RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesSOUTH BEND — Thiago Pinto has seen and been a big part of the tremendous growth and success of soccer in the South Bend area for more than two decades.
He continued to be a key ingredient in that this past season as he guided his semi professional Northern Indiana Football Club to a playoff appearance.
NIFC, a member of the USL2, won its final five regular-season matches on the pitch. Its season ended with a 1-0 loss to Steel City FC on July 17 in a Central Conference quarterfinal contest. NIFC finished its season — its fourth as a team — with an 8-5-0 mark.
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"We made huge progress this season and it was a success making the playoffs," Pinto recounted. "It was a huge milestone to do that."
Pinto was a standout player at Bethel College in Mishawaka. He has been the Bethel men's soccer coach since 2009 and guided the Pilots to an NAIA national title in 2022.
To Pinto, who is a Brazil native, there is so much more to NIFC than just its play on the pitch.
"The way we are going about it with NIFC is as important to us as the success with the produce on the field," Pinto said. "This team is from the community and we care deeply about this community. We try to invest heavily into it.
"Soccer is just a means and a way to impact the community. I've seen huge steps in the growth of the game in this area over my 24 years here."
NIFC, which bases itself on the philosophy of From the Community, For the Community, boasts a staff of nine. Included among those are President Pablo Rodriguez and General Manager Steve Dregits.
NIFC makes an emphasis on trying to land local elite level talent to help build its roster, which this year numbered some 21 players on the Travelers Roster. The team played six home matches this past season from May through July at the Saints Field at Holy Cross College in South Bend. They played teams from places like Dayton, Toledo, Louisville and West Virginia. Omar Gallo, who is the Holy Cross College head coach, is the associate head coach for Pinto.
David Davila, an Elkhart native, was one of the key performers this past season for NIFC. Davila, a 6-4 forward, has played with the team the past two seasons. He was a star the past two years at the University of Southern Indiana near Evansville and is now making a move to play this fall for the University of New Hampshire, an NCAA Division 1 program.
"It's been a very good experience the past two years for me playing for NIFC," said Davila, who was all-conference as the top scorer for the University of Southern Indiana last season. "It's a really good thing to play at a high level like that against some excellent players. The players on our team pushed me every day too.
"Coach Pinto is a very good coach with a very good approach. He gets the best out of you. The progress that I have made the past two years playing for him has been crucial to me. Now, I'm very excited and prepared to move on in college and do well at New Hampshire."
Pinto praised the makeup of Davila.
"David is a pure product of our local community," Pinto remarked. "He's one of our most improved, dynamic and committed players. He has a huge upside. A humble young man, a hard worker and someone who I believe could grow into a pro."
NIFC began in 2023 and played against Mexican pro Atlante FC in front of some 2,500 fans at Notre Dame. The team joined the Midwest Premier League in 2024 and went to the USL2, a top pre-pro league, in 2025.
"The talent and level of play in our league sits right underneath the pro level," Pinto said. "We've hosted international matches and the past two years and competed very well in those.
"We look for players in our community who can play at this level and who fit what we are looking for. We look at guys from places like Bethel, Holy Cross and Notre Dame. We stress community and positive leadership."
Davila is a Concord High School graduate, but opted to play academy soccer in Indianapolis during his prep career.
"The talent overall in our league is very high," said Davila. "The matches are intense. Our team clicked together later in the season. For me, a key part I play is as a big distraction to defenders. I also like scoring goals at big moments. That's my biggest role I feel like I play."
NIFC is involved at area soccer on all levels. It has the NIFC Academy and Pinto pointed out a huge happening with youth soccer is the merger of Echo and Irish.
Both Pinto and Davila kept a close eye on the recent World Cup, which saw Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the title match July 19.
"I watched a lot of games and took my grandson out to New Jersey to see Brazil play Norway," Pinto said. "It was painful for me that Brazil lost that game, but we had an amazing time.
"I think that USA Soccer is on its way there to competing. They have momentum, both on and off the field right now."
The United States, along with Canada and Mexico, served as hosts for the first-time ever of the World Cup.
The US soccer team lost 4-1 to Belgium in the round of 16 in the World Cup. A record-shattering total of almost 63 millions Americans watched the World Cup finale in New Jersey. That compares to 27 million who watched Game 7 of the 2025 World Series and 25 million who watched Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals.
Davila cited Liverpool as the pro team he follows on the pitch and Erling Haaland of the Norway national team as the player he looks up to. The 26-year old Haaland is a 6-5 striker who plays for Manchester City and is already Norway's all-time scoring leader. He scored both goals in his team's win over Brazil.
"I watched most of the World Cup," Davila stated. "We had a bracket prior to the World Cup to pick the games and I had Spain as the ...
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