Brave SC 2–1 Shark Coast FC
Carrera's free kick, and the last one at home
The last match of the regular season at The Range, the division already won, and Alvaro Carrera settled it with one of the goals of the year.
With Dothan four days away, Anderson rested those who needed it. Kaique Silva started in goal in place of Youssef Moumban, behind Henrique Fronza, Isaac Graham, Joel Hernandez, Branden Johns, Israel Junior, Sakutaro Matsuura, Gustavo Oliveira, Juan Felipe Rojas, Shuto Sasaki and Sebastian Araque.
Joel Hernandez scored midway through the first half, bundling one in after a scramble that Shark Coast spent some time pleading with the officials about. It stood.
"It's been a while since we've seen him score on this field."
1–0 at the break, in a half Shark Coast largely controlled without ever creating much.
Shark Coast levelled early in the second half and pushed hard for twenty minutes. We went down to ten for a stretch. Rojas went off with a left quad problem and Brad Hornback came on.
And then a free kick, thirty-odd yards out.
Alvaro Carrera put it over the wall and into the net.
"Career shot over the wall and into the net. Oh my goodness — Alvaro Carrera, with one of the goals of the season."
2–1, and we saw the last eight minutes out.
About Alvaro. He came to this club through an open tryout, got a run with the first team, played his way into the side and became indispensable to the 2023 group — three game-winning goals in the season we won the Southern Conference, and 2023 Southeast Division Player of the Year.
He came off the bench here and won the match with a free kick. Going into the playoffs with that kind of momentum is not the worst thing.
One more thing worth noting about this squad. One of the players who came on tonight scored more than thirty goals in his senior season at The Villages High School, most of them on this very pitch, and was among the top players in Florida in 2024.
Last home match of the regular season, and a win to end it.
Dothan, Alabama on Thursday.
