The Sudbury competitive soccer crew were busy at home and out of town, with some enjoying success while others never came close to finishing what they started.
The Sudbury Canadians remained within striking distance of the second place Ajax FC Red, sweeping a pair of games from the St Anthony Stars. The Canadians edged the Stars 2-1 in Ottawa on Saturday, looking more impressive in a 4-0 shutout the very next day.
Karolyne Blain and Serena San Cartier handled the scoring on Saturday, while the pair were joined on the scoresheet by Cloe Lacasse and Rachel Leck in the more lopsided victory.
Lacasse, who has spent the bulk of this summer with the Toronto Lady Lynx, joined the squad as a guest player for the weekend, lining up in the midfield. The weekend sweep improves the Canadians record to 6-2-0, six points back of Ajax (8-2-0) and well behind the Markham Lightning, who have already wrapped up first place with 11 consecutive wins.
While Sudbury coach Frank Malvaso was confident in his team's ability to put the ball in the net, the defense has progessed in leaps and bounds, according to the long-time Canadians organizer.
"Madison Beaudry, Kyla Pettigrew, Tamara Johnson and Erin Watters - they played extremely well and cutoff and shut down all challenges," noted Malvaso in an email sent earlier this week. "They communicate with each other very well, support each other."
That defensive back line will be put to the test this coming weekend with Ajax in town for a pair of games. Sudbury will close out their season the very next weekend, welcoming the North Mississauga Panthers (0-7-1) to northern Ontario.
Battling the Glen Shields Sun Devils of the OWSL (Ontario Women's Soccer League), Sudbury Panhellenic came up just short on Saturday, dropping a 3-2 decision, before having their Sunday encounter cancelled due to lightning.
Laura Ozoria scored both goals for the Panhellenic crew in game one as the team fell to 7-3-0, one point ahead of the Sun Devils at 6-3-2. The Central Region - Central division is among the closest in the entire OWSL, with just eight points separating the top six teams.
The Panhellenic crew are at home again this weekend for a single game, taking to the Cambrian College field Sunday at 1:00 p.m. against the TC TNT. There is no word yet on when the second game against Glen Shields will be rescheduled, if at all.
The Sudbury Impact U15 boys continue to struggle offensively, though coach Bruce Lindsay remains quite pleased with his team's efforts on the defensive side of the ball. Competing in the CSL (Central Soccer League) for the first time this year, the team recorded a tie and a loss on the road last weekend.
Facing the undefeated Weston Wolves (4-0-2), the Impact kept the top-end team in check, sitting at 0-0 with just fifteen minutes to play. Unfortunately, a costly penalty kick call opened the floodgates as the Wolves added a pair of goals in a 3-0 win.
The locals salvaged a point on Sunday, playing the Aurora Stingers to a scoreless draw and registering their third tie of the season. "We had only three shots in each game, not enough to win games," said Lindsay on Monday.
"We will focus on that leading up to our final six games in August and September. We can still save ourselves from relegation, but we must probably win three of those six games," he added. League play resumes for the Impact U15 boys (0-7-3) in mid-August (Aug 11th/12th) when the Sudbury crew faces the Oshawa Turul Hawks (4-1-1) and the West Rouge Storm (4-0-1) on the road.
Keeper Connor Vande Weghe picked up the shutout for Sudbury. At the other end of the spectrum, the Impact U18 girls and coach Jeff Falcioni are experiencing CGSL (Central Girls Soccer League) action for the final time, graduating to the ranks of the OWSL in 2013.
Though their division fields only a total of six teams, it is among the more evenly balanced groupings, with every team winning at least twice to date as well as losing at least once.
Sudbury did neither of those last weekend, finishing with a pair of ties. On Saturday, the locals were denied three points late as the Unionville-Milliken Red Strikers deadlocked the contest at 1-1 with only five minutes remaining on a penalty kick.
Tianna Faubert had opened the scoring with a second half tally for the homeside. Battling the first place Oshawa Turul ladies on Sunday, the Impact recovered from a 2-1 half-time deficit, pulling even for the draw but squandering a handful of chances for the win.
A goal from Carlee Parisotto was sandwiched between Oshawa markers from Aurianne Authier-Henry and Rylie Wilton as the visitors held the advantage after 45 minutes of play. After Parisotto drilled a shot wide left in the 56th minute and Faubert was robbed on a great diving stop in the 75th minute, the persistance of the home side paid dividends.
Gabby Conrad led Faubert perfectly, finding a seam between a pair of Turul defenders as Faubert tucked in the equalizer. As for the Sudbury Impact U14 girls, it remains to be seen what decision is rendered regarding their partial game on Sunday.
Facing the Oshawa Kicks late in the first half, the locals trailed 3-0 when the contest was suspended due to a nearby lightning strike. With no signs of the rain letting up in sight, the contest was postponed.
Apparently, soccer rules, at least within the CGSL, call for a game to have reached at least half-time before it is considered official. Ironically, the weather had virtually completely cleared up by 2:30 p.m. or so, roughly 90 minutes after the game was called.
The Sudbury U14 squad, boasting a record of 1-4-2 and needing to string together some wins soon, are back in action this weekend at home. The Impact meet up with Oshawa Turul (2-2-2) on Saturday at 3:00 at James Jerome, hosting Whitby (4-2-2) on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m.
