Mamaroneck FC ’93: the Premier Local Boys High School Travel Soccer Team

It's not unusual in Westchester County for local boys' travel soccer teams to thin out and even disappear as the boys get older.  Given the callings of high school academics, other travel sports and other extracurricular activities, it can be very difficult for high school age boys to remain focused on soccer unless they have a unique love for the game.  At this age, playing on a team that is looking to succeed can involve practicing at least twice weekly during the spring and fall, and perhaps once weekly during the summer and winter, playing games all over Westchester and in Manhattan at 9 a.m. on Sunday mornings, and possibly traveling further or playing late at night for tournaments and State Cup games.

In the Larchmont/Mamaroneck/Rye Neck area, Mamaroneck FC '93 today remains the leading local travel soccer team for high school-age boys.  The boys and their coach, Bruno Janeiro (Portuguese-born and raised, but Rye Neck-educated), have made the commitment to practice and play year-round at a high level.  In its earliest evolution, this team was known as the Mamaroneck Bulldogs.  The team has always been able to attract the best of the local talent but, as the team has grown older, it has also attracted strong players from all over Westchester and Yonkers (hence the team’s name change). 

This past spring season about 70 percent of the squad was comprised of local boys, quite a few of whom also played together in Varsity soccer for Mamaroneck High School this past fall.  While there were a number of seniors on the team this spring, most of the team were juniors and sophomores. 

The team is also extremely diverse culturally, with players hailing from, or whose parents hail from, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, England, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Montenegro, and Peru, as well as the United States.  While this keeps it interesting for Janeiro in terms of managing different personalities and playing styles, he has found the right formula with the result being a group of boys that can play extremely attractive possession and penetration soccer while maintaining solid defense.  As a result, in the Boys High School Division 2 competition this spring in the Westchester Youth Soccer League the team tied for the highest number of goals scored (29 in nine games) and had the second best goal differential (+10).  Overall, the team was disappointed to tie for third this spring.  Some late season losses when certain key players were missing proved fatal in the team’s quest to win the division.

However, the highlight of the season was making it to the quarter finals of the U18 boys State Cup competition.  MFC ’93  had a dream run in the State Cup, beating several teams from upstate New York to make it further than they or any other local boys' team has progressed in recent times.  In the quarter final game against a Long Island team that was comprised mostly of seniors, many of whom had played together for a while for their local Varsity team, MFC ’93 played, according to Janeiro, “the game of their lives, playing like men."  The game was tied 1-1 at the end of regular time and, in the last minute of the second overtime period, the Long Island team scored a goal as the light was fading fast, to secure victory 2-1.  This Long Island team went on to win the State Cup championship, so with pride, MFC ’93 can look back and say they were beaten in a thriller by the eventual champions.

Coach Janeiro is looking for talented players to practice with the team over the summer and into the fall to replace natural turnover on the team.  To find out more about the team, contact the team’s Manager, Pedro Bracho, at (914) 843-6004 or cpcdbracho@aol.com