Senior forward Lucas Silva, KIAC Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, found himself caught with two defenders and no open teammates to pass the ball to.
He spun around and rolled the ball between a defender’s legs. He cut left, getting past a second opponent, drove toward the goal and shot.
The ball hit the post and fell into the net, for his 22nd goal, which made him the most prolific Point Park goal scorer in the school’s history.
“I’m now part of something bigger, not only for being part of Point Park history as most goals in a season but also as part of the generation that helped in changing this program completely,” said Silva later after the game.
It was during the 14th minute of the Pioneer’s game against Salem International on Oct. 28 when the Sao Paulo, Brazil native made history.
He not only set a new men’s soccer record for most goals in a single season at 22, but has since then increased the record to 24.
Silva’s feat surpassed the record set in 1998 by Chris Heh with 21 goals in a season.
The forward is also well on his way to matching another one of Heh’s records of most goals in a career at 50.
“For Lucas, the sky’s the limit. I have no doubts that he will continue to score and stay focused through the end of season,” said junior teammate, Zach Rafalowski.
The Pioneers beat Salem International in West Virginia in a close 2-1 match. After his first goal, Silva hit yet another game-winning goal for the Pioneers after junior Dominic Canello set up Silva a foot from the goal line.
With a 2-1 win against Salem International, the team had also set a record for the most wins in a season.
Silva dedicates much of his success this year to his close-knit team.
“Every year that I’ve been here, we’ve just gotten better and better even just as a team, learning how to play together… It’s always been like just a big family,” Silva said.
He also mentioned that their team spirit and constant state of being together has become a huge factor toward their success.
Silva is not only well respected by his teammates, but also by his coaches.
“Lucas has grown as an integral team player over the past four years… His record breaking season for scoring has helped us break the seasons win record at Point Park,” said Coach Edward Child.
In his tenth year at Point Park, Child feels that the team’s success will continue and that they are headed for more wins.
“Simply winning one game at a time, there’s no reason we cannot become number one after already beating the number one team in the country,” Child said.
As a senior, Silva wanted to finish strong and spent all summer in Brazil preparing for this year.
“Before the season began, Lucas told me that he wasn’t going to leave without making a statement,” Rafalowski said.
And that is exactly what Silva has done. With 23 goals and growing, Silva refuses to slow down, focusing only on winning games.
“I go in a game to win it, not to break records, that comes naturally,” Silva said.
The Pioneers will play again on Nov. 8 for the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) conference tournament. If the team wins the tournament, they will receive a bid for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournament and possibly mark another moment in history if they get past the first round at the national tournament.
