PLAYER OF THE WEEK | North Carolina FC Goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre
Photo credit: Orovio Photography/Miami FC
After riding an outstanding attacking performance to victory last week, North Carolina FC relied on its goalkeeping to get a positive result in Miami on Saturday night. Brian Sylvestre made eight saves in the club’s 1-1 draw at Riccardo Silva Stadium, earning NASL Player of the Week honors.
The 24-year-old goalkeeper was called into action throughout the game, coming up with a number of difficult saves to thwart Miami FC’s attack. In the 29th minute, Italian forward Enzo Rennella came close to giving Miami the lead, but Sylvestre was able to dive to his left and keep the game scoreless.
Sylvestre, a South Florida native playing in his old stomping grounds, twice denied Miami forward Jaime Chavez with impressive stops midway through the game. He first made a kick-save on Chavez’s shot from the left side of the box just before halftime and then followed it up with a reaction save from close range in the 53rd minute.
North Carolina carried the lead deep into second-half stoppage time, but a late goal from Miami defender Robert Baggio Kcira forced the visitors to settle with a point. Despite conceding the late equalizer, Sylvestre put forth one of the top goalkeeping performances of the season thus far.
The 6-foot-5 goalkeeper is now tied with the New York Cosmos’ Jimmy Maurer for the league lead in saves with 17. Sylvestre’s eight saves on Saturday were also good for a tie with Maurer for the most saves in a single game this season. Ironically enough, Maurer’s eight-save performance also came against Miami.
A former U.S. youth international, Sylvestre joined North Carolina in 2015. After spending the majority of his first season on loan with the Philadelphia Union of MLS, he was eventually handed the starting role by North Carolina head coach Colin Clarke in 2016. Since then, Sylvestre has made 84 saves in 23 starts for the club.
With four points in its last two encounters, North Carolina will carry some momentum into its next game – a road tilt against Puerto Rico FC on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, and the game can be seen live on ESPN3 (U.S.) and NASL.com (Canada).
