CHESTER, Pa. – They called him “The Headhunter.”
Long before Brian Sylvestre emerged as the Philadelphia Union’s starting goalkeeper, he was a feared defensive end and inside linebacker for the Hollywood Hills (Fla.) High School football team – where he was so dominant that he was even recruited by some of the nation’s most prestigious college football programs, including LSU, Florida State and the University of Miami.
“I used to tackle pretty hard,” Sylvestre told MLSsoccer.com. “If they needed a tackle, they depended on me.”
But throughout high school, Sylvestre also played club soccer, usually driving 45 minutes just to get to soccer practice after taking off his football pads. And when the time came to choose the sport he wanted to pursue after high school, the decision was an easy one for one simple reason.
“I just picked soccer,” he said, “because I loved soccer more.”
That kind of passion has fueled the 6-foot-5 goalkeeper, who hasn’t always had the easiest time making it in the pro soccer world. Despite initially committing to South Florida University to play college soccer, he ended up signing with the Vancouver Whitecaps out of high school because he said “when you get a professional contract at the age of 17, you have to go ahead and chase your dream.”
But Sylvestre never played first-team games in Vancouver from 2011-12 and only made five appearances with the Harrisburg City Islanders, the Union’s USL affiliate between 2013 and 2014.
The 22-year-old remained a backup with a lower-division team this year after signing with the NASL’s Carolina RailHawks – until catching a huge break.
With the Union desperate for goalkeeping help after a rash of injuries and Rais Mbolhi’s flameout, they worked out a loan deal to acquire Sylvestre.
Since then, he has started the last six league games and earned three shutouts to help revive Philly’s season.
And even though the team’s other goalkeepers – John McCarthy and Andre Blake – are now healthy, Union head coach Jim Curtin confirmed that Sylvestre will remain the starter when the Union take on the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday at StubHub Center (10:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE).
“The experience I’ve gotten here, I can’t even describe it,” Sylvestre said. “It’s just a crazy situation. I was in Carolina, and at the end of the day, it’s just a blessing to be in this organization.”
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Although Sylvestre’s loan deal is short-term, Curtin said the team is “actively pursuing” a way to keep him for longer. Sylvestre, meanwhile, is trying to forget about the uncertainty of his contract situation, saying that he’s only focused on helping the Union right now.
“I’m part of this team, and we’re a family,” he said.
It might not be the family he expected to have earlier this year, and it’s certainly not where his high school friends expected him to end up.
But Sylvestre is happy with how everything turned out, even if he can no longer be “The Headhunter.”
“High school football down there is the biggest thing,” he said. “I miss it, but I don’t regret my decision. Picking soccer was a good choice for me.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
