The BRAVE SC Buffalo made history by playing their first game at H.G. Morse Range in The Villages. While they would ultimately lose the game 2-0, they would open up a new chapter of soccer in the Tri-County area. While league games will be played at Buffalo Ridge Campus, the experience was a fun one for everyone in attendance.

A great crowd showed up to support BRAVE SC. The night got started off with First Academy-Leesburg student Emma Broome singing the National Anthem.

As the game kicked off, both teams felt each other out in the early stages. The first 15 minutes there were not many shots on net although BRAVE SC Keeper Yago Darub had a great save at about the five minute mark of the game. It would prove to be a battle at the midfield for most of the half until around 20 minutes into the first half, Savannah SC Roddy Green would score the first goal of the game.

(Fans were just excited to have BRAVE SC Soccer back for the 2024 season.)

BRAVE SC looked rattled after that goal and although they had a few opportunities, nothing was sustained as the defense of Savannah SC led by former Villages soccer standout Kyle Nelson held down the defense for the Clovers.

As halftime neared the defense began to breakdown for BRAVE SC. Two extra minutes of stoppage time were added and around the 46 minute mark of the first half, Savannah SC found a second goal that came off the foot of Vlad Jokic. That was a tough pill to swallow for BRAVE SC.

After halftime, the second half proved to be a difficult one. BRAVE SC struggled to get any offense going. Daniel de Olivera and Michael Florian did their best but the defense of Savannah SC was too strong. Savannah’s goalie Jack Crichton had a very good game. BRAVE SC would try and sub players in for some fresh legs in the second half but it had minimal to no impact on the game.

The final score was 2-0 Savannah SC. They will move on in the U.S. Cup and BRAVE SC has been eliminated.

(We saw a lot of young kids in the crowd last night cheering on the BRAVE SC. It was a fantastic turnout.)

We talked to head coach Anderson DaSilva after the game. He said “We did a few mistakes in the backfield that cost us 2 goals but we did get better in the second half but we did not score. But for the first home match against a professional team a 2-0 loss is not too bad. I am proud of the guys, but in this tournament there is no time for errors. If you lose you are out of the US Open Cup. However the USL2 season looks very promising for us and we look forward to starting the regular season off on a good note against Florida Elite on May 20th.” said Coach DaSilva.

That will be all we will see of BRAVE SC until May when the regular season starts. I have to hand it to all the fans that came out and supported BRAVE SC. This was so great to see. For many people it was their first professional soccer match they have ever attended. That included Todd Marion of The Villages Charter School who was amazed at the speed and pace of professional soccer.

Hundreds of fans packed into the brand new H.G. Morse Stadium. USL2 officials who were at the game were also pleased. They were thrilled at how the league is growing.

There was some question as to if the field would be ok to use. The Artificial Turf was not the issue as it has a FIFA rating that approves it for professional play. However the field was too narrow for the game to be played. BRAVE SC and The Villages Charter School worked together to get a washable spray paint that extended the lines on the playing surface so that the game could be played. Cudos to everyone who made that happen. Drew Charltry the Director of Communications for BRAVE SC worked hard to make that happen and we were happy to see that everything worked out nicely.

Overall this was a good showing from BRAVE SC. We look forward to the first Home Match of the USL2 Soccer League season on June 1st against Brevard Soccer Club.