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Bernardo Vieira was doing what Bernardo Vieira does.
“He is a true striker,” PSA Prep soccer coach Ryan Dunnigan said. “He is always hunting the ball and trying to get on the end of things, chasing down every ball, positioning himself so that he can get onto the end of crosses.”
That was the case last Wednesday as Vieira, a senior from Brazil, came off the bench in the second half and within minutes put away a cross from teammate Renan Mafra to give PSA a two-goal lead in a game they would eventually defeat Hoosac 3-0.
“I saw Renan with the ball, and I know he can always find you on the pitch,” Vieira said, “so I made a move into the second post expecting that he would see me, and it worked.”
It was just Vieira’s second game back since suffering a broken wrist about a month ago in a game in Philadelphia. He played roughly 25 minutes in the first half of a 1-0 loss to South Kent the game before, but none in the second half as he was rounding himself back into game shape.
“He’s had a good mentality going forward since getting injured,” Dunnigan said. “He’s been patient, he’s been at everything, being responsible and still staying involved in team activities and events. And he hasn’t pushed me to get him on the field. He’s been waiting and understanding that he was going to need to take time to get back hit fitness and the reps and rhythm of the game.”
It may have looked that way to Dunnigan, but Vieira smiled and said it wasn’t that easy at all.
Sitting and watching was difficult for him, particularly as he watched his teammates struggle to finish scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity.
“It is hard to be patient,” he said. “You see you can do things the right way but you’re not doing them because either you’re not confident enough or things just aren’t going well.
“For me, I have always been a confident guy. I believe in God and know that I have a purpose here. Things weren’t going as I thought they were going to, I decided I would work hard and do better and rely on my trust in God that something good was coming.”
Dunnigan noticed a bit of a change in the week or so prior to the Hoosac game, seeing that Vieira seemed more motivated to prove that he was back and deserving of more minutes.
“Not starting is not easy for anyone but to then have an impact off the bench and earn minutes, to prove that he has a good mentality and has the right approach, he’s done that,” Dunnigan said. “He’s had a better work ethic since the start of the year and has grown over time. I think this goal, hopefully, will give him more confidence going forward in training and games.”
Marcos Chantada scored early in the first half against Hoosac to get PSA off to a fast start, then benefitted from an old goal late to sandwich Vieira’s tally.
“We’re very pleased,” said Lachie Quate, who played well along the back. “The tactics were different, we knew playing on our home pitch that we’d have to change things up, so being able to press and put pressure on the other team really played to our advantage. The ball will bounce if you try to slip it past them so we looked to go longer at times and not take as many risks, and it paid off.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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