then, I have recovered
well and am ready to go,”
stated Mastrangelo. “Be-
ing sidelined, watching
my team progress, gave
me the motivation to get
me through rehab. It also
helped me to realize not
to take being healthy for
granted.”
A healthy Mastrange-
lo is a scary thing for the
rest of the teams in West-
ern New York. When he
is on his game he is one
of the most dangerous
players on the field. Like
a typical scorer he is clin-
ical in his approach.
He looks for the weak-
ness in the defense early
in the game. He looks to
see how they are marking
and where they may hop
chis line. Once he figures
out the opposing team,
watch out.
“There is no feeling
like looking across the
field at all of the peo-
ple who come out to see
me and my team play,”
stated Mastrangelo. “In
the first minutes of the
game, I look for strengths
and weaknesses in the
opposition’s
defense.
Throughout the game I
try to stay calm to limit
my mistakes.”
Limiting mistakes is key
for a guy like Mastran-
gelo. As a forward, you
don’t get many touches -
so you need to make the
ones you did get count.
Some people can’t handle
the pressure. They buck-
le under the fact that the
team is looking to you to
carry the load.
Great scorers like Se-
bastian Giovinco of the
Toronto of Major League
Soccer want the pressure.
He wants to take all the
free kicks. He wants the
ball on his boot with the
game on the line.
You can Mastrangelo is
the same way. He invites
the pressure. He wants
the game on his foot. He
wants to be a difference
maker for a team that has
very high expectations.
“I love the pressure be-
cause the joy of scoring
the goal is the absolute
greatest feeling I have
ever felt,” stated Mas-
trangelo. “I look forward
to that feeling all the days
AUGUST 2017 | SportsUnion
leading up to the game.
Then during the game I
act as if it’s another prac-
tice and my teammates
set me up great so the
pressure off of me.”
The finishing skill Mas-
trangelo has developed
just isn’t from his days
playing high school. He
has learned a lot of the
tricks of the trade play-
ing his club ball for Glob-
al Premier Soccer. GPS
is one of the best club
soccer organizations in
Western New York.
They teach a European
style of soccer and the
kids get the necessary
training they need that
they may not get if play-
ing for a local travel team.
“I think the premier
level has drastically im-
proved my game,” stat-
ed Mastrangelo. “The
coaching, the more intel-
ligent drills, and overall
level of play, has made
me a much better player.
Also, going to practice 3
to 4 times a week got me
many more touches on
the ball. The main reason
I was drawn to GPS was
because they understood
that I couldn’t participate
in tryouts due to my an-
kle surgery. After more
25
research and conversa-
tions with the coaches, I
felt that GPS was a better
fit over Emp