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Ex-Lewis star Mora competes in prestigious tournament in Italy
By Dylan Butler July 17, 2009Mauricio Mora didn’t know what he was going to do during the summer when he received an instant message from friend Yannick Salmon about an opportunity to play with the New York Magic in the Super-20 League.
A week later, Adelphi University’s sophomore fullback found out that same team, coached by Yannick’s father, Calvin, would be competing in the Trofeo Dossena tournament in Crema, Italy in June.
“It was even more of a reason to play for them, just to get that chance,” the former Francis Lewis standout and Long Island City resident said.
Before Mora knew it, he was in a soccer-crazed country, playing against youth teams from several of Italy’s top clubs. AC Milan, Sampdoria, Atalanta, Genoa and Brazil’s Gremio were part of the prestigious tournament, which was in its 33rd year.
And then there was the New York Magic, a makeshift squad of college-based friends.
It was clear which team wasn’t expected to make it out of group play.
“Every other team was speaking Italian and you could tell everyone was rooting for the Italian teams,” Mora said. “We were kind of like the underdogs, but it kind of felt good to have the odds against us. We were the only team from the U.S., so there was some national pride.”
And much like the United States national team, which shocked the world by beating Spain and advancing to the FIFA Confederations Cup final, the Magic made a remarkable run to the tournament’s final, where they lost to Serie C XI, 4-0.
“We went in knowing it was going to be hard, but I think we took everyone by surprise because there was even an article that came out over there labeling our team as the surprise New York Magic,” Mora said. “It was unfortunate we lost in the final, but we really did better than anyone expected us to.”
Mora said the team’s goal heading into the tournament was to reach the semifinals, which they did by rallying to beat Sampdoria, 2-1, on a late goal by Christian Uy.
The squad trailed Genoa in the semifinals, but again came from behind on goals by Evan Kluge and Shawn Cinn to book its ticket into the final.
Mora said the tournament’s set-up and increased level of competition gave him a taste of what it might be like to play on the next level.
“It was the next step, even though we weren’t there too long,” Mora said. “It was a very professional atmosphere.”
The team returned to New York and played in the Super-20 League, where it struggled, winning just once.
But the chance to play in Italy more than made up for the league disappointment.
“It was really good to play in that atmosphere,” Mora said. “In Italy, soccer is the main thing and everyone’s life revolved around it.”
And he’s got Yannick Salmon to thank for it.
“I guess one of these days I’ll make it up to him,” he said.
Since playing for the New York Magic, Mora has trained with the Blau-Weiss Gottschee Under-23 squad and the Long Island Academy squad in preparation for his second year at Adelphi after starting 17 of the 18 games he appeared in, being named to the all-Atlantic Soccer Conference second-team.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said. “I’ve been playing all summer long. I’m going to put in a lot of work the last two or three weeks so I can go in prepared and make sure to be at the best level that I can.”
dbutler@fiveborosports.com
A week later, Adelphi University’s sophomore fullback found out that same team, coached by Yannick’s father, Calvin, would be competing in the Trofeo Dossena tournament in Crema, Italy in June.
“It was even more of a reason to play for them, just to get that chance,” the former Francis Lewis standout and Long Island City resident said.
Before Mora knew it, he was in a soccer-crazed country, playing against youth teams from several of Italy’s top clubs. AC Milan, Sampdoria, Atalanta, Genoa and Brazil’s Gremio were part of the prestigious tournament, which was in its 33rd year.
And then there was the New York Magic, a makeshift squad of college-based friends.
It was clear which team wasn’t expected to make it out of group play.
“Every other team was speaking Italian and you could tell everyone was rooting for the Italian teams,” Mora said. “We were kind of like the underdogs, but it kind of felt good to have the odds against us. We were the only team from the U.S., so there was some national pride.”
And much like the United States national team, which shocked the world by beating Spain and advancing to the FIFA Confederations Cup final, the Magic made a remarkable run to the tournament’s final, where they lost to Serie C XI, 4-0.
“We went in knowing it was going to be hard, but I think we took everyone by surprise because there was even an article that came out over there labeling our team as the surprise New York Magic,” Mora said. “It was unfortunate we lost in the final, but we really did better than anyone expected us to.”
Mora said the team’s goal heading into the tournament was to reach the semifinals, which they did by rallying to beat Sampdoria, 2-1, on a late goal by Christian Uy.
The squad trailed Genoa in the semifinals, but again came from behind on goals by Evan Kluge and Shawn Cinn to book its ticket into the final.
Mora said the tournament’s set-up and increased level of competition gave him a taste of what it might be like to play on the next level.
“It was the next step, even though we weren’t there too long,” Mora said. “It was a very professional atmosphere.”
The team returned to New York and played in the Super-20 League, where it struggled, winning just once.
But the chance to play in Italy more than made up for the league disappointment.
“It was really good to play in that atmosphere,” Mora said. “In Italy, soccer is the main thing and everyone’s life revolved around it.”
And he’s got Yannick Salmon to thank for it.
“I guess one of these days I’ll make it up to him,” he said.
Since playing for the New York Magic, Mora has trained with the Blau-Weiss Gottschee Under-23 squad and the Long Island Academy squad in preparation for his second year at Adelphi after starting 17 of the 18 games he appeared in, being named to the all-Atlantic Soccer Conference second-team.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said. “I’ve been playing all summer long. I’m going to put in a lot of work the last two or three weeks so I can go in prepared and make sure to be at the best level that I can.”
dbutler@fiveborosports.com