Indoor soccer: Tropics shore up lineup, re-sign Breno Oliveira to 2-year deal
A versatile player that helped the Florida Tropics reach the Major Arena Soccer League championship for the first time in its history will be back for the foreseeable future.
Florida Tropics midfielder, Breno Oliveira, who also played forward and defender at various times, re-signed for two more years this week.
Dressing for a total of 21 games last season, Oliveira scored goals in a playoff win vs. Kansas City and in game 2 vs. San Diego in the MASL finals. For the season he racked up 15 points — 10 goals and five assists. He also had a game-winning goal, a power-play goal and 11 blocked shots.
“Breno for us is a player that can play anywhere on the field, said head coach Clay Roberts. "That’s the value in him. He is a very, very talented soccer player. His growth throughout the year was impressive. He was consistent and constantly in the lineup, and he earned that.
"His aggressive defending, his technical ability to pass, to shoot, his one vs. one skill, he will become a top player in this league and we’re thrilled to death he’s going to be with us.”
Before his run with the Tropics, Oliveira started his indoor career in Major Arena Soccer League 2, most recently with the Muskegon Risers. He went on to sign with Florida, a one-year deal before the start of last season.
Oliveira, a Campinas, Brazil native, spent his first college season at Trinity Baptist, guiding the Eagles to an NCCAA national championship. He was named a first-team All-American and Freshman of the Year before going on to Grace College in Indiana for his final three years.
In his junior season, he put up a team-high seven goals and had four assists — tied for the team lead. His senior year he registered three goals while putting up a program-best nine assists.
Oliveira earned an All-Conference selection during his time as a Lancer, helping his team to a conference championship as a junior. He also took Grace College to the NCCAA National Tournament semis, earning a second NCCAA All-American badge. In his senior season, he was a big part of the Lancers logging the most wins in program history.
The Tropics will begin their seventh season in the league this fall at the RP Funding Center.
Sportswriter Robert Magobet can be reached at 856-905-4537, rmagobet@gannett.com, or @Magobet31 on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Indoor soccer: Tropics sore up lineup, resign Breno Oliveria to 2-year deal
