Diegues, Parreiras continue offensive show indoors after leading Lakeland in points last summer

Outdoor or outdoor, professional or college, if Ricardo Diegues is in the lineup, Victor Parreiras is sure to be nearby.

Teammates all the way back to their college days at UT-Brownsville, the Lakeland Tropics two leading scorers from last summer are again atop the scoring charts for their sister franchise, the Florida Tropics of the Major Arena Soccer League which just passed the halfway mark of their season recently.

Diegues is leading the arena team in goals (15) and assists (12) in 13 games so far this year, after tying for the arena team lead in goals last season despite missing a month of the season with a leg injury. He was a Lakeland's leading scorer in the 2017 USL Premier Development League season with 10 goals in 14 games, tied for ninth overall in the 72-team league in goals.

Parreiras led Lakeland with five assists, and added three goals for second on the team in total points. This year in the MASL, he has 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points, third on the team. Last year, he was also third in overall scoring indoors, with 14 goals and 4 assists.

“Ricardo is a talent. We knew that when we brought him in last year. He's a very coachable player, a very humble player. To step up the way he has I'm not shocked by it  The defense always has to respect him, and the players we are able to put around him, like Victor” Tropics Director of Soccer Clay Roberts noted. “And Victor is always aware of where people are on the pitch when he's out there with him. He plays with his head up and while he's never afraid to take the shot, he's just as happy to make a great pass too.”

The two  hooked up at UTB, where Diegues scored 64 goals and had 20 assists in just 57 games over his 3 years with the school. Parreiras led the entire NAIA in assists in 2014 with 22, the pairs last at the school, when they made a run of the national title game.

The Florida Tropics have nine games left in their regular season, which concludes with a two-game road trip March 4 and 5 in Milwaukee and Kansas City. The Lakeland Tropics expect to announce their 14-game home schedule in the coming days.