The "Sudbury Soccer Snapshot" is a weekly feature that is being presented courtesy of Martin Martic Dentistry. Each and every week, from May 1st through until the end of September, a weekly newsletter will be produced, covering off much of what is on the go in the world of competitive soccer locally.
As well, a recreational soccer "game of the week" will be highlighted, rotating between the various houseleagues that exist in and around Greater Sudbury. In the off-season, the newsletter will scale back to a bi-weekly feature, focusing heavily on the hundreds of young soccer players who shift to the indoor game as the fields become snow-covered for the winter.
********************It was a tough tie to swallow for the GSSC (Greater Sudbury Soccer Club) Impact U21 men, who squandered a pair of leads in settling for a 3-3 draw with the Whitby Iroquois Sunday afternoon at the Delki Dozzi Sports Complex.
Shawn Wilcox staked the locals to a 2-0 first half lead, only to see Michael Chin-Sang and Kyle Woods pull the visitors even, midway through the second half, finding the back of the Sudbury net with goals only minutes apart.
The Impact countered, once again, as Wilcox completed his hat-trick with a “goal scorer’s goal”, sidestepping a couple of opponents and curling a lovely ball to the far corner of the net from some 25 yards out, a goal that appeared likely to stand as the game-winner.
But with injury time winding time, the Iroquois pulled even as a desperation cross somehow found the body of Jared Brooks at the far side of the net, creating the 3-3 deadlock.
Coach Andy Veilleux and company are back for a single game this coming weekend, as the Markham Lightning are in town Saturday, battling the Impact beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Queen's Athletic Field.
*********************The SDSC (Sudbury District Soccer Club) U14 Royals Girls hit the win column for the first time, in game three of their Huronia District Soccer League schedule.
A second half goal from Katie Chomiak, combined with a shutout performance from Cierra St Germain, lifted the green and white to a 1-0 win over the Bracebridge Storm, Sunday afternoon on the turf of the James Jerome Sports Complex.
The team will look to keep things going on the road this weekend, facing the Barrie Spirit on Saturday, and matching up with Ajax FC Red on Sunday.
********************After earning a split at home in their season opening weekend, the Sudbury (GSSC) Impact U18 Boys travelled to Richmond Hill for a pair of games, looking to build on a 3-0 win over Scarborough.
The team did exactly that, edging Richmond Hill - White 3-2 on Saturday, and bouncing the weaker Richmond Hill - Black contingent 5-0 the next afternoon.
Offensively, the team was led by brothers Harris and Danish Butt, combining for three of the five goals on Sunday, as well as Kristian Shuttleworth, who drilled home his third and fourth goals of the year.
"Our defensive line also played very well," noted head coach Nick Mancini. "We've had to complement our back line with call up from the U15's GSSC team, which has worked well. As a result, our defensive core has only allowed three goals in our first four games."
"Overall, I'm quite happy with the performance of our team so far this season, considering some challenges we've had," added Mancini. "The chemistry is there on the pitch, our players are leading the call ups we are using, resulting in overall optimism for the remainder of the season."
********************The Sudbury (GSSC) Impact U13 Boys will be focusing on tournament play this summer, with no suitable league at their disposal. However, with no less than five tournaments on the board, and friendlies planned with North Bay and Barrie, coach Stephane Legrand and the crew will get their fill of soccer.
The former captain of the Cambrian Shield is excited about taking on the reigns of a young, competitive team in Sudbury. "Since this is my first year with these players and this team, my main goal is to try and get all the players on the same page, from both a technical and tactical perspective," said Legrand in a recent email exchange.
"The range of skills on this team is very large, as we have some players who are new to competitive soccer, and others who have been playing the game since they were able to walk, and have been through high level developmental programs (Northern Soccer Academy's Center of Excellence, for instance)."
"We need to bridge the talent gap, while still maintaining competitiveness for every player," continued Legrand. "I also want to ensure that these players, and also their parents, see the progression of both the individual athletes, as well as the team as a whole, so that we can keep a core group of them together for a number of years to come."
The 2016 Impact U13 team includes Samuel Branconnier, Gabriel Campagnaro, Alessio Capasso, Josh Gascon, Cameron Ieropoli, Jack Jordan, Massimo Marrone, Dakota Martel, Austin Mashinter, Luke Max, Cameron Moxam, Rowan Mullin Santone, Mubaraq Olanrewaju, Calum Passi, Michael Reich, Ryan Rocca, Dante Strangis and Marco Vigna.
********************GAME ON:
At Home: Sudbury (SDSC) Rocks U15-G vs Leaside - Sat., June 11th - 1:00 p.m. at James Jerome
At Home: Sudbury (SDSC) Celtics U17-B vs S.C. Toronto - Sat., June 11th - 1:00 p.m. at Delki Dozzi
At Home: Sudbury (GSSC) Impact U21-M vs Markham S.C. - Sat., June 11th - 1:00 p.m. at Queen's Athletic Field
At Home: Sudbury (GSSC) Impact U21-W vs Waterloo United - Sat., June 11th - 3:00 p.m.; vs P.S.I. - Sun., June 12th - 1:00 p.m. - both games at Queen's
At Home: Sudbury (SDSC) U18-G vs Whitby - Sat., June 11th - 3:00 p.m. - Delki Dozzi; vs Cavan - Sun., June 12th - 2:00 p.m. - James Jerome
On the Road - Sudbury (SDSC) Royals @ Barrie Spirit (June 11th) and Ajax (June 12th)
On the Road - Sudbury (GSSC) Impact U13-B @ Muskoka Early Summer Soccer Tournament (June 11th-12th)
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If you are interested in seeing each and every edition of the Sudbury Soccer Snapshot, as they are uploaded to SudburySports.com, simply forward your email details to the attention of Randy Pascal at "statsman@sudburysports.com"