October 9, 2011 CSL--York Region Shooters vs SC Toronto Quarterfinal (by Rocket Robin)

Result of the Sunday October 9, 2011 CSL game between York Region Shooters and SC Toronto played at St Joan of Arc CHS in Maple at 4:00pm. This was the first of a two game, most points Quarterfinal playoff between the two teams.

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York Region Shooters (black socks, shorts and numbers, sky blue shirts)

.....................00 Adam Majer
77 Desmond Humphrey...8 Chris Turner...12 Rick Titus...6 Fitzroy Christey
10 Mario Orestano...9 Jason DeThomasis...8 Chris Turner...20 Taylor Lord
............14 Dino Gardener...11 Kadian Lecky (cpt)

Subs:...1 Hosidko Yosuto (gk)...4 Marcelo Capazolo (def)...13 Aundrae Rollins (def)...17 Matthew O'Connor (mid)...18 Carlos Rivas (mid) ...21 Ricky Herron (def)...22 Jalen Brome (fwd)
team officials:...coach Brian Bowes...director Tony DiThomasis...massage therapy Eric Yuill...club official John Pacione

SC Toronto (all white, black numbers)

.....................1 Scott Cliff
21 Branko Majstorovic...9 Andrea Lombardo...26 John Louis Perruzza...22 Dominic Roberts
16 Alexandros Halis...10 David Guzman...19 Richard Asante (cpt)...15 Brennan McNicoll
...............14 Jarek Whiteman...11 Massimo Mirabelli

Subs:...12 Mathew Silva (gk)...3 Dane Roberts (mid)...13 Sergio DiLuca (--)...17 Antonio Zupan (def)...18 Sherwin Emmanuel (def) ...23 David Alva (mid)...25 Jorgo Nika (mid)
team officials:...head coach Carmine Isacco...assistant coach Patrice Gheisar...manager Mario Dias...assistant manager Michael Reynolds

1st Half:...game start 4:12pm...YRS defends south end on this warm afternoon with a bright sun in the west.
2 min...SCT Dominic Roberts run on left and blasts 30 yarder over net.
4 min...YRS Dino Gardener GOAL...YRS Fitzroy Christey rushed up the left side and eludes the sliding SCT Andrea Lombardo at 25 yards and rolls cross through 6 yard box for Gardener in middle to blast 6 yarder just under bar beyond goalie Scott Cliff.
7 min...SCT Mirabelli 20 yard shot from left has diving goalie save in middle of net.
8 min...SCT Majstorovic bends in 35 yard cross from right that leaping goalie catches over head of SCT Whiteman.
10 min...SCT Majstorovic cross from 40 yards on right has SCT Halis flick 12 yard header up middle just wide right of post.
12 min...SCT Guzman 40 yard freekick from right has SCT McNicoll in crowd on left of net heads 8 yarder wide left.
13 min...YRS Lecky gets ball at 22 yards on left and stops and shoots roller just wide right of post.
15 min...YRS Gardener rush through from right but pushes ball too far forward and goalie dives on it.
16 min...SCT Guzman cornerkick from left is low and is deflected out of box by SCT player.
19 min...YRS Dummett cross from right end line has YRS Lecky heads wide left from 8 yards on left.
23 min...SCT Mirabelli is flicked through ball up middle but defender rushes his 18 yard shot that rolls to goalie.
27 min...YRS Christey throw-in from left has YRS Lord pop up 10 yard header that's caught by goalie.
28 min...SCT goalie dives to right to prevent YRS Lecky from getting to it.
28 min...SCT Asante is injured at YRS 45 yards in collision with YRS Lecky.
31 min...SCT Majstorovic cross from 25 yards near right end line has goalie catch on left post in front of SCT Whiteman at 3 yards.
32 min...SCT Guzman first touch of pass at 20 yards pushed down middle to goalie.
33 min...SCT Guzman low 45 yard shot up middle is wide left.
39 min...YRS Humphrey freekick near right corner flag is headed away in crowd of players.
42 min...SCT Guzman 40 yard blast from left is through crowd of players wide right.
44 min...YRS YELLOW card...Lord earns it for knocking over SCT Majstorovic at 25 yards.
45 min...SCT Guzman 30 yard freekick from right has YRS Titus head ball out of box from 5 yards.
45 min...SCT Guzman is rolled centering pass and stops to roll 18 yard shot that diving goalie pushes wide left for cornerkick.
47 min...SCT YELLOW card...Dominic Roberts earns it for knock down on right sideline.
48 min...YRS Humphrey 45 yard freekick from right has SCT Lombardo head ball away and YRS Lord blasts partial clearance up middle from 22 yards that deflects wide right for cornerkick.
48 min...YRS Humphrey cornerkick from right is headed away by nearest defender.
48 min...half ends 5:00pm. There are shouting incidents as players walk back to the dressing rooms behind the stands.

