Massasoit's Rui Estrela Earns 100th Career Victory

FRANKLIN, Mass. ---- Joao Cardoso (Brockton) scored in the 86th minute to give the Massasoit CC men's soccer team a 4-3 win against the Dean College on Wednesday. The win marked the 100th career coaching victory for Warriors' head coach Rui Estrela.

Cardoso's goal snapped a 3-3 tie and came just one minute after Dean had tied up the score.

"We came out the first 20 to 30 minutes and played extremely well," Estrela said. "We were doing all the right things, moving the ball, it was great to see. Then we got up 3-0 and we started to back off a little bit and they were able to comeback on us. We started to panic late which is something we cannot have happen."

The Warriors (7-5-2) held a 3-1 lead at halftime, scoring the first three goals of the contest on shots from Stephan Teixeira (Brockton), Ruben Varela (Brockton) and John Corr (Brockton). 

The Bulldogs battled back and tied the game in the 85th minute, but Cardoso took a pass from defenseman Mark Mackenzie (Swansea) and fired a shot just inside the 18-yard box for the game-winner with four minutes left in the contest.

For Estrela, who is at the tail end of his eighth season guiding the Warriors from the sidelines, became just the second coach in Massasoit men's soccer history to reach the 100-win milestone joining NJCAA Hall of Famer Nick Palantzas, who Estrela played under as a student-athlete.

"I'm really excited about getting win No. 100. It wasn't something that was on my mind, because it is just another win, but to be able to have our program be that successful over seven and a half years is really special," Estrela said.

For his career, Estrela has won over 70 percent of the games he's coached in and boasts an impressive record of 100-39-8 since taking over the program in 2006. Overall Estrela has been associated with the Warrior soccer program for 14 years, serving as an assistant coach for three seasons and a student-athlete during the 1992 and 1993 seasons.

"I think the win is more for the program to show what we've done and the success we've had. People tell me you got your 100th win, but I tell them I might have 100 wins, but I never played one second in one of those games. It's really about the kids that played here, the way we compete and it's a great overall reflection of the program here at Massasoit," Estrela said.

During his time guiding the Warriors, Estrela has averaged over double-digit wins per season and captured the NJCAA New England Championship five times.

In addition, Estrela had coached 36 NJCAA All-New England players and five NJCAA All-Americans.

The Warriors host AIC on Friday at 3:30 p.m in Brockton.