Mircea Ilcu (born 1 April 1991 in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

) is a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player. Born in Romania, he represented Canada at youth international level.

Club career

Youth career

Ilcu moved from Romania to Canada with his family as a small child, settling in

Vaudreuil-Dorion Vaudreuil-Dorion () is a suburb of Greater Montreal, in the Montérégie region of southwestern Quebec, Canada. The result of the merger of two towns, Vaudreuil and Dorion, it is located in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. He attended Ecole Secondaire de la Cité-des-Jeunes and played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

John Abbott College John Abbott College ( French: ''Collège John Abbott)'' is an English-language public college located in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada, near the western tip of the Island of Montreal. John Abbott College is one of eight English publ ...

. He played for Équipe du Québec (the Quebec provincial team) between 2004 and 2006. He would also play for the Quebec team at the

2009 Canada Games The 2009 Canada Summer Games were held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island from August 15 to 29. Medal standings The following is the medal table for the 2009 Canada Summer Games. Events *Athletics *Baseball *Basketball *Canoe/Kayak * Cycle ...

where he recorded a goal in the finals to win the gold medal.

Early career

Ilcu played in the local amateur circuit the

Ligue de soccer élite du Québec The Ligue de soccer élite du Québec () was the top amateur league in Quebec, operating at a level below the semi-professional Première ligue de soccer du Québec. It operates a number of youth and gender specific divisions and is operated by the ...

in 2004 with

Lakers du Lac Saint-Louis Lakers du Lac Saint-Louis was a Canadian women's semi-professional association football, soccer club based in Lachine, Quebec, Lachine, Urban agglomeration of Montreal, Montréal, Quebec that played in the Ligue1 Québec (women), Première ligu ...

. In the 2007 season, he received the best player and top goal scorer award in the U17 division. After four seasons with Saint-Louis, he signed with the

Trois-Rivières Attak Trois-Rivières Attak was a Canadian Association football, soccer team that played three seasons in the Canadian Soccer League. They formally served as a reserve and academy team for the USL First Division side Montreal Impact (1992–2011), Mont ...

in the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

. In his debut season in the inter-provincial league, he helped the club secure their second divisional title. Trois-Rivières' opponents in the first round of the playoffs were

Portugal FC SC Toronto is a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its inceptio ...

where they successfully defeated the Toronto-based team. Ultimately, the Attak would reach the

championship finals In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this syst ...

where they defeated the reigning champions the

Serbian White Eagles Serbian White Eagles Football Club (/''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian semi-professional Association football, soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, a Non-FIFA international football, non-FIFA sanct ...

in a penalty shootout. Throughout the 2009 season, he made 10 appearances and recorded 4 goals. In 2010, he joined Montreal Impact's academy in the league's first division. The following season, Ilcu was signed to Montreal's senior team but still was loaned out to the academy side. Throughout the 2011 season, he helped the academy team secure a postseason. Montreal would be eliminated from the playoff tournament in the first round by

Capital City A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

. His final season with the academy occurred during the 2012 season. He would help Montreal secure another playoff berth by finishing second in the division. Ilcu would provide both goals in Montreal's victory over Toronto FC's academy in the first round of the playoffs. In the next round, Montreal would defeat the

York Region Shooters York Region Shooters is a Canadian association football, soccer team, that plays in the Canadian Soccer League. The Shooters played their home games at the St. Joan of Arc Turf Field in the City of Vaughan, Ontario. The team's colours were blue ...

to qualify for the championship final. He made his second championship appearance where Montreal lost the match to

Toronto Croatia C.N.S.C. Toronto Croatia (Croatian National Sports Club Toronto Croatia) is a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, that plays in the Supergroup Open Division in the Canadian Academy of Football. The team's colours are red, white and b ...

Montreal Impact

Ilcu made his debut for Montreal Impact in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

on 9 April 2011 against

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

. He secured a permanent spot on the roster on July 13, 2011. IIcu would record his first goal for Montreal on August 15, 2011, against the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

. In his debut season with Montreal, he appeared in 11 matches and recorded 1 goal. In the early winter of 2012, he was invited to the preseason camp held by Montreal. He would injure his knee which caused him to miss the majority of the season. After the conclusion of the 2012 season, he was selected for the Italian tour to play in several friendly matches. Throughout the tour, he played against Fiorentina's reserve team and recorded a goal. He was invited to the winter offseason training camp in 2013. After the conclusion of the training camp, Montreal declined to extend his contract. Ilcu would play in the

MLS Reserve League The MLS Reserve League was a association football, soccer league for the reserve teams of Major League Soccer with teams in both the United States and Canada. It was inaugurated on April 9, 2005, with the first official reserve game being a 2 ...

with Montreal reserve squad in 2013.

College

In 2013, he transitioned to the college level by playing with the Montreal Carabins soccer program. Ilcu would be named to second all-star team in 2015.

International career

Ilcu was called to the

Canada men's national under-15 soccer team The Canada U-17 men's national soccer team (also known as Canada Under-17s or Canada U-17s) represents Canada in international Association football, soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing ...

camp in 2006.

Career stats

Personal life

Ilcu's father Mihai was also a footballer who played for

FC Politehnica Timișoara Fotbal Club Politehnica Timișoara (), commonly known as Politehnica Timișoara or simply Poli Timișoara, was a Romanian Association football, football club from Timișoara, Timiș County, established in 1921 and dissolved in 2012. During its ex ...

in the 1980s. His niece Marieta is a former

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er.

Honors

Trois-Rivières Attak *

CSL Championship The Canadian Soccer League championship final, or CSL Championship, is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion as in other North American sports le ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

National Division:

Montreal Impact Academy *

Runners-up:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

References

External links

* *
Trois-Rivières Attak bio

��Interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilcu, Mircea 1991 births Living people Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Romanian men's footballers Trois-Rivières Attak players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Romanian emigrants to Canada CF Montréal U23 players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Timișoara 21st-century Romanian sportsmen University and college men's soccer players in Canada