UTICA'S RISING STAR: SERGIO PINAL

If you're going to be a target player and the main scoring threat for any soccer team, you will need to have a strong mentality and understand failure.

After all, outside of meg-stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, most mortals are going to miss shots more than putting them into the net.

So, it doesn't hurt to be a sponge, be ready to learn and show some humility along the way.

Utica City FC forward Sergio Pinal has embodied those factors.

In his second Major Arena Soccer League season, Pinal finds himself among the leading goalscorers.

It has not been by accident. He has talent, but he also has the sense to realize he doesn't know everything.

"I played indoors back home, but it wasn't really indoors that it's supposed to be played," said Pinal, adding that former Utica City FC head coach Hewerton Moreira and MASL all-star Vini Dantas "helped me a lot my first year, playing as a target, basically showing me how to be a target.

"Being positioned, how to the angle of the boards, helping me overcome that. So that was really a big reason how I learned pretty fast [on how] to play as a target man."

"I like learning and listening to people tell me my wrongs, and my mistakes. I have just been learning, learning every day from other players as well."

Most forwards, indoors or outdoors, will miss the target more than score. For Pinal, he understands that, that any forward worth his or her salt needs to have amnesia.

"I believe you just can't get stuck on your mistakes," he said. "I miss a shot, and I won't let it affect me the whole game. I’m [focusing] on the next shot."

Being a target man means tussling with defenders, but the 5-foot-10, 215-lb. forward said that he loved that.

"I like that type of game," he said. "That's my type of game. I'm a strong striker, so I do get hit a lot. I like that type of game."

Pinal has been one of Utica City FC's few bright spots this season. Entering the team’s Friday night encounter at the Milwaukee Wave, the 23-year-old forward is third in the league in points (38), tied with the Milwaukee Wave's Mario Alvarez in goals (19), and tied for first in assists (19), with Baltimore Blast’s Oumar Sylla.

In January, this writer named Pinal of five players who were considered up-and-coming players.

Born in San Jose, Calif. on April 1, 2002, Pinal's soccer career has been no joke.

He joined the San Luis Under-20 team for the 2021-22 campaign.

"It was just a good experience," he said. "They do a different [kind of] soccer there. The level was high. It was good competition."

Pinal played one season at Evergreen Valley Community College.

"A pretty good season," he said.

Pretty good?

Make that outstanding.

He connected for an incredible 23 goals and 12 assists while helping the Hawks finish with a 17-4-3 record while finishing fifth nationally. He was named the 2023 conference player of the year.

"It was a good experience," Pinal said. "I was freshman. I had a really good team, reaching the state finals."

An opportunity to play with Utica City opened up, and Pinal jumped at the chance, forgoing college and joining the club on Dec. 28, 2024. As a rookie, he recorded 15 goals and nine assists in 18 games.

Pinal upped his game this season.

"I feel like just trusting myself [on] what I could, what I could do, and just not afraid of making mistakes," he said.

He might have improved his production this year, but Utica City hasn't. The team is in eighth and last place in the MASL with a 5-11-4 mark and 17 points.

Pinal said it was a "really a difficult year, because we're all young, inexperienced players that are having a tough season.

"I guess sometimes we're not really on the same page a lot of a time, and that's when we get caught in our games, like losing by one goal," he added. "It's just little details that we're not experienced."

Recent results included a 13-0 defeat to the St. Louis Ambush and a pair of 6-5 losses to the Kansas City Comets and Milwaukee Wave.

"It always seems like we should have done this, we should have done that," Pinal said. "We're learning the game, and some are slower than others learning the game. It's fine, but we have really good players. I believe we'll have a good season next season."

Utica City still is mathematically alive to qualify for the playoffs, however slight. The team likely would have to win out its final four games. Pinal said that he won't give up hope.

"I'm never going to rule my team out, because anything can happen in this sport," he said. “I hope that we go on this crazy run that we need until there's no more no more chance. You've got to have that attitude, because if you lose that, you never know if you're ever going to get it back."

That's because Pinal has realized that there is always another game and another season.

If not this season, then next year and beyond.

"My first goal is I want to win a championship, many championships," he said. "Another goal is just always improving every season as a player."

Michael Lewis, the sixth recipient of the Clay Berling Media Career of Excellence Award in 2025, can be followed on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky at @Soccerwriter. His 10th soccer book, Around the World Cup in 40 Years: An American sportswriter's perspective, will be published this spring.