CPSL Week 2 games.....

[Rocket Robin]

Report on the Friday May 27, 2005 CPSL game between Durham Storm and St Catharines Roma Wolves played at Civic Stadium in Oshawa at 9:00pm.

Final Score:......Durham Storm..........0..........St Catharines Roma Wolves.............0.............

Attendance was about 120 on this mild night played on a wet field. There was a threat that the rain of earlier in the evening which soaked the field and seats would return. That could have kept the crowd low for this season opener. The late 9:00pm starting time kept the number of children down but was great for me driving in from Toronto well after the rush hour(s) along the 401.

This game featured both East and West Conference doormats from the 2004 season. The teams between them had won a total of 5 games out of 40 last year. I'm sure the schedule was rigged with the idea that the winner would surprisingly be in first place with this only being the second league game of the season.

The game started off slow with few chances but changed by the 55 minute mark with rush after rush by each team making the game exciting. Best chances were at the 24th minute when Wolves Carlo Arghittu's corner kick from the left was flick headed by a Wolves player and Wolves Mirnes Biscevic on right blasted a 10 yard kick well over the net. Three minutes later Arghittu skipped a 25 yard free kick through the box and the sprawling goalie blocks it. At the 37 minute mark Storm Fitzroy Powell got away a 25 yard blast that flying goalie pushed wide left of goal. Powell got another chance at the 42 minute mark when Matt Gennaro gave him a low cross and he changed and direction and cut in a shot wide right.

In the second half the Storm goalie dived out to prevent Arghittu from deking him at 54 minutes as a ball cleared off a defender found him in the box all alone with his back to the goal. Storm Edson Breceda ran up the middle and had two shot attempts blocked by a retreating defender. Storm Craig Patton at 60 minutes blasted a 20 yard shot in a crowd of players that hit the underside of the crossbar but the ball stayed out of the net. At 65 minutes Stephen King for the Wolves missed connecting on a 3 yarder on the right post as the ball deflected through the box. At 70 minutes a Wolves free kick from 30 yards on the left has partial clearance blasted just wide right from 25 yards by Pablo Nivas.

Craig Williams earned the shutout for the Storm and Claudio Perri from the Roma Wolves did likewise. Both goalies made some good serves and weren't afraid to come out and challenge the shooters but the strikers should have done much better. Last year the Storm only scored 17 goals and the Wolves 27. The Storm had the worst defence last year surrendering 77 goals so tonight's result was certainly an improvement.

Referee Vito Curalli didn't need to give out many cards for this rather tame game but there were a lot of sliding tackles

The tie was a fair result for the play. Scores of 1-1, 2-2 or even 3-3 would have been just as believable but I'd wonder if even one goal would have tilted the play of this game.

The Storm added to their scoring punch over the winter by signing Fitzroy Powell from Vaughan Shooters and Craig Patton from Metro Lions and putting them in the game as strikers with Edson Breceda. Wolves long time captain and coach Lucio Ianiero retired. His long career stretched all the way back to Canadian Soccer League Toronto Blizzard and Hamilton Steelers from the 1980s. This year the Wolves head coach is Tom Bernard.

The next CPSL game is scheduled for Sunday with Vaughan Shooters hosting CPSL playoff champions Toronto Croatia at The Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 7:00pm. The whole day starting with afternoon games involving teenagers is a fundraiser for The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation for breast cancer research.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca

[Rocket Robin]

Result of the Sunday May 29, 2005 CPSL game between Vaughan Shooters and Toronto Croatia played at The Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 7:00pm.

Final Score:.......Vaughan Shooters.............0................Toronto Croatia...............0

Attendance was about 225 on this mild sunny evening. The Shooters had made an entire day's event out of it and I saw the end of a charity game between Vaughan Under 14 Boys against a mixed team named Princess Margaret (Hospital) All Stars which had Vaughan mayor Michael DeBiase play net for awhile then make way for one of three women on the team. Paul James (former Canadian Youth Coach) and a man introduced as a cancer survivor were also on the All Star team. The Boys team won 2-1.

The CPSL game was the first game of the season for both these teams. The Soccer Centre has been improved in just the last week with the installation of an electronic scoreboard and three flagpoles.

Play was pretty even with both teams missing chances with the worst offences being at 67 minutes Shooters Sean Myers leading a 2 on 0 breakaway with Joey Todaro and Myers shooting wide right from 15 yards with goalie Roman Harapyn sliding out to cut off the angle. Just two minutes later Myers received another through ball and one touched a 15 yard shot wide left. Toronto Croatia's best chance came when Leo Marasovic intercepted Shooters goalie Gregory Drakes clearance and blasting a 20 yarder well over net. Joey Todaro had some good chances himself.

Shutouts were earned by Toronto Croatia's Roman Harapyn who is filling in for the 2004 CPSL goaltender-of-the-year George Azcurra currently serving a three game suspension carried over from the CPSL final playoff game between these same two teams last year. Gregory Drakes earned the shutout for Vaughan Shooters. Last year he played for the Metro Lions along with new teammates Darryl Gomez and Ainsley Romani. Toronto Croatia had 2004 Metro Lions player Hayden Fitzwilliam playing in their midfield.

Tonight's referee was Joe Fletcher and he kept control of the game giving out only one card the whole evening.

Danny Sanna was back in the Shooters lineup. As his father reminded me after the game, we were here last June and saw him break his leg. He was in a cast for six months having broken his tibia and fibula. Also after the game I said hello to Bobby Randhawa who is now playing with Vaughan Sun Devils of the T&D League after suffering from a broken leg that was re-injured by a drunk driver last year. He was on the Toronto Lynx roster a few years ago and still remembers the warm reception of the Lynx fans.

Next home game for the Shooters is next Sunday at 7:00pm against Oakville Blue Devils (the relocated Metro Lions). At 4:00pm right here the York Region Lady Shooters will play against Durham Region Allstars in the CPSL Women's Canada Cup competition. The players for the Lady Shooters were introduced wearing street clothes. Two names sounded familiar. Yep. Shooters owner Tony Dethomasis said that two of the players are his daughters. His son Jason Dethomasis is currently at the University of Western but he will be back with the Shooters later this year.

If the sun is out next week, I'll sit on the west side of the field to watch the game. Although standing on the east sideline with the fourth official let me not miss any substitutes, I could see only cameos of players if I looked North West even with sunglasses. I couldn't make out their numbers.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca