Mineola's Leonardo Cuello was given opportunity by mother; now, he creates them on soccer field

Alba Gonzalez left the Dominican Republic and headed for another island, Long Island, in search of something more for her family in this land of opportunity.

It was 2016, and her two sons, Fraicer Cuello and younger brother Leonardo Cuello, stayed behind in their home city of Azua in the care of their grandmother and other family members while Gonzalez got settled in Mineola. Junior Cuello, the boys’ dad, had died in 2014. Their mother was finally able to bring them here after a year.

“My mom moved here with my brother and us to have better lives in America,” Leonardo said. “We had good lives, but she wanted me and my brother to move here so we could be more successful . . . My mom settled here and did what she had to do.”

Leonardo was almost 9 at the time of his arrival. Now he’s a 17-year-old Mineola High junior chasing soccer success in the U.S. — a ticket to D-I, which he hopes leads to the pros.

“That’s my goal for college, to be in a good college,” he said. “I study a lot. I go to school. I do everything I have to do.”

Coaches could see from the time he was young that he had a special quality. He moved very, very fast.

That quality has been on display the last three seasons with the Mineola varsity team. Cuello’s production has also been moving quickly in the right direction this year as a 5-7 wing who is in his second season as a starter.

“He’s played really, really well,” said coach Rob Mendes, a Mustangs assistant for the previous six seasons before taking over this year after Al Cavalluzzo stepped down. “A tremendous amount of speed. He’s extremely dangerous out wide for us.”

He owns seven goals and five assists in the Mustangs’ 6-3 start, making him the leading point producer in Nassau Conference A-I through Friday’s play.

“What makes me a good player is my dribbling and my pace,” Cuello said. “I feel like absolutely no defender could get me if I run past them . . . Everybody tells me that.”

Freshman year, he served as a reserve for a team that went to the state Class A semis. In fact, he set up the tying goal in the second half of that game against Byram Hills, which Mineola ultimately lost in overtime.

“My confidence wasn’t too high,” Cuello said. “After I got that assist, I felt like I could’ve done this throughout the whole season. It gave me more confidence to play better and do everything.”

Outside of school, he plays with East Meadow Soccer Club. He used to play for Barca Academy. He loves the game.

“The kid, in terms of work ethic, I think outworks most people,” Cavalluzzo said. “He’s not a big kid. But I knew as a ninth grader that the kid would be something special. And that’s why we put him up on varsity immediately.”

This season, despite his junior status, Cuello became a captain — a perfect fit.

“I try to be a leader by talking to my team,” he said. “Even if we’re losing, I talk to them. I’m like, ‘It’s not over yet.’ Also, to the younger kids, I try to lift them up, not [have] happen what happened to me my freshman year that I had low confidence.”

Fraicer was 13 when he arrived, and he also played soccer for Mineola. But a serious knee injury hampered his time with the varsity.

He also worked as a supermarket cashier during that time to help his mom with costs and dedicated himself to furthering the soccer future of his brother.

So Fraicer has attended most of Leonardo's games, watching him play while their mother works her 40-hour weeks as a home health attendant for the elderly. He works out with Leonardo, drives him around, advises him on his diet and is a one-man promotional arm for his brother.

“He’s very involved in a good way,” Cavalluzzo said.

The two have their mom. They also have a younger brother and a younger sister. But Fraicer and Leonardo are very close.

As Fraicer put it, “I’m all he’s got, and he’s all I got.”

Fraicer is doing well. He’s a 21-year-old senior at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and works as a paralegal assistant at the Law Office of Vincent Bianco in Westbury with an eye toward attending law school.

And he does see a crucial role for himself as the person to help Leonardo try to make his big soccer dreams come to life.

So Fraicer shoots video of his games and makes contact with college coaches and sends along the clips so Leonardo can attempt to get a scholarship.

“My goal as a brother is for him to make it further than where I am right now,” Fraicer said. “Me looking at the person that he is, his potential, everything that he’s got, basically I have the role.”

Leonardo said that “it hurts that my dad isn’t around,” but he’s very appreciative of Fraicer.

“He’s always been there for me,” Leonardo said. “. . . He’s my No. 1 supporter.”