Two Tigers Take Off to Play Professional Ball Over Seas

EUROPE (April 21, 2009) – Two former Occidental College football players have recently signed contracts to play Professional Football in Europe. For the second consecutive summer Rocky Ciasulli ’08 will play over seas, while 2009 graduate Daniel Tromello will get his first taste of pro football in the coming weeks.

Ciasulli, who played last year for the Jyväskylä Jaguaarit (Finnish word for Jaguars) in the Maple League, the top league in Finland, has traveled to Italy to play this summer for the Ancona Dolphins.

He joins the Dolphins, who are currently 2-1, to replace a multi-facet player who went down with an injury. Once Ciasulli got the call, he was on a plane within three days. The Italian Football League is the top program in Italy with 10 teams, playing each opponent once.

With the season underway, things will surely be a challenge for Ciasulli.

“So far the players seem really nice. It appears to be a similar team dynamic to that of my team in Finland last year, except fewer people speak English here, which makes communication fairly difficult,” he shared.

There are a few English speaking players, however, for Ciasulli to turn to. Two other  Americans on the Dolphins’ roster are Adam Persing (OL/DL) '08 and Rocky Pentello (QB) '07 from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. In 2006, Pentello was the d3football.com First Team All-American quarterback.

While Ciasulli is jumping right in the mix, he looks to contribute right away. Last summer his team in Finland was 8-4 before losing a heart-breaking Playoff Game in the first round. He was a key component to the Jaguars’ offense throughout the season, though. Ciasulli had 99 catches for 1,526 yards and 31 touchdown receptions. He lead the league in receptions and TD receptions, finishing second overall in receiving yards (7.62 catches/game, 117.38 yards/game).

Just north of Italy, Tromello will make his professional debut with the Monchengladbach Mavericks in Germany, just outside Düsseldorf. Although his season has not gotten underway, Tromello will most likely be playing defensive back and safety while returning kicks, punts and kickoffs.