It was a dream summer for Cranford’s Brian Curci, who was selected by Special Olympics New Jersey to represent the New York Red Bull’s at the Major League Soccer (MLS) Unified All-Star game in Chicago.
Sponsored by MLS, Special Olympics, and ESPN, the Unified All-Star game brings together representatives from all 22 MLS cities around the country – one from each team, along with a Unified partner.
Curci, representing the Eastern Conference, proudly wore his #8 uniform as he took the field at Toyota Stadium, home of the Chicago Fire. The hard-fought match, streamed live on ESPN 3, ended in a 2-2 tie.
Curci played striker while his Unified partner, Jake Mulcahey, a senior at Cranford High School, played defense.
The four-day trip began with training at the Chicago Fire facility with a team welcome dinner, where members of both teams had a chance to meet.
The second day, the All-Stars traveled to iconic Soldier Field to watch the professionals train, getting an up-close look at one of the greatest teams in the world, Real Madrid, during their training session.
Later that day, it was time for the Special Olympians to take the field for the MLS Unified game, which was played to a an exciting 2-2 tie, followed by a team dinner at the stadium.
The following day, both teams and their families returned to Soldier Field for the MLS All-Star game where Real Madrid edged the MLS squad in a penalty kick shootout in front of the largest crowd to watch soccer in the history of the stadium.
The first class experience included each player receiving a full uniform imprinted with their name, which was hung up along with a name plate in the locker room.
They also received training shirts and their post-game medals from Chicago Fire professional players.
Curci and Mulcahey are also members of the New York Red Bulls Unified team, which played two games against teams from other MLS cities. On August 12, the Red Bull’s hosted Orlando SC at Red Bull Arena, coming away with a 3-1 win. Curci recorded an assist on the first goal.
The Red Bulls Unified then had another great experience, flying to Dallas, Texas where FC Dallas edged New York 5-3. The three-day weekend included a tour of downtown Dallas and the opportunity to create care packages for the victims of Hurricane Harvey.
“I really enjoyed playing with my teammates and meeting new people,” said Curci. “Playing in the All-Star game and then with the Red Bulls was a dream come true.”
Curci, a 2017 graduate of Cranford High School, was a 3-year varsity letter winner in tennis and also earned varsity letters in basketball and swimming. He was also the team manager for the varsity soccer team for two years.
A Special Olympian for ten years in basketball, soccer and tennis for the New Jersey Hawks, Brian recently captured his third consecutive gold medal in Unified tennis at the SONJ spring games held at the College of New Jersey.
Brian has become an All-Star in so many ways, and continues to represent not only Special Olympics, but his community with pride.
