Okay, it's time for today's history and philosophy fact. Sharpen the No. 2 pencil and get out the blue book.
It was Gaius Plinius Secundus, the famed Roman philosopher, who was better known by his nickname of Pliny the Elder, or just Pliny to his close friends, who wrote more than 2,000 years ago that "Home is where the heart is."
See what you can learn here.
Anyway, when
Ana Silveira was growing up, there was never a better motto to live by. Silveira didn't have to think too hard about where she would want to go to school. For Silveira, home was always where the heart was.
After all, Silveira was a resident of Newark and lived only a few blocks from Science Park High School. So that's where she went to high school and stood out as a soccer player, performing for a small school that was an up-and-coming program.
And Silveira wanted to study criminal justice in college, so what local school has the best criminal justice program? It's none other than Rutgers-Newark, which is also within a stone's throw of Silveira's home.
"I always wanted to become a police officer," Silveira said. "I was actually considering New Jersey City University and Montclair State, but then (Rutgers-Newark head coach) Ariana (Ruela) came up to me and talked to me about Rutgers-Newark. I took a campus tour and met some of the faculty. I was impressed and very happy."
So that made the decision easy for Silveira. Home is indeed where the heart is. Silveira was staying home and playing soccer for the Scarlet Raiders.
And there was no doubt where Silveira was playing on the field. She was a center midfielder. Despite her diminutive stature – "I'm only 5-foot-2," Silveria shyly says – and that she is predominately a left-footed kicker despite being right-handed in everything else, Silveira has always been a center midfielder.
"Ever since I first started playing soccer," Silveira said. "I've been a center mid."
Silveira played club and travel soccer for some of the best youth programs in New Jersey, including Ironbound Youth Soccer in Newark and TSF Academy in Wayne. And she was a center mid every step of the way.
"It kind of runs in the family," said Silveira, whose father, Wadson, was a standout center midfielder in his native Brazil.
But being a left-footed player?
"It's a funny thing," Silveira said. "I've always kicked with my left foot and do everything else righty. It's weird. I think it helped me because defenders think I'm going right, then I end up going with my left. Defenders have to work harder guarding me."
Despite having a great career at Science Park, Silveira worried whether she could handle being a legitimate soccer player for R-N in a rough-and-tumble league like the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
"I was kind of worried," Silveira said. "I saw Rutgers-Newark play and because I'm kind of small, I was worried."
As it turned out, Silveira has used her size – or lack thereof – to her advantage.
"I usually like to stay lower to the ground," Silveira said. "If the defender is taller, then they usually can't stay with me. I throw them off."
Silveira has been a mainstay in the Scarlet Raiders' lineup since her arrival and has become a major player over the last two seasons.
"She's a very good technical player," Rutgers-Newark head coach
Ariana Ruela said. "She has great vision on the ball. She watches a lot of soccer. She eats, drinks, breathes soccer. She brings a lot of passion to the team. She also kicks a nice ball to her teammates. She can also create for herself. Any time she gets inside the 18 (yard line), she can let it go. And when she turns it on, she can be hard to stop. She can be deadly."
Silveira was certainly on target last season, when she scored seven goals. This year, Silveira has contributed two goals and four assists for the 10-7-2 Scarlet Raiders, who have one regular season match against NJCU remaining before the NJAC playoffs. The Scarlet Raiders defeated Rowan and Kean for the first time in the program's history and have secured their best record since 2015.
Silveira said that she has been somewhat shocked with her collegiate production.
"I'm genuinely surprised," Silveira said. "I think we had a good midfield corps when I was a freshman and it was hard for me to fit in. I thought it might take a while for me to get used to it. But there were some openings when I began my sophomore year and I took advantage of it."
Ruela said that she pushed Silveira before this season to see if she could get even more out of her.
"She's been a work in progress since she got here," Ruela said. "She just likes to win. She needed to channel her emotions. She's very focused and driven. She's that way with her academics as well. She's a very good student. She had to step out on her own this year and do the things necessary to make herself and the team better."
Silveira want to be the one who is always in charge -- both on and off the field.
"I actually like being in control of the game," Silveira said. "I like to dictate the pace of the game. I liked when (Coach) Ruela challenged me before the season. She encouraged me to take over. That really motivated me. I had a personal trainer and worked hard every day. I ran like 2-to-3 miles a day. I went to a gym to work out. We had captain's practices and I was able to get a feel for the team. I'm just a control freak in every aspect of my life."
Just how much control?
"Well, in school, if we have a group project to do, I'm the one who leads," Silveira said. "I'm the one who organizes where we go when we go out to eat. When we get food, it's my choice. They call me the Mom of the group. I'm Brazilian so I usually choose Brazilian food."
Silveira's favorite Brazilian restaurant among the many in Down Neck Newark is Boi Na Brasa.
"It means 'the meat is on the grill,'" Silveira said. "The meat is usually beef."
And at home?
"I always control my little brother," Silveira said.
Wadson Silveira, Jr. is a 17-year-old junior at Technology High School in Newark and a soccer player, a center mid like his big sister. But at home, poor Wadson cannot win.
"I'm in control at home, too," Silveira said about her brother. "He basically has no choice. I yell pretty loud. He thinks he's a better player, but that's up for debate. I like to think I am."
Silveira said that she's so proud that the Scarlet Raiders have improved immensely this season.
"It feels great," Silveira said. "It's been such a good team effort. We're vocal for each other.
Most of us pulled through. They hold a special place in my heart. I hope the current group of freshman can be leaders for newcomers when it's their turn. I feel like this has been my best year here. I've been more active. I've scored fewer goals than last year, but I'm happy."
And as for her choice of neighborhood college, like she's never left home. At least it's where the heart is.
"It's a very good school," Silveira said. "There's a good environment here. For me, it's the best of all worlds."
