Braudilio Rodrigues sets Defiance goals record

Braudilio Rodrigues set a new club record by scoring his 14th and 15th goals of the season in Tacoma Defiance’s 3-0 win over Real Monarchs on Friday that also clinched the No. 2 seed in MLS Next Pro's Western Conference. Rodrigues had gone into the match having already tied Sam Adeniran (13 in 2021) and Marlon Vargas (13 in 2022) for the most goals in a Sounders 2/Defiance season. 

Rodrigues, once again, showed his range in this game. His first goal came when he was a late-arriving attacker into the box and laced a cutback pass into the top corner.

Rodrigues then effectively put the game away when he worked a nice give-and-go with left back Pedro and put away a close-range volley.

When talking about Rodrigues on a recent episode of Nos Audietis, Defiance head coach Wade Webber called his midfielder a “MLS-level talent” and praised his work ethic.

“He understands that you come early, you stay late, you don’t count the hours, you just do what you need to do to prepare for the next day,” Webber said. 

Given his breakout performance, it would make sense for the Sounders to seriously consider offering him a MLS contract next year. There are a couple complications, however. The biggest is that NYCFC drafted Rodrigues last year and still control his MLS rights. Rodrigues would also count as an international.

Gio Miglietti also scored a goal for Defiance, a well-taken back-heel.

Braudilio scored in his fourth consecutive match, notching five goals during the run.

Defiance end the regular season hosting Vancouver Whitecaps 2 at Starfire Stadium on September 24 at 2 pm PT.