With just days until Christmas, some folks still find time to step away from the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season to keep themselves physically active.
Given that a good number of the gents who assemble at the Lancer Dome every Sunday evening are also busy on the soccer pitch every spring, summer and fall as well, the devotion of this group to “The Beautiful Game” is hardly unexpected.
In fact, many of the same teams which compete either in the SRCSL (Sudbury Regional Soccer League) Open Men’s Division, or the 40+ bracket, or the 50+ grouping simply transition twice a year from the turf at the James Jerome Sports Complex to the indoor facility at Lasalle Secondary – and back again, later in the year.
The big matchup on the Open Men’s slate on Sunday would see Croatia Adria spot a younger but undermanned Cambrian College side an early lead before fighting back thanks to a four goal effort from Youssef Rifi, downing the Shield 5-3 to secure first place heading into the Christmas break.
“I think we needed to focus on what our strengths are,” noted Croatia veteran Kaleb Mikic.
Though just 25 years old, the mechanical engineer by day “has been playing indoor for as long as they had a facility to play indoor (soccer)”. “We have a squad of guys who have played at some pretty high levels, so we have to play to that.”
“We knew that the Cambrian team were young and could run all game – so we had to let them run. Don’t let it get to a game where it’s north-south, north-south all the time. If we can slow it down and dictate the pace of play and impose our game plan, then we have the ability to create scoring chances.”
Playing five aside plus a keeper crossways on what amounts to roughly one-third of a standard soccer pitch, the task at hand is a little bit more challenging than when one is working with more than 100 yards of field length, even if the move is to 11 v 11.
“This is a different pace of play,” noted Mikic. “It’s a smaller field with less players, changes on the fly and constant substitutions. But it is nice because it may allow some players who are better in close quarters to excel. It forces you to play in tighter spaces with shorter passes.”
For as much as the young man who has stepped up to help coach his old alma mater at Collège Notre-Dame is more than happy to chat tactical soccer, the truth is that when it comes to donning the jersey of Croatia Adria, this is about so much more than simply the sport.
“We were one of the original clubs,” beams Mikic. “Representing the Croatian community is a big point of pride for our soccer team. To still have the club active and participating - and winning games - is a point of pride.”
In fact, a quick glance at the standings reveals the cultural diversity of our city, with Seleccion Colombia FC, Honduras FC, Afro-Heritage and Latinos United FC all among the 11 team field.
“I think it speaks to the fact that even though the clubs and the cultures may have changed (over the years), we all still unite around the love of the game,” said Mikic. “You play against the Honduras team and hear Spanish being spoken. You play against us and hear some Croatian.”
“It’s pretty cool to see.”
In fact, even those groups who do not boasts obviously cultural ties are still likely to bring together folks with common bonds that go back several generations. Seven Stars FC is a relatively new entry, with a team comprised mostly of post-secondary or former post-secondary athletes who have made their way to Sudbury from India.
“It’s a really great experience as we are playing against different playing styles, different athletes,” noted 20 year-old second year Cambrian PSW major, Sanjay Sibi. The young man who leads his team in scoring with five goals today noted that the Indian youth soccer landscape most likely differs greatly from that which many of the Seven Stars’ opponents came to know in their youth.
“Our play style is different, with small street games,” said Sibi. “Most of us have played in small areas. Football is cultural, football is emotional for us.”
Unfortunately, the pragmatics of their time in Sudbury does not make it any easier for this particular crew to be as competitive as they probably would like. “We need to spend more time practicing – but all of us are here with our studies, so it’s kind of hard for all of us to meet.”
“But we need to spend more time together.”
That innate year-round chemistry is more evident with the likes of the Sudbury Stallions (5-2-2 – 3rd place), the outdoor soccer powerhouse who boasts the top two scorers in the league in the form of Marcel Diro (12 goals) and Samim Massoom (11).
The Cambrian crew (6-0-2) are sure to benefit from a winter spent together as some of their top scoring talent – Elie Yoma (10 goals); Josh Viveiro (9); Josiah Stone (6) – hopefully reconvene on campus next fall.
As for Mikic and the Croatia side, the first place squad lean on the likes of Mason Steen (9), Jaiden Santos (7), Youssef Rifi (7) and Evan Phillips (6) to provide the offense as names like David Barahona (Honduras – 9 goals), Samuel Ekicki (College Boréal – 8), Stan Pankiewicz (Seleccion Colombia -7) and Ibrahim Sissko (Sudbury Stallions – 7) round out the top ten scorers.
With Mauricio Matamala (19 goals) leading the way, SC Italia (21 pts) tops an over 40 division that seems the Afro Stars (17), Toros Latinos FC (16) and Afro-Heritage Srs (15) all tightly bunched behind the league leaders.
SC Italia is also at the top of the table in the four team 50+ cluster, with the goal scoring race currently featuring Tony Nuziale (SC Italia – 10), Bobby McKinty (Move Medicine Hawks – 8) and Rodney Kasunich (SC Italia – 8) all in the top trio.