There is a touch of irony, I believe, to the fact that at a time when boys soccer in Sudbury displays far and away the most depth of talent in the sport that has been seen in these parts for well over two decades that there is but one local male entry heading to OFSAA this year.

The St Benedict Bears rebounded nicely from a loss in the city final to the St Charles College Cardinals, walking away with the NOSSA Boys A banner thanks to a 5-0 win last Friday versus the Lockerby Vikings in Sault Ste Marie.

This marks a second straight year that St Ben’s will head to the provincial playdowns, though veteran Christian Thamby suggests that experience will only help perhaps half of the team roster.

“We have some returning players but we are missing a lot of faces from last year – our goalie and some of our defenders,” said the 17 year-old who will attend the University of Waterloo in the fall, studying Mathematics and Financial Analysis. “It’s a lot younger team this year.”

To some extent, that tempers his expectations for OFSAA, though an improvement from 2023 is certainly feasible. “For the younger players, it’s good to go down and see what it takes to compete at that level – but I do think that this team is good enough to do well at OFSAA,” said Thamby.

“I don’t think we played as well as we could have last year. We just have to be a bit more composed and communicate more. We struggle at times with that, but if we are more of a unit, we can do well.”

It should be noted the SDSSAA schools did quite well in the Boys Junior ranks with St Charles (AAA win over Korah – 4-2), Lo-Ellen Park (AA champs – 2-1 in extra time over Chippewa – 11-0 record this spring) and St Benedict (A champs – beating Lockerby) all returning home with hardware.

Mishal Olanrewaju netted the game-winning goal for the Knights, converting on a great free kick pass from Massimo Toffoli.

As for the junior Bears, the one-sided effort was highlighted by solid team play. "We're winning when we move the ball well," suggested centerback Dominic D'Angelo. "It's all about communication; we have to spread out."

On the girls side, the Horizon Aigles ran away with the “A” title in Sault Ste Marie but declined their OFSAA invitation as the event coincides with prom, leaving the Bishop Carter Gators as the only SDSSAA female participants, slipping past St Charles 2-1 in extra time to earn the second “AA” NOSSA entry as the gold medal game was an all-Soo affair (St Mary’s 3 Korah 0).

The St Benedict boys begin play on Thursday against the Toronto Christian Academy while the Gators' girls are in St Thomas, opening their schedule against the host school with an afternoon encounter with the St Joseph's Catholic High School Rams.