Eclipse goalkeeper coach, Alex Mangels (known as Coach Mango by the players), recently traveled to Italy with his Cal soccer team. Here is what he shared about his experience:
On my trip to Italy with the Cal team, we played five games, all against Serie A teams in Italy. Our team won 2 matches, tied 2, and lost 1 match. We played our first match against AS Roma, losing 4-0, but we followed that up with a win against AC Siena the following day by a score of 5-2. Then, we played a very strong AC Fiorentina team that we held to a 0-0 draw, followed by another draw to Atalanta, 2-2. We capped off the trip with a great win over Novara, 3-1. I played in each game, getting varying numbers of playing time, but I only let in 1 goal in all of my minutes, averaging about 3 saves per appearance. The highlight of my playing experience was not only being able to play against such quality opponents but also a point-blank save off of a close range volley that I made in my start against Novara to keep them off the scoreboard. Overall, it was the trip of a lifetime, giving me the opportunity to see some amazing sights in a country I had never been to before, as well as the chance to play soccer at a world-class level.
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