We had such an incredible year in 2023, so we wanted to just take onemore opportunity to look back before we preview what’s coming in 2024!
In 2023, our final year as The Villages SC, we had such a special team. The group not only reclaimed our Southeast Division title and won the SouthernConference, but embodied what it meant to be Buffalo every time they took the field and every day in practice and in the community.
Alvaro Carrera joined us via tryout and played on our inaugural UPSL side before earning an invitation to the first team last summer and made the most ofthe opportunity. Alvaro was named USL League Two Southeast Division Player of the Year after scoring some of the most important goals of our season, including the lone goal in our 1-0 win over Tampa Bay United to clinch thedivision in the season finale.
We celebrated a huge moment in our club’s history when Aiden Kaczmarski,one of our youth players, made his USL2 debut against Brevard SC at the ageof 16. The Buffalo won the game 6-1.
Lucas Mauro returned to the club in 2023 after helping lead us to our lastdivision title and a conference semifinal appearance in 2021. Lucas tied Alvarofor the team in goals this season with 4.
This team was exceptionally talented, but also embraced our club’s philosophyof serving one another to achieve one’s own goals. That’s why we were able toaccomplish what we did on the field and why so many of our players advancedto higher-level teams in the following college season.
Speaking of, a couple of our players earned major accolades on the pitch withtheir college teams.
Pedro Santos — Wingate College CCA Third Team All-AmericanDII All-Southeast Region First TeamUSC All-Southeast Region First TeamSAC Defensive Player of the YearSAC All-Tournament First TeamAll-SAC First Team
Henrique Luro — University of Mobile NAIA All-AmericanSSAC First Team All-ConferenceSSAC Scholar Athlete Team
Also in 2023, we launched The Villages SCII (now Brave SCII), our secondteam, which competed in the UPSL. That addition gave many of our USLAcademy players the chance to play up against collegiate and adult playersand helped us to continue to develop our local talent. It also bridged the gapfrom youth to USL2 in our club's path to pro model.
Later in the year, we made the change from The Villages SC to Brave SC.There were many reasons behind the change, but one was that we wanted to
embrace our fans outside of The Villages, as well as the ones inside “the yellowlines.”
When searching for a name, we felt that bravery was something that definedour club — not just the way we play but the way we have always operated asan organization and we have even bigger plans for the future.
To that end, we announced our first international affiliate, Brave SC Niterói inDecember.
Brave SC Niterói is a youth club based in Niterói, a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The goal is to share our coaching philosophies and resources with the club there to help develop players that may one day train with and playf or our semi-professional clubs in Florida.
With 2023 in the books, we’re more than a little excited for 2024.
Our team will be back in the U.S. Open Cup in March for the first time since2022 and we can’t wait to take on another local semi-pro team and earn arematch with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
We’ll also have our first tryout of the year January 20th. Several of the players who try out could be important parts of our Open Cup run. We’re also hoping to find some players like Alvaro that can make an impact on our USL2 and UPSL teams.
Brave SCII will start UPSL matches in February. Those matches will be playedat our home complex in Summerfield and we will share the schedule in the coming weeks.
And it may feel like summer is still far away, but we’re already making preparations for the 2024 USL2 season. We’re excited to continue to build on the success of last year’s team and hope that all of you will be along for the ride with us when we begin play in May!
Thank you for your continued support and, as always,
GO BUFFALO!
