Heritage’s Goodman, University’s Oliveira are Broward Boys’ Soccer Coaches of the Year

Two of the top boys’ soccer programs in South Florida were once again at the top of the back.

Now, the coaches at Plantation American Heritage and NSU University are the Miami Herald’s Broward County Boys’ Soccer Coaches of the year.

American Heritage coach Todd Goodman led the Patriots to a county-record eighth state championship and snapped a three-year title drought to get there. Sharks coach Thiago Oliveira guided NSU University to a state title game, too, and did it with a freshman as one of his top two scorers.

“It was a tremendous experience,” said Goodman, who’s the Coach of the Year for Classes 7A-5A. “The group had been through some bitter disappointments in years past playoff matches. They learned the lessons from those defeats.”

By its lofty standards, American Heritage was in a disappointing stretch before this year. The Patriots’ eight Florida High School Athletic Association titles are tied for second most in the state, and yet they’d won only 16 games in the prior two seasons before racking up 19 and a Class 5A championship this year.

It was the result of four years of building. Of the 12 field players to play in at lead 17 games, seven were seniors, and most had been at American Heritage since their freshman or sophomore years. They never wavered from their belief they could bring another championship back to Plantation.

“They had a belief in their talent, a belief in the system that we employ and stayed true to our system,” Goodman said, “and in the end was justly rewarded.”

The Sharks’ core was also made up of seniors, several of whom were part of the team in 2020 when NSU University last won a Class 3A championship, and those veterans provided the foundation for what the Sharks hope will be another generation of success, even though they fell short with a 0-0, penalty-kicks loss the 3A title game last month.

“Ideally, the younger guys are really going to feed off the energy and the lessons that the seniors have passed on to them throughout the season, not just in results, but the hard work, the dedication and realize that those things can lead to rewarding situations,” said Oliveira, who’s the Coach of the Year for Classes 4A-2A. “We didn’t get the job done, so hopefully that only motivates them more.”