Steevan Dos Santos is used to scoring goals. The striker has already netted seven this season, and has established himself as one of the most dangerous scorers in the Eastern Conference.
Even with that experience finding the back of the net, he still can’t quite describe the feeling of doing so.
“Of course, the first thing is to help the team,” Dos Santos said. “That is the first thing for me. I can’t describe the feeling of scoring a goal. It’s just joy. I don’t have words for that feeling.”
The 29-year-old notched his seventh tally of the year in last weekend’s 1-0 win over Loudoun United FC. Neco Brett chipped a pass to the striker, who sent a low shot by the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
To cap off the goal, Dos Santos formed a heart shape with his hands and showed his love to the Pittsburgh crowd.
His celebrations have varied throughout the year. Sometimes he chooses to hit a dance move. Other times he’ll go with whatever is on his mind. It’s never planned, but always looks smooth and natural.
One of his most notable celebrations this season came when he pretended to take the wheel of a car. Dos Santos has spent a lot of his free time of late learning to drive, so the celebration fit the occasion perfectly.
“That was the moment. I’m trying to get my drivers license,” Dos Santos said. “That was me driving a car. It was just the moment, it was nothing planned.”
Dos Santos’ first season with the Black and Gold has come with plenty of success. He’s made 20 starts with the club and is second on the team in goals scored. He spent the previous two seasons with Ottawa Fury FC, and he buried 15 goals during his tenure up north.
On Friday, the striker will return to Ottawa as a visitor for the first time. While he noted that his main focus will be on getting a crucial three points, there will be some extra emotions flowing on Friday night.
“I still have friends there. The staff is the same staff from the year before. I have some players there as well. We’ve been talking since I left Ottawa. The city as well. It’s good to go back to Ottawa.”
The match between Pittsburgh and Ottawa will make quite the mark on the Eastern Conference leaderboard. The Hounds currently hold the sixth seed, with 44 points. Ottawa isn’t far behind the Black and Gold, with 39 points on the year.
Back in June, the two sides played to a 2-2 draw in a game the Hounds once held a two-goal lead. With a chance to redeem themselves on Friday, Dos Santos hopes the team can play a cleaner game and earn a better result.
“We’re going there to get three points,” Dos Santos said. “We’re going to try not to make the same mistakes that we did here against them. They have good players and a good team. They can punish you if you make those kind of mistakes.”