2nd Half:...half starts 4:23pm.
48 min...SCT Guzman 25 yard freekick from left sideline has goalie stop, then drop ball, then dive on it.
48 min...SCT Halis tripped on run down middle but can't win Penalty kick call.
49 min...YRS Turner 35 yard freekick from right is caught by goalie.
51 min...YRS Humphrey gets back ball on partial clearance of his 30 yard freekick from right and tries 25 yard attempt.
52 min...SCT Dominic Roberts 30 yard blast from left has flying goalie bat down on left post.
53 min...SCT YELLOW card...Majstorovic earns it for knock down on YRS Lecky.
54 min...YRS DeThomasis 35 yard freekick from left is blasted well over net.
55 min...SCT Whiteman has shot blocked at last second by YRS Turner at 12 yards.
55 min...SCT player's cornerkick from right has ball cleared from box.
57 min...YRS Humphrey 40 yard freekick from left is cleared from box.
59 min...SCT Mirabelli pass to SCT Halis who shoots 15 yarder off bar. SCT player kicks in 6 yarder from right but offside flag was up.
First spotting of SCT head coach Carmine Isacco taking his place on the sideline.
62 min...SCT Guzman cornerkick from right is cleared.
62 min...SCT Guzman 25 yard low blast up middle is wide right.
63 min...SCT Asante and YRS DeThomasis injured in collision at SCT 42 yard line.
64 min...YRS Turner chips 42 yard freekick from left that defender heads away on edge of box.
66 min...SCT Halis cornerkick from left has YRS defender clear.
66 min...SCT Guzman cornerkick from right has YRS DeThomasis head ball out of box.
67 min...YRS Dummett cross from right has YRS Lecky dive for header but flagged offside at 8 yards.
68 min...SCT sub...Dane Roberts replaces McNicoll.
71 min...YRS DeThomasis 15 yard cross is blocked for cornerkick on left end line.
72 min...YRS Turner cornerkick from left has YRS DeThomasis and SCT Whiteman injured in kick in box. Both players need their trainers.
76 min...YRS Humphrey 45 yard freekick fronm right has defender head ball away.
77 min...SCT Mirabelli crosses pass from left that SCT Dane Roberts heads 8 yarder from right that flying goalie punches away. SCT Whiteman blasts 8 yarder over net.
78 min...YRS sub...O'Connor replaces Gardener.
79 min...YRS DeThomasis is injured at YRS 47 yard sideline.
.........YRS YELLOW card...Turner earns it for complaining about call.
.........SCT YELLOW card...Guzman earns it for complaining about call.
81 min...YRS DeThomasis 40 yard low freekick up middle deflects off player wall and goalie dives on ball.
85 min...SCT sub...Nika replaces Guzman.
86 min...YRS DeThomasis rolls ball forward to YRS Lecky but goalie dives out to save before he gets to it at 10 yards.
87 min...YRS YELLOW card...DeThomasis earns it for trip on SCT Majstorovic at SCT 30 yards as he was breaking out of own end.
88 min...SCT sub...DiLuca replaces Mirabelli.
89 min...YRS Turner cornerkick from left has YRS DeThomasis pop up 10 yard header but play whistled down in box for pushing.
89 min...SCT Halis is injured when YRS Dummett checks him off ball on rush on right side of box. No Penalty kick call.
There's now lots of punting of the ball end to end.
93 min...SCT DiLuca cornerkick from right has ball rolled out to SCT Dane Roberts and his 40 yard blast hits head of YRS player before it gets into box.
94 min...game ends 6:12pm.

