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.

There was a little extra celebrating to be done last Saturday afternoon at the Delki Dozzi Sports Complex.

That much was clearly evident to the boys donning the Sudbury District Soccer Club (SDSC) Celtics U17 boys colours last weekend, as they squeezed past S.C. Toronto 2-1.

In fact, the Celtics were not even donning their traditional colours. And they wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Dressed in the some of the flashiest apparel the Central Soccer League has likely ever seen, the Celtics celebrated “Pink on the Pitch”, a fundraising effort this summer as a show of family support for one of their teammates.

The additional emotions that this particular contest carried were obvious right throughout the Sudbury lineup, from head coach Peter Trainor on down. “It felt really special,” noted defender Dante Corsi, a pillar of strength at the back-end for the Celtic crew.

“I’m honoured to be able to do this. The guys collectively agreed that we look pretty good in pink. I think it was motivation to definitely push a little harder,” Corsi added. One of a few different actitivies planned over the course of this summer, the team effort was created to help raise cancer awareness, as Anne Lagadin continues her on-going battle.

“I was just so thankful that everyone came out today, showed up for this game,” noted midfielder Ben Lagadin, an accomplished distance runner over the years. “I’m loving all the support. It’s nice to know that I have the support, especially from my teammates who have done a lot for me. I was just really excited to play.”

And while the emotion of the contest could not be overstated, the Celtic crew were pleased to be able to secure the three points, at the same time. “I just had fun with it, kind of took it as an opportunity to have a fun game for my mom,” said Lagadin. “I just wanted to play hard, and that’s what I did.”

“We have the talent, the capability to do it, but we really needed to get the mental aspect of the game in with that,” chimed in Corsi. “Things like communication, but also perseverance, playing to the end of the game.”

Sudbury goals came courtesy of Jonathan Grebe and Kevin (Rojas) Martin, while Chavon Wellington replied for Toronto. The Celtic are back in action this coming weekend with CSL Cup play, hosting the Whitby Iroquois on Sunday afternoon.

The Sudbury U18 girls extended their unbeaten string in CGSL league play to five games last weekend, edging the Whitby Iroquois 1-0 on Saturday, and playing the Cavan Academy to a 2-2 draw on Sunday.

Chelsea Sargeant and Morgan Melnek drilled home goals for Sudbury coach Brian Coufal, while Alivya Brown struck back with a pair for Cavan. “The weekend was good overall, but I think we definitely underestimated this team,” noted Sargeant after the Sunday encounter.

“We need to remember not to start slow.” One of several players on the local team coming off a very successful high school season, Sargeant suggested that her spring season as a member of the SDSSAA and NOSSA champion St Benedict Bears certainly helped her hit the ground up and running with the SDSC team.

“The high school experience was helpful, because on our high school teams, we need to step up and take on a leadership role,” she said. “Then, you can bring that towards our games here.” Looking at the possibility of taking her game to a post-secondary level, Sargeant wants to work some critical skill sets over the course of the next few months.

“Specifically, I need to work on receiving a ball and turning on it, especially as a forward, not just using my through balls,” she said. “That’s what I use as a crutch. I have to get away from that.”

The GSSC (Greater Sudbury Soccer Club) Impact U-21 women were treated to both ends of the spectrum in Ontario Women’s Soccer League play at home, blasting Waterloo United 7-0 on Saturday, but doubled up 4-2 by PSI (Premier Soccer Institute) of Barrie 24 hours later.

Sarah Cholewinsky drilled a hat trick, Brenna MacMillan added a pair of goals, and Karly Hellstrom and Alexis Belanger added one each, as keeper Megan Coutu threw a shutout at an undermanned Waterloo side.

Unfortunately, a key injury the next day would dig the Sudbury ladies a whole from which they could not recover, spotting PSI a 3-0 lead before receiving goals from MacMillan and Cholewinsky, only minutes apart made things interesting. That was until Mackenna King recorded her third of the game, with time winding down, to secure the victory for the visitors.

Chief among the Impact concerns is that status, moving forward, of talented fullback Karly Hellstrom, stretchered off with a new injury late in the opening half. “It was one of those things when it rained, it poured,” said Sudbury coach Dayna Corelli.

“In a short span, we missed a chance, conceded a goal, and had a key player go down. It really can throw off the game plan when it’s someone like Karly, who is really involved in keeping the other team at bay, and helping us move forward.”

Still, Corelli acknowledged that missed opportunities, early on, proved to be the single biggest culprit in the loss. “In the first 20 minutes, we had eight clear-cut chances,” noted the former Laurentian Voyageur midfielder. “We didn’t take advantage of those when we had them. We’ve got it on camera, so this is one where the video will tell the whole story.”

Away from home, three local teams were kept busy taking part in a tournament in Bracebridge, including the GSSC Impact U15 boys, who walked away with a championship banner. The Impact U13 boys came up just short of duplicating that effort, following up a 2-0-1 round robin record with a 1-0 loss in the final to Lake Simcoe.

The locals opened the tournament with a 2-2 tie against Lake Simcoe, with Jack Jordan and Luke Max hitting the mark, with Jordan netting his second goal in as many games as Sudbury posted a 1-0 win in game two.

The Impact picked up their second triumph of the day, registering a 2-1 win as Jordan and Josh Gascon found the back of the net. One other game of interest would see the GSSC Impact U-21 men pick up their first win of the year (following two ties), bouncing Markham 3-1.

Joining talented striker Shawn Wilcox on the scoresheet for Sudbury were Aaron Dent, netting his first league goal in several years, as well as long-time martial arts competitor Disal Wickrasinghu.