
“First time being behind on the scoreboard, I didn’t see any arguments. I heard them talking like, ‘Hey, let’s play. Let’s step it up,’ instead of pointing out the individual mistakes. If I were to give them a score, it would be 100. I was so happy.”
With the win, the Buffalo improved to 7-0-2 on the season and moved into first place in USL League Two‘s Southeast Division with a chance to clinch the title with a win Wednesday night at Nona FC (7-1-2).
“I think this was one of the most important games because, now, Nona is going to be under a lot of pressure, because we’re going over there for the division title and to clinch playoffs,” DaSilva said. “We’re not going to go over there to tie, we’re going there to win.”
Brave SC will face Nona FC at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Austin Tindall Sports Complex in Kissimmee.
For more information on Brave SC, including the roster, Southeast Division standings and a complete schedule, visit BraveSC.com.