Graciano Brito (born June 2, 1985 in São Nicolau) is a

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former professional player. Brito is currently the head coach for the men's soccer team at

Siena College Siena College is a Private college, private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York, United States. It was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937 and is named after the Franciscan friar Bernardino of Siena. The college enrolls approxi ...

Career

Youth and college

Brito came from his native Cape Verde to the United States in 2004, settling with relatives in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

, and played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University ( ) is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut, United States. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. History What became ...

. As a junior in 2007 he was named to the NSCAA/adidas All-America Second Team, was featured in

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

's "Faces In The Crowd" section, was selected to the NSCAA/adidas North Atlantic Region First Team, and was named Northeast Conference Player of the Year, the first Quinnipiac men's soccer player to earn the award since 2001. As a senior in 2008 he was named the NEC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, was Quinnipiac’s Male Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row, and was named to the All-NEC First Team, was an NCSAA/adidas All-American for the third consecutive year, and was a College Soccer News All-American. He finished his four-year career with Quinnipiac as the program’s Division I career leader in goals (40) and points (92).

Professional

Brito was an assistant coach at Quinnipiac in 2009, attended the 2009 MLS Combine, and briefly played professionally for

Operário dos Açores Operário may refer to: Football clubs in Brazil *Operário Futebol Clube (MS) - from Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul. *Operário Futebol Clube (Várzea Grande) - from Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso. *Operário Ferroviário Esporte Clube - from Ponta ...

in the

Portuguese Second Division Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

2010, before becoming the first player to sign with the expansion

FC New York F.C. New York was an American professional soccer team based first in Queens, New York City, and then Long Island, New York. The team played two seasons, starting in 2011 in the National Division of the USL Professional Division, the third tier ...

of the new

USL Professional League The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

when he signed in February 2011. He scored the only goal of FCNY's first ever league victory, 1-0 over the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

on May 13. Brito signed with

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

of USL Pro on February 2, 2012.

Coaching

Brito returned to his alma mater

in 2012 to take a role as an assistant coach with the men's soccer team. Brito coached with the Bobcats for eight seasons before being appointed head coach at

. Brito also joined the technical staff of Black Watch Premier Academy in 2020.

References

External links

Siena Saints bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brito, Graciano 1985 births Living people Cape Verdean men's footballers Cape Verdean expatriate men's footballers People from São Nicolau, Cape Verde Quinnipiac Bobcats men's soccer players F.C. New York players Rochester Rhinos players AC Connecticut players USL Championship players USL League Two players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football forwards Quinnipiac Bobcats men's soccer coaches Siena Saints men's soccer coaches Cape Verdean football managers