Bolton's Brito gets a taste of soccer's big-time

Jul. 8—Joe Brito grew up in Bolton dreaming about one day scoring his first professional soccer goal.

That day came on May 25, but the 23-year-old rookie midfielder never imagined how important of a goal it would be.

Brito scored the game-winner as Union Omaha of USL League One — a tier below USL Championship, which Hartford Athletic plays in — knocked Major League Soccer's Minnesota United FC out of the U.S. Open Cup tournament.

It was a moment that Brito is still trying to process.

"Sometimes dreams seem like they're only dreams," he said. "So, when it actually came true, it was kind of crazy and kind of hard to put into perspective."

Brito's love for the sport began around the time he was 3 years old.

"My dad played a lot at Oakwood (Soccer Club in Glastonbury). So I would go to some of his games and stuff like that to watch him play," he said. "Then I would play with some of my friends down there too."

Brito, who graduated from Bolton High in 2017, started playing at Oakwood himself when he was 7 and spent seven years with the club. He also played for Manchester town recreational teams and played his sixth grade season at Bolton Center School.

When Brito was 14, an opportunity of a lifetime presented itself when he was invited to join the academy of MLS' New England Revolution.

"They were starting their U-14 team. It was the first year that they did that," Brito said. "They were just kind of scouting around New England teams. Oakwood was one of the teams that they would play sometimes. They just saw me play a couple games and at the national camp for the U-14s, so they knew that about me. They were really interested and they just kind of recruited me to come to their team."

Brito played in the Revolution Academy from 2013-14 through 2016-17, moving between the U-14, U-16 and U-18 teams.

Following the 2016-17 season, he was named Revolution Academy Player of the Year.

"Obviously, only one player in the whole academy gets that each year," Brito said. "So it was an honor."

Brito said he still carries the lessons he learned at the academy with him.

"It was a big professional environment," he added. "That's something that they pride themselves on. So, I learned a lot about managing games and stuff like that. What it takes to be a pro. So it was really good for me to develop there and learn a lot. I think it's really helping me now that I'm in the pro environment every day."

Once his tenure in the academy ended, Brito moved on to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

"I knew that I wanted a degree, just so after I'm done playing soccer I always have that," he said. "At the time, (college) was still the most popular pathway I would say. Now there's MLS Next Pro and stuff like that. I didn't really have that option. Like the Revs II team didn't even exist yet. So at the time, it was still the most popular and most efficient pathway to the pro level."

He appeared in 87 games for the 49ers between 2017-2021, scoring 13 goals and 23 assists and helped lead the team to four NCAA Tournament berths.

Brito's college experience also brought a different aspect of the game to his mind.

"I would say the academy experience was more about developing and playing the right style of soccer," he said. "Once you go to college, it's all about winning and getting the job done. It was obviously something new for me to learn. I wasn't used to that. ... But I think it's something that helps me now because now there's pressure to win as well because people's jobs are at stake."

Brito signed with Union Omaha, the reigning USL League One champs, on March 22. It was his first professional contract.

"It was kind of like a full circle moment for me because it was something I always wanted to achieve," he said. "And it's something that was very difficult to achieve. I went on a lot of trials with different teams, and they don't just throw contracts at anyone. So it felt really good to finally get an offer, especially a team like Union Omaha that's one of the best teams in the league."

Brito (5-foot-10, 154 pounds) has played in all 11 of the team's league games, starting 10. He has two goals, a passing accuracy of 77.7 percent and a team-leading 17 chances created.

"I think I've done pretty well," Brito said. "One of my goals coming in was to be an impact player and kind of just do what the team needs from me and play as many games as I can. I've been a starter all season, which has been good. I've scored some important goals, stuff like that."

During the U.S. Open Cup, an annual tournament open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the country, Union Omaha topped two MLS teams: the Chicago Fire in the third round and Minnesota in the round of 16.

After his tie-breaking goal in the 2-1 win over Minnesota, Brito recalled not being able to sleep that night.

"It was really awesome seeing all my friends and family texting me about it, seeing it on social media and stuff like that," he said. "Then obviously seeing it on SportsCenter the next day was kind of crazy. It was definitely a crazy first goal to score. But it was awesome."

Union Omaha fell at MLS' Sporting Kansas City in the quarterfinals June 22. It was the only USL League One team to advance to the round of 16. Brito finished with a goal and two assists in five games.

"I think that's all invaluable experience that other teams in our league haven't gotten," Brito said. "So, I think it's really a big advantage for us going into the rest of the season. Now we can focus just on league play, so I think we're in a good position to make a push for the championship."

Union Omaha is 4-2-5 in league play and is seventh with 17 points. That point total is tied with four other teams, but Union Omaha has a least two games in hand on all of them. The top six teams in the league make the playoffs.

Brito hopes to use the remainder of the season to continue honing his craft.

"I just want to keep developing, keep getting used to the speed of play at the professional level," he said. "By the end of the season, I want to kind of just be happy with I achieved and know that I still have a long way to go. Obviously, I have ambitions to play in the MLS and potentially Europe and stuff like that. I've still got a ways to go and a lot to do to improve."

For coverage of the Connecticut Sun and professional women's basketball, Hartford Athletic pro soccer team, as well as area high school and local youth sports, follow Adam Betz on Twitter: @AdBetz1, Facebook: Adam Betz — Sports Writer, and Instagram: @AdBetzJI.