To his left is five-time Major Indoor Soccer League All-Star forward Machel Milwood.
To his right is Aduato Neto, a former Most Valuable Player.
At the top of the three-point arc are the team?s field general, Robbie Aristodemo, and Giuliano Celenza.
With the ball at his foot, Blast veteran midfielder Denison Cabral has several options.
But when his playing career is over, he?ll have even more.
Cabral, a part owner of the Maryland SportsPlex in Millersville in Anne Arundel County, runs camps and clinics and serves as a coach ? both at the youth level and with the St. Mary?s High boys varsity team ? when he?s not the Blast?s leading scorer.
“I just love the sport. I?ve been involved my whole life, and it?s the reason I moved to the U.S,” Cabral, a native of Brazil, said. “I just don?t want to give away the opportunity of still being involved in the sport and the community. I just love coaching kids.”
It?s also becoming personal for Cabral, 34, who last week attended 6-year-old daughter Daniela?s first practice.
“To me, it?s pretty hard for me to get too excited about little things like that,” he said. “I don?t get emotional too much. But the other day, at her first practice, I got chills.”
Two years removed from his second knee surgery in as many years, Cabral is again the Blast?s leading scorer ? overtaking Milwood with six goals in a 26-23 win at California on Sunday. Cabral has 27 goals in 25 games, already surpassing the 24 he scored last season. He?s on pace to record 34 goals by the end of the year, a total he hasn?t eclipsed since scoring 36 in 2003-04 ? the last season he was fully healthy.
“He?s an excellent player, and that?s why he?s here ? to score goals,” defender Billy Nelson said. “We need him on the field. On the power play, he?s been unbelievable this year.”
Cabral has scored a team-high 14 of his goals on the power play, accounting for nearly half of the team?s 31.
With two major knee surgeries and 337 MISL games behind him, Cabral acknowledged it takes him a little longer to get into a game?s flow ?something he did right away when he averaged 65 goals a season from 1998-2002.
But still, one of the team?s most popular players doesn?t want to think what he?ll do when his days of running onto the field at 1st Mariner Arena are over.
“He?s always been so fan-friendly, putting himself out there and willing to do appearances no matter what they were,” Blast coach Danny Kelly said. “I think he?s realized, since he got here, how important being involved in the community is. I don?t think he was so much thinking about himself, but about the organization and the team. He?s endeared himself not only to the team and the organization, but to the community, itself.”
This season, Kelly has seen a rebirth in Cabral. After posting just 38 goals and 20 assists the previous three seasons combined, Cabral is playing like the midfielder whose franchise-record 856 points rank among the league?s all-time greats.
“To me, it doesn?t stop after you play,” Cabral said. “That wouldn?t be fair to myself or the people I work with. I want to keep it going as much as possible.”
