He led the Scarlet Hawks to a Division 2 state championship appearance for the first time in 20 years last fall.

Leo Coelho traveled from Milford to Brazil in 2012.

Coelho’s father, Weliton, owned a business and they built a home in the small town of Engenheiro Caldas. What was meant to be a two-month stay in Brazil for Coelho turned out to be a two-year stop.

“I didn’t want to leave my dad and I didn’t want to leave Brazil,” said Coelho, who is now 18 years old and a Milford High rising senior.

So Coelho went to school in Brazil and it went from 7 to 11 a.m. So, after school ended, Coelho fueled up on a big meal at noon and headed off to play soccer.

After he and his friends found somewhere to play, they would stay there and shoot around until their soccer practice at 4:30 p.m., and then they would go home and shower before returning to play soccer. Since his town was so small, he could see the lights from the soccer field from far away. So, once Coelho and his friends saw the lights on, they would go behind the field to play some more soccer.

Coelho wouldn’t get home until 10 p.m.

“Every day we just played soccer literally wherever we could. There would be days we would play in the streets with no shoes or on dirt,” Coelho said. “It was a very crazy experience but it’s definitely the number one reason why I am the player that I am today.”

“That’s my Leo,” his father said. “He breathes soccer.”

Coelho’s favorite professional players are Brazilian. At the top of his list is the legendary two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho.

“He used to watch him all the time and say, ‘I wanna be like Ronaldinho,’” Coelho’s father said.

“Growing up watching Ronaldinho really made me fall in love with the game,” Coelho said.

Coelho returned to the United States in 2014 and eventually made his way to Milford High School in 2017. He took the pitch last fall as a junior and was at the top of the Hockomock League with seven goals and 11 assists as he led the Scarlet Hawks to a Division 2 state championship appearance for the first time in 20 years.

He was named Hockomock League MVP, an Eastern Mass. All-Star, an All-State All-Star and a Daily News All-Star.

And now, Coelho is being recruited by professional teams outside the United States, namely in Brazil and Portugal. As it turns out, those few years in Brazil worked wonders for his soccer game.

“When he was two years old, he already wanted to kick the ball,” his father said. “I’m so proud of him; it’s like a dream come true.”

Last season, Coelho and Milford had to go through Bishop Feehan in the Div. 2 South semifinals. Earlier in the week, Coelho had sprained his ankle in a win over Dartmouth.

During the semifinal match, a member of the Bishop Feehan team jumped on Coelho’s back and the Milford star ended up pulling a muscle.

“I could barely even walk,” Coelho said.

At the end of regulation, the two teams were tied and headed into overtime. Coelho asked his coach to put him in at forward and 90 seconds later, Coelho – who could hardly move – received a pass from Joao Pedro Da Silva and struck the ball into the back of the net, sending Milford to the sectional finals.

“The game went from being one of my worst to one of my best,” Coelho said.

Now, the rising senior who can play any position on the pitch – not counting goalie – is entering his final year at Milford and will continue carrying with him all he gained from his time in Brazil.

“Leo is a very special player. He may be the most versatile player I've ever coached. Leo allowed us to come up with game plans that assumed we had the best player on the field, and he could essentially play any position,” Milford boys soccer coach Brian Edwards said. “He is one of the most talented players to have ever come through the program.”