Final Score:......York Region Shooters..........1..........SC Toronto...........0...........

Attendance was about 100 on this unseasonably warm and sunny afternoon. Support was divided about equal between the two teams.

When the first goal was scored so soon I was thinking we might get a 3-3 game before the first half ended but that turned out to be the only goal of the game. This was a very rough game with referee Manuel Orellano holding off giving out any cards until the 44th minute. A referee assessor (not on official duty) said because he let an early foul go with just a freekick early in the game, the players figured they could do anything up to that seriousness without drawing a card. The animosity carried over as the players left the field at the end of the first half and were walking the narrow corridor behind the stands to the doorway of the school where the change rooms are. The fans ran to the top row of the stands to take a look down at what was going on but it was soon broken up.

Adam Majer earned the shutout for the Shooters making a few key saves although he really didn't have much work to do in the second half when it could be said SCT was pressing. The mature/experienced backline of Desmond Humphrey, Chris Turner, Rick Titus, and Fitzroy Christey kept the ball mostly outside their box.

Best non-scoring chances after the goal started at 10 minutes had SCT Branko Majstorovic cross from 40 yards on the right that had SCT Alexandros Halis flick a 12 yard header up the middle just wide right of the post. 19 minutes had YRS Ryan Dummett cross from the right end line and YRS Kadian Lecky head the ball from 8 yards on the left wide left of the post. At 45 minutes SCT David Guzman was rolled a centering pass and rolled an 18 yard shot that the diving goalie pushed wide left of the post. 59 minutes had SCT Massimo Mirabelli pass to Halis who shot a 15 yarder off the bar and an SCT player kicked in the 6 yard rebound but the offside flag was up. 77 minutes had Mirabelli cross a pass from the left that SCT Dane Roberts headed from 8 yards from the right that the flying goalie punched away and SCT Jarek Whiteman blasted the rebound over the net from 8 yards. Halis was knocked over at 48 minutes and 89 minutes but couldn't draw a Penalty kick.

I didn't notice SC Toronto's head coach Carmine Isacco until the 70 minute mark. From a look at the York University website, the team beat Brock Badgers 5-1 in university play. That game was scheduled for a 3:15pm start so it would have been impossible to get here from St Catharines at anytime in the game. Now if he left before that game was over he could have made it before this game ended. SCT were missing York U players Casey D'mello, Carlos Nogueira, Alan Badat, Adrian Pena, and backup goalie Sotiri Varlokostas. SCT listed only two defenders in their starting lineup but had forward Andrea Lombardo and midfielder Dominic Roberts in the back to keep the formation 4-4-2.

This was the first game of the Quarterfinal. The win is good for three points. SC Toronto must win by any score on Friday to equal that total. That will result in a 30 minute overtime period. Shooters finished eighth in the standings to grab the last playoff spot although they had clinched a spot a month ago and their play in the last month had them tail off a bit. Their last game of the regular season fielding a sub filled team where a win would have jumped them up to sixth place finish and dates with Capital City of Ottawa will soon be forgotten if they can finish off upsetting the regular season champions while they have commitments for school play. The Shooters finished first last year then were upset in the first round by eighth seeded Toronto Croatia.

This should be the last CSL League game at St Joan of Arc this season because if YRS advances to the semi-finals they will play on the road against one of the higher seeds.

The second leg is on Friday night. (York U's schedule next week has them away on Wednesday night at UOIT then home on Saturday afternoon against Windsor, then away on Sunday afternoon against Guelph). This game will be broadcast by Rogers Community channel. None of the games played in the GTA were broadcast this weekend. Rogers had an open spot on Friday night and in fact re-ran the SC Toronto vs Brampton City United game from two weeks ago that was an SCT 5-2 come-from-behind victory. This was a 'good' copy--the first time they didn't cut the broadcast (and repeat showing Saturday night) off at 85 minutes because of technical problems.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

SCT starters