Edward Rudman — Contributor
The Southern men’s soccer team’s season is in full swing and the team has imported some new talent to the team this year in Brazilian goalkeeper Andrey Carvalho.
Carvalho, a freshman, is from São Paulo, Brazil and chose to attend and play soccer at SCSU for various reasons.
“I thought the best thing for me and my future was to choose both academics and playing soccer, and the only country that provides that is the U.S.,” said Carvalho. “I felt Southern had the most to offer compared to the other schools I was looking at.”
Carvalho has had to do some adjusting since coming to the states, and he said the process has been easier to handle with the help of his teammates. One thing Carvalho had to adjust to is the differences in culture between Brazil and the U.S. when it comes to soccer.
“In Brazil, there is more stress on the mentality of the game, and, in the [U.S.], it is a much more physical game; the players are bigger and stronger than back home,” said Carvalho.
Carvalho has been playing soccer since he was seven years old, back in his home country of Brazil, and has been able to build up a sense of confidence when he is in goal by utilizing his wealth of experience, something he considers to be his greatest strength.
As a goalkeeper, Carvalho has one of the most important positions on the field, and a lot of pressure comes with that, but he said his confidence in himself makes it less stressful.
“Once I am focused and confident, it’s harder for me to make a mistake, and I play at a higher level,” said Carvalho.
It is clear that his confidence helps him perform at a high level, as he has been able to post a save percentage of .833 — a team high — through his first 3 starts. He has also recorded a team high in saves amongst the goalkeepers with 15.
The soccer team has been off to a bit of a slow start, posting a record of 2-2-3, which head coach Tom Lang attributes to injuries.
“We’ve had some injuries to start off the season, and it’s lead to a couple of poor results in the conference, so we kind of want to bounce back and get back on a positive note,” said Lang.
The team took a step in the right direction on Saturday, Sept 28., when they beat Stonehill 2-0. Carvalho was in goal for his third start of the season and posted a shutout, something he said was his main focus for the game ahead of time.
Team captain and defender Noah Rattet commented on the outlook of the game beforehand, regarding the team’s performance and mindset.
“We’re starting to be at the level of conditioning that we want,” said Rattet, “and now we just need to take each game stepby-step and head into the right direction, starting with Stonehill.”
Rattet also spoke about the importance of finishing the games out strong, as the team has already gone into overtime three times this season and came out with a tie in all three.
Carvalho said he hopes he can be as much value and impact to the team as possible and is optimistic about having a great season.
“We’re going to keep working as a team and we will be way better as the season goes on,” said Carvalho, “I promise you that.”
