Result of the exhibition game played Sunday April 25, 2004 at the OSA Soccer Centre in Woodbridge 4:00pm between Toronto Lynx and Brampton Hitmen at 4:00pm. The game was played on a cold rainy late afternoon outside on the fieldturf the Soccer Centre has installed near their indoor facility. This will be where the CPSL teams North York Astros and Vaughan Shooters play their home games this year. The facility has no scoreboard nor pressbox and the aluminum stands installed (so far?) hold about 150 people.

The game started at 4:23pm after the teams agreed to a longer warmup time. The teams were playing in long sleeve sweatshirts and frequent substitutes were allowed. The rain meant that I didn't write notes but dictated only the best plays into my microrecorder. Outfield players were hard to tell apart with only small numbers on the chests of the Lynx gray sweatshirts and sometimes duplicate numbers on the Hitmen pinnies.

19 min...BH goalie Roy Blanche makes two pointblank saves on shots inside his crease.
37 min...BH goalie makes brilliant 12 yard save smothering hard low shot.
43 min...Lynx Joe Mattacchione takes 25 yard shot that deflects off defender about 20 yards out and BH goalie has to change directions and catch ball.
45 min...the half ends. Lynx goalie Richard Goddard didn't have much to do. Hitmen seemed to have more possession of the ball with their passing of the ball but didn't look threatening.

2nd Half:...only an 8 minute break between halves. The rain had stopped.
Hitmen changed their goalie with Tony Swaminathin coming into the game and he had to make a save pushing the ball wide almost right away.
50 min...Lynx cross from right and Lynx Darren Baxter's (?) header in box is caught on bounce by goalie.
51 min...BH Ivan Jurisic GOAL...Jurisic gets 10 yard sharp angle shot from left over goalie Richard Goddard's head into top right corner of net.
The Hitmen then get about five cornerkicks in three minutes.
62 min...BH goalie catches 30 yard shot over crowd of players in box.
64 min...Lynx now win about three cornerkicks and more chances the last few minutes.
77 min...BH player bashes into box after another BH player was injured about 25 yards from goalie and Lynx goalie has to push ball over net on 10 yard shot.
78 min...Lynx Adrian Serioux intercepts backpass and runs in on left from 30 yards and goalie makes point blank save pushing ball left of net from 5 yards.
79 min...BH goalie makes another good low save through crowd of players in box.
82 min...Lynx pressure on from cornerkick from right that flying goalie saves short header from 7 yards out. Then the BH goalie runs forward on another cross and punches ball out of box after another Lynx cornerkick.
92 min...Lynx Edgar Bartolomeu eludes two sliding defenders on left on rush and rolls cross that sliding Lynx player pushes into net from five yards but play ruled offside.
95 min...BH #12 (one of three players wearing that number) chips 20 yarder over Lynx goalie and hits top of bar.
96 min...BH goalie slides out to edge of box on right to prevent Lynx player getting to through ball.
97 min...game ends 6:12pm.

Final Score:......Brampton Hitmen.............1.............Toronto Lynx.......0........

Yesterday's goalie for the Lynx indoor game was Cam McKay and apprentice who player for the U19 SYI team. (I'd reported that wrong yesterday). Lynx coach Duncan Wilde had changed his mind about the A-League scheduling because now he is glad of a gap between last week's away game to Puerto Rico Islanders and next week's road game against Rochester Raging Rhinos. He has seven players who wouldn't have been able to start. The team had four trialists playing today. Darren Baxter has played for English teams Chelsea and Millwall, John Valentine has played Division 2 soccer in Germany. Kelly 'Somebody' came from Syracuse and Damian Pottinger came from Edmonton (but wouldn't you know I picked up a brochure for the Vaughan Shooters inside the Centre and there were pictures of past and present Shooters/Sun Devils including Damian Pottinger!).

Brampton Hitmen didn't have their captain/CPSL MVP Phil Ionadi in today's lineup. Defender Milodrag Admadzic was brilliant in the defence but the whole defensive line held up very well today.

Field conditions were slippery but the field turf held out quite well and seemed positively grass-like compared to the astroturf/parking lot hardness of Lamport Stadium and Skydome. The cost of this installation I heard was something like $800,000 but supposedly rents out for $400 per game.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

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