The Brazilian midfielder who was expected to be out for the season after suffering a knee injury in the team’s fourth game of the season is back on the practice field. At A-B Park in Fenton this evening, she played the whole 60 minutes of a scrimmage with the second team. Although her movement was fairly selective, she looked comfortable and strong on the ball in the middle of the midfield. On a soggy field, her running was a little slow, but she generally demonstrated good vision and didn’t hold back when she was challenged by her opponents.

The highlight of the scrimmage came when Daniela took a free kick from just beyond the top of the 18-yard-box. With a four or five person wall in front of her, and two or three Athletica players there to block the view of the goalie, she casually curled the ball into the upper 90 on the right side. As the goalkeeper dove helplessly and watched the ball sail into the back of the net, Daniela jogged back to the other side of the field as if she didn’t expect anything else.

Coach Jorge Barcellos deemed her performance “very good”, but it stills seems unlikely that Daniela will be able to play this Saturday. But don’t be surprised to see her on the field come playoff time, or perhaps even before.