The Rayside-Balfour Soccer Association concluded the 2005 season with their playoff weekend as thirty-four teams in six divisions took to the fields recently at Champlain and Chelmsford. Highlights included a number of hotly contested final games with overtime sessions and shootouts prevalent throughout the day on Sunday.
In the 18U classification, Just Soccer received goals from Bryan Viianen and Josh Parker in blanking Pro Edge 2-0 after finishing round robin play with a record of 2-1-1. Play in the U15 finals ranked among the best games of the day as Mid North Motors surprised Johnny’s Towing 3-1 to lay claim to the Division A championship behind a two goal effort from Yves Bastien (not the one drafted by the Kitchener Rangers).
While this young Bastien may not be OHL-bound, he possesses much of the same flair his namesake enjoys on the ice, scoring one of the tournament’s prettiest goals with a solo effort to ice the game for coach Ken Burns and his troops. Joshua Blais scored the remaining goal for the victors with Sheldon Burton answering for Johnny’s.
The Division B championship came down to the dying seconds as Cedric Carriere scored with 20 seconds remaining in overtime to lift Norm’s Hardwood Flooring past National Car Rental 2-1. Justin Sutherland opened the scoring for National only to have Joshua Deppisch net the equalizer with three minutes remaining in regulation time, setting the stage for Carriere’s game-winning marker.
In U12 Division play, D.J. Mark was a one-man wrecking crew in the Division A championship, scoring all five goals as Botanix Azilda Greenhouses stopped Kin Club of Valley East 5-2. Danyka Byrnes and Cody Hall replied in a losing cause for the Kin Club while the Division B final was highlighted by a three goal effort from Shelby Lively.
Lively’s hat-trick, combined with a solo marker from Erik Rivait, provided the offensive punch as Sole Mates Footwear doubled Just Soccer 4-2. Tyler Lafreniere netted both goals for Just Soccer.
The U10 Division could not have featured play that was much closer as all three title contests game down to the wire. Jonathan Rossi and Devyn Hickey scored for the Azilda Dental Clinic as they squeaked past Primerica 2-1 with Daniel Blais potting the only goal for the runners-up.
The Division B battle went to a shootout as Billy Bartels and Cory Fournier converted their penalty kicks in giving Chelmsford Pharmacy a 2-0 win over Chartrand’s Your Independent Grocers. And Jory Blanchard buried the game’s only goal as Dupont Photography edged Kwik-Way 1-0 to lay claim to the Division C crown.
Another division, another overtime as Stephen Anderson scored his second goal of the game in extra time, propelling Tastees Place Bonaventure past Rayside Computers 3-2 in the 8U Division A final. Tyler Soulliere rounded out the scoring for Tastees while Matthieu St Louis and Alec Butkevich countered for the Computer crew.
Just Lubes utilized a balanced scoring attack, getting goals from three separate players in walking away with Division B bragging rights by a final count of 3-1 over Loeb Chelmsford. Alexandre Quenneville, Eric Paquette and Patrick Gagne scored for Just Lubes with Brian Lawson breaking the shutout for Loebs.
The Division C battle required a shootout to settle matters as Allstate Insurance clipped A Buck or Two 2-1. Calvin Bass and Justin Bradley scored for Allstate with Michael Pigeon answering for A Buck or Two.
And finally, Nicholas Pilote paced the winners with a pair of goals as Tim Horton's Lime outscored Tim Horton's Scarlet 3-1 to walk away with the 6U Division A honours. Bailey Therrien rounded out the Lime attack with Nicolas Chiasson managing the only goal for Scarlet.
Jenna Brunt took time out from cheering on her older Canadian Idol sibling to join with Maxime Leduc in scoring for Tim Horton’s Orange as they wiggled past Tim Horton’s Emerald 2-1 in the B final. Jonathan Bulfon replied for Emerald. And Tim Horton’s Royal enjoyed two-goal games from Jesse Barbario and Megan Potvin in posting a 4-2 win over Tim Horton’s Sky in the C finale.
Sean Lawson handled all the scoring for the Sky side, rifling a pair of goals. The playoff weekend concludes play for the RBSA but parents and coaches are reminded that the association’s Annual General Meeting is slated for Sunday, September 18th at the Chelmsford Arena.