Posted: May 21, 2024
NVC's Anthony Mora to continue with soccer at Simpson University
Photo: Napa Valley College's Anthony Mora
Photo by Marty James
By MARTY JAMES
martyjames.sports@gmail.com
Anthony Mora, a two-year starter for the Napa Valley College men's soccer team, will transfer to Simpson Universityin Redding this fall and will play for the Red Hawks on an athletic scholarship, Storm head coach Rogelio Ochoa announced last week.
Mora, a 2021 Napa High School graduate, played right back and as a midfielder for Napa Valley, one of the top teams in the Bay Valley Conference. Mora played the 2022 and 2023 seasons for the Storm. He was a team captain last year.
Mora was named to the Bay Valley Conference All-Academic Team for men's soccer for fall/winter sports, NVC Athletic Director Jerry Dunlapannounced March 7. Conference academic awards are granted to student athletes who have completed their second year of participation in the same sport and who have a cumulative 3.0 grade point average from their first participation, said Dunlap, NVC's Dean of Kinesiology, Health, Dance, Administration of Justice, Social Sciences.
"Anthony Mora is a student-athlete that really embraces the program, the school and the teamwork," said Ochoa. "I think he showed that through having to play a variety of positions based on what the team needed, and did it without complaining, did it gracefully, and did it really well.
"I think that positive attitude, of putting the team first over any stat, really showed through his game. And that's why he was able to have such a successful two years here at the college."
Mora helped Napa Valley to two very successful seasons.
The 2022 season came to a close for Napa Valley as the Storm lost 7-2 to host Evergreen Valley College in a Round 1 California Community College Athletic Association-Northern California Regional playoff match in San Jose. Napa Valley (7-9-4 overall, 6-2-2 Bay Valley Conference) won a fifth straight Bay Valley Conference title. The Storm went into the match as the No. 23 seed in the regional.
Napa Valley (11-7-1 overall, 9-2-1 Bay Valley) took second place in the conference, ending the 2023 season with three straight wins and an 8-1-1 record over its last 10 games. Napa Valley had seven wins by shutout.
Mora plans to major on kinesiology at Simpson, a member of the California Pacific Conference, an NAIA league. Also, in the Cal Pacare Pacific Union College(Angwin), California State University Maritime Academy(Vallejo), La Sierra University(Riverside), Providence Christian College(Pasadena), UC Merced,
Soka University of America(Aliso Viejo, Calif.), and Westcliff University(Irvine).
Simpson went 6-8-4 overall, 5-4-3 in the Cal Pac last year. Mora will join a Simpson team that advanced to the Cal Pac Tournament, losing in the first round to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 4-3, in Prescott, AZ.
"To see him grow, and to see him develop as a player and grow as a human being and continue his education and continue playing, it's awesome," said Ochoa. "As a teacher, and as a coach, that's what you want. You want them to continue their academics and continue growing as human beings and strive to play at the highest level possible."
Mora started out at Chico State and played on the school's club soccer team there in 2021. He transferred to NVC and joined the Storm program, led by Ochoa.
"It's a good school. I really enjoyed the people there and the education that they offered there. I felt that I needed to kind of come back and kind of just try to get more of soccer," said Mora, 21, who wants to work as a physical therapist.
"I've always dreamed of playing college soccer. I know it's my parents' dream for me to finish college and to get a degree. They couldn't do it. So, I'm going to do my part to achieve that for them. And I'm just thankful that Rogelio gave me this opportunity to show my skills and interest in me and taking me to where I'm at now."
Mora will join his NVC teammate, Angelo Dominguez, a winger and striker, at Simpson. They will transfer to Simpson as juniors. Dominguez was a two-year starter, playing for the Storm in 2022 and 2023.
"Angelo and I started together here, and eventually, we started having good games, just doing our job. He started scoring. I started working for the team, like being dangerous on the field," said Mora.
"From what Simpson saw in Angelo and I, I think that they saw potential to make their program a lot better. I'm blessed to get the scholarship."
Mora is a top player in the midfield, as he is a technical player with all-around skills, said Ochoa.
"I think he has very high ball mastery, which allows him to really control the midfield. And I think he understands the game well enough where he can adapt – he can change within the game for us to get the result or to do what's needed to get a positive result," said Ochoa.
"He can play a variety of positions. He can fill any gap or any hole that we had, because he was that technical with the ball and has a high soccer IQ. So, it was great to have a player like him, that can again, fix any holes that we had or any gaps within our lines, within our game. He was willing to jump as the first sub as well, again, putting the team first and doing what's needed for the win, for the team to win and the program to succeed."
Mora played club soccer with Napa United for four years and with Napa Sport for four years.
He is so very grateful, honored and appreciative of the opportunity to continue playing soccer and pursuing his education at Simpson, a private college.
"I'm blessed to have this opportunity," said Mora. "Soccer is going to always be a part of my life. I've worked hard. I'm a competitor, so I think that also helped me achieve more of my goals, and I think helped me a lot.
"Coming to campus and leaving campus, I always want to show that I'm giving 100 percent. I'd always come in an hour before practice to warm up or to do some rehab in the training room. And then an hour after practice, do the same thing, just to make sure my body is always 100 percent.
"I'm just blessed to play the sport that I love and then go to a school that's going to help me pursue my dream to become a physical therapist in the future."
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.
