Coupeville Sports

Dawson d’Almeida (left) and big sister Amanda, reunited in Europe.

d’Almeida gets a few words of wisdom — in German — from his new coach.

It took him five months, but Dawson d’Almeida has finally made his European soccer debut.

d’Almeida, who played for Coupeville High School as a freshman last season, moved to Vienna with his family when his parents, Dan and Cathy, accepted two-year teaching positions at the Amadeus International School in Austria.

Older sister Amanda went left when the family went right and played her freshman season at Carleton College in Minnesota this past fall.

While Dawson has no plans to one day pursue a pro career, it still took FIFA almost half a year to clear his transfer papers. Once they did, he got back on the field and took part in a big-time victory.

His new team, the SC Young Stars, upset a team three leagues higher than them that does, in fact, feature multiple players with pro career talent and dreams.

d’Almeida and his new teammates romped to a 4-2 victory.

While the former (and future?) Wolf didn’t score, he came close, smacking a shot on goal on a rebound off a corner kick that the goalie snagged at the last second.

If nothing else, his time on the pitch in Vienna will give Dawson a feel for the true international feel of the beautiful game, starting with the fact his new coach speaks German.

Many of the clubs he will face feature players from multiple countries.

Croats, Serbs, Turks and Hungarians mix on the field, along with one soccer standout from a small town in Western Washington.