NorthWood senior Andre De Freitas committed to play soccer at Bethel University on Friday, March 12. He is pictured in the front row with his parents, Mario and Sarah. In the back row are Bethel Head Coach Thiago Pinto, siblings Dominic and Emily De Freitas, and NorthWood boys soccer coach Brad Duerksen. Photo by Keith Knepp.

NAPPANEE — For the past four seasons, and particularly the last two, NorthWood senior Andre De Freitas has been the point of the spear for the Panthers boys soccer program. In his final campaign, De Freitas found the back of the net 32 times. For his career, De Freitas scored 61 goals, making him both the single season and all-time leading scorer for the red and black.

NorthWood’s Andre DeFreitas was  twice chosen as a First Team All-District player by the ISCA. InkFreeNews file photo by Mike Deak.

This past season, De Freitas helped lead NorthWood to a berth in the class 2-A semi-state, where the team missed an invitation to the state championship by the slimmest of margins, dropping the match in penalty kicks following 94 minutes of play that included two overtime periods.

De Freitas not only was a two-time all-conference member in the vaunted NLC circuit, he also was named First Team All-District by the Indiana State Coaches Association following both his junior and senior campaigns. He also earned Second Team All-State honors following his final year.  De Freitas finished as the most decorated soccer player in the program’s history.

As much as NorthWood skipper Brad Duerksen would love to have De Freitas back for another run at a title, like the proud second father he became, the coach knew it was time for his star to take his game to the next level.

De Freitas marched one step closer to his dream on Friday afternoon when he officially signed to play for Bethel University and Coach Thiago Pinto. The Pilots, who finished 13-5-1 last fall, including a sparkling 6-1-1 mark in Crossroads League action, are continuing platy this spring with dreams of making it through to an NAIA national championship, which will be held in May in Georgia.

“I’m excited to start a new journey on a new soccer team,” said De Freitas. “Bethel is the right fit for me. I’m excited to get better at the next level.”

His former coach is equally excited for his star pupil. “Andre is the best player I have coached in 24 years,” said Duerksen. “Coach Pinto and Bethel got a steal with this young man!”