North London wins another Ontario Cup
Sept 13th, 2009
North London Galaxy won its third-straight Ontario Cup in the women's senior division with a 4:1 victory over St. Catharines Jets. The victory qualifies North London for another run in the BMO National Championships Jubilee Trophy competition. Last year, North London won silver in the national competition after coming up a goal short in the final to Nova Scotia's Halifax City.
"We made it to the dance last year, but came up a goal short," said North London head coach Gus Bazos. "This year, we have something to prove."
Emily Costello and Alexandra Charlebois scored in the first half before Kate Bazos and Shelina Zadorsky followed up in the second half of the OSA final. In between the third and fourth North London goals, Kristin MacDonald scored for St. Catharines. The match was much closer than the 2008 Ontario Cup final in which North London won 6:0.
"St. Catharines was much better prepared than last year, however we played our best (first) half all season," said Bazos.
In the final, Bazos' starting XI featured Lesia Bandura in goal, Emily Costello, Fatima Braimoh and Chelsea Doughty on defence, Kelly McMahon, Laura Roberts, Kate Bazos, Jenna O'Hara and Susie Moussa at midfield, and Alexandra Charlebois and Shelina Zadorsky up front.
Now, North London turns its attention to the Jubilee Trophy competition where it hopes to become the first Ontario club to win the national title since Oakville in 2002. North London has 11 players on its roster that took part in last year’s Jubilee Trophy competition.
Article courtesy of canadasoccer.com.
Real Toronto wins Ontario Cup title
September 20th, 2009
Real Toronto won the Ontario Cup senior men's final, thus earning the final spot for the 2009 BMO National Championships Challenge Trophy competition. Real Toronto won 2:1 over AEK London in the championship final, winning on a late goal by Matthew Rios in the 84th minute.
"We came out hard and we controlled the game," said coach Brian Bowes. "It then became a scrappy game, but we were able to control things after scoring the second goal."
The 2009 Ontario Cup final was a rematch of the 2008 final. Last year, Real Toronto won the final, but then lost the championship after it was uncovered the team had dressed an ineligible player. As a result, it was AEK London that advanced to the Challenge Trophy competition.
This year, it will be Real Toronto's turn to represent Ontario at the BMO National Championships.
In the 2009 Toronto-London final, Real Toronto's Kadian Lecky nearly opened the scoring in the 20th minute, but he was denied by the post. Just three minutes later, Real Toronto got on the board after Matthew Rios fired home a rebound.
AEK London's Ryan Avola equalised the score in the 56th minute, but then Rios scored his second of the match in the 84th minute.
In the final, Real Toronto's starting XI featured Pablo Alvarado in goal, Marcello Capozzola, Fitzroy Christey, Geron Duporte and Desmond Humphrey on defence, Courtney Dennis, Darryl Gomez, Alex Lopez and Denny Velastegui at midfield, and Kadian Lecky and Matthew Rios up front.
This will be Real Toronto's first trip to the BMO National Championships. While the team lacks Challenge Trophy experience, it does carry two players that once represented Canada at the international level. Josue Jaramillo represented Canada at the 2005 CONCACAF Under-17 Qualification Tournament while player-coach Humphrey represented Canada at the 1990 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament.
One Real Toronto former player not heading to the Challenge Trophy competition is coach Bowes. He retired earlier this year after suffering a brain aneurysm and will not be permitted to fly. Bowes is another former international youth player, having represented Canada at the 1998 CONCACAF U-19 Qualification Tournament.
Article courtesy of canadasoccer.com.