Biography
By Jim Hague
Liana Abreu was practically born with a soccer ball at her feet.
Her father, Francisco, was a standout player in his native Portugal and is a respected youth soccer coach, coaching the highly successful travel team based out of Newark called the Den of Lions. She was all of 4 years old when she first started playing competitively. Soccer is in her genes, but more importantly, it’s in her blood.
“My father is the biggest influence on me,” said Abreu, a junior member of the Rutgers-Newark women’s soccer program. “He’s always worked with me, either at home or at practice. He even comes to our games here and gives me his critique of how I played. He was an attacking player like me, so I guess I play like my father. Soccer is a big thing in our family. It runs in our family.”
Abreu, who goes by the nickname of “Lily,” has a younger brother, Edgar, who also plays soccer. Edgar Abreu is a member of the Science Park High School team in Newark, the same school that Lily attended and first made a name as a soccer standout.
These days, Abreu is making her name known on the college level, as the Scarlet Raiders’ leading scorer. With every passing game, the junior midfielder is making her mark in the R-N record books and is currently on pace to shatter every scoring record in the school’s history.
With the eight goals Abreu has scored this season, she has now tallied 27 goals, good for third all-time. She also has 67 career points, also placing her third on the scoring list -- and she’s still a junior.
Last week, in a crucial New Jersey Athletic Conference match against Ramapo, Abreu accomplished a rare feat with her feet, scoring three unassisted goals in a 5-3 Scarlet Raider victory.
It’s one thing for a midfielder to score three goals in a game -- and this wasn’t the first time in Abreu’s fine career that she collected a hat trick.
But it’s another for all three to come without the benefit of an assist. It meant that Abreu did a lot of work on her own to find the net.
“I feel like our season is just beginning now,” Abreu said. “We’ve had two conference games and I have four goals. I don’t think I ever scored four goals in the conference in an entire season before.”
Credit new R-N women’s soccer coach Bill Bustamante for helping Abreu find the net more often.
Bustamante, who had a fine career as a youth soccer coach as well, knew Abreu from competing against each other. When he took the job as head coach, Bustamante knew that he was inheriting a talented player in Abreu and having her was not a bad place to start.
“I was very fortunate to have her, because she’s a very special player,” Bustamante said. “I knew what she was capable of doing, so it was definitely a bonus. Coming in, I knew that we had good players surrounding her, but we had to do something to get Lily more chances to score. We had to utilize her talents in the right way, considering she is a big difference maker.
Added Bustamante, “So we basically wanted to free Lily up, to give her the freedom to move up and get the ball where she can make plays and be more dangerous. It makes things easier from a coaching aspect because she is an attacking kind of player. She also frees up others. It’s definitely the way we like to play.”
The different style of play was definitely music to Abreu’s ears.
“I like it much better,” Abreu said. “I feel like I’m now in the right position. I like having the freedom to move up and play the way I want to and how I want to. I’m more comfortable with that style. I can concentrate more on my strengths. I love to have the ball at my feet all the time, so I can move forward and make plays.”
It has certainly worked, as Abreu has already scored eight goals this season in nine matches. It’s also helped the Scarlet Raiders jump out to a fine 4-3-2 record thus far.
“The style of play, the more aggressive, attacking style fits me well,” Abreu said. “I still have time to come back and make a defensive play if I have to. It’s just more about the mindset of being aggressive. It’s definitely using my strengths more and honestly, it’s a lot more fun.”
The relationship between new coach and star player has worked wonderfully thus far.
“I didn’t feel like I had to come in and prove myself to a new coach,” Abreu said. “It was a new beginning. I usually don’t get nervous, having to prove myself. I just go out and play the game.”
“Giving Lily more of a free role has really made her a better player and a more dangerous player,” Bustamante said. “She has such a great desire and a great competitive side. She also has the desire to want to win. She’s doing everything for us, not just scoring goals. She comes back and defends and makes back tackles. She’s working on both sides of the field. I knew the kind of potential she had, but she’s doing even better than I could have expected. You can see how she’s adjusted to a new coach, a new style and a new philosophy. She was able to grasp it and run with it.”
Abreu is a psychology and criminal justice major at R-N. She plans on going to law school after she receives her degree and wants to study to become a criminal lawyer.
She also juggles a busy schedule, with soccer, her school work and a job working at a physical therapy facility.
“I’m pretty much used to it now, keeping busy with soccer and school,” Abreu said.
For now, she’s not focused on the record books like she is her school books. But she is having the time of her life.
“We’re winning and we’re playing well,” Abreu said. “Things couldn’t be much better.”
