COMETS SIGN PAIR OF BRAZILIAN ROOKIES
KANSAS CITY (Nov. 1, 2019) – The Kansas City Comets have plucked two Major Arena Soccer League rookies from Brazil for the upcoming season, pending visa approval. Nicolau Neto, a goalkeeper, has signed for two years. Lucas Sousa, a midfielder, has signed for five. Per league and team policy, no other details of the agreements are available.
Neto comes to the Comets by way of Columbia College, where he enjoyed a heralded career. He was named conference player of the year, newcomer of the year and first-team all-conference goalkeeper, in addition to being named an All-American and making the all-national-championship-tournament team.
“Nicolau comes to us from Coach John Klein’s Columbia College program. Coach Klein is one of the most respected coaches in the country. You know any player that plays for John is going to be an intelligent player, a good locker room guy and obviously a high-level player. For a 6-foot-4 goalkeeper, he has tremendous feet to match his big arm and top-end athleticism,” Comets managing partner Brian Budzinski said.
“Coming from outdoor to indoor is definitely a challenge. I’m looking forward to learning with the older guys and hopefully I will succeed,” said Neto. “My ability to use my feet is an advantage to me. I’ve always worked really well with my feet, and I think that’s going to be a huge asset that I can help out the Comets with throughout the season.”
Sousa comes to Kansas City by way of Park University, where he was an all-conference performer twice over and an honorable mention All-American. He joins several other former Pirates on the Comets roster.
“Lucas is another strong player from Coach Efrem Shimlis and Park University. He has tremendous quickness, very good technical vision on the field. He’s another left-footed attacking player that will pose a threat to opposing defenders,” said Budzinski.
“I have been following the Comets since I got here. I have friends playing with the Comets, and wearing this shirt is going to be amazing with my friends I played with in college. And I just want to give back to my city,” said Sousa.
“I’m really excited to go back to the pitch and just show everybody what we can do.”