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Results and details of the Friday May 30th, 2014 League 1 Ontario game between Toronto FC Academy and Vaughan Azzurri played at The Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 8:00pm.

Toronto FC Academy (all black, white numbers, red trim)

....................22 Filippe Di Bennardo
2 Marcus Godinho...5 Elias Roubos...4 Mateo Restrepo...16 Tarik Robertson
11 Mark Anthony Kaye...10 Dylan Sacramento...8 Marco Rodriguez...6 Christopher Mannella (cpt)
..............9 Molham Babouli...20 Luca Uccello

Subs:...12 Mark Rogal (gk)...7 Derick Sequira...15 Jodah Daniel...17 Matt Stowell...18 Jordan Piccinin
...19 Tomasz Balicki...21 Oladapo Afolayan
team officials:...team head coach Michale Stefano

Vaughan Azzurri (all white, red numbers)

.....................1 Colm Vance
5 Daniel Fabrizi...7 Jonathan Lao...24 Matheiw Laurent...3 Joseph Amato (cpt)
19 Alon Badat...25 Devanie Walker...15 Matthew Stinson...4 Arthur Casupanan
..........14 Dena Iezady...11 Joey Cicchillo

Subs:...12 Sotiri Varlokostas (gk)...6 Paulo Alves...8 Carlos Nogueira...9 Andrea Lombardo...18 Matthew Arnone
...23 Malcolm Loukides...30 Austin Ricci
team officials:...team head coach Carmine Isacco...assistant coaches Kosta Poulos, Luca Forno, and Patrice Gheisar
...manager Tony De Palma

game officials:...referee Yusri Rudolph...referee assistants Peter Pendli and Sharon Welsby...fourth official Scott Bowman
(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...starts 8:06pm...TFCA defends north end on this mild evening with a bright sun in the north west and a wind from the north.
1 min...TFCA Babouli intercepts on right and rushes forward and wins cornerkick.
2 min...TFCA Rodriguez cornerkick from right has goalie drift wide left to catch.
3 min...TFCA Babouli rush up right and blasts 20 yarder that deflects for cornerkick.
3 min...TFCA Rodriguez cornerkick from right is whistled down for ball hitting arm of a TFCA player on left side of box.
5 min...VA player's cornerkick from right has defender head ball away from box.
6 min...VA Stinson low 30 yard shot up middle bounces for goalie to pick up.
9 min...TFCA Dylan Sacramento GOAL...TFCA Marco Rodriguez in middle rolls ball forward from 25 yards through players that finds Sacramento who gets away 12 yard shot from the left into the short side of the net 5 feet high past goalie Colm Vance.
10 min...TFCA player 30 yard shot from left bounces to goalie.
12 min...VA goalie dives to smother ball ahead of TFCA Kaye at 10 yards.
12 min...TFCA Uccello rolls cross from 15 yards along left end line that goalie picks up.
13 min...TFCA RED card...Mateo Restrepo is given a direct ejection by referee Yusri Rudolph for tripping up VA Dena Iezady at 25 yards on run down the middle. Restrepo was the last man back.
14 min...VA Jonathan Lao GOAL...Lao blasts low 22 yard freekick up middle between TFCA player wall into left corner of net beyond diving goalie Filippo Di Bennardo.
17 min...TFCA Mannella blasts 28 yard freekick from left that goalie catches near left post.
20 min...VA Cicchillo rush on left and cross finds VA Iezady who can't control ball to get away 12 yard shot on right.
22 min...VA Iezady blasts 18 yarder down middle just over net.
23 min...TFCA Sacramento 35 yard shot from right bounces wide right of net.
24 min...TFCA Sacramento is injured near center line and needs help to get off field.
25 min...VA YELLOW card...Walker earns it for pushing over TFCA Robertson near sideline at VA 35 yard line.
27 min...TFCA sub...Sequira replaces injured Sacramento.
The VAs are then called offside twice in a row.
35 min...TFCA Kaye gets head to high cross behind defenders on left and 15 yard header near end line caught by goalie.
36 min...TFCA Robertson wins freekick at TFCA 20 yards when VA Badat bashes into him.
38 min...TFCA goalie picks up through ball before VA player can get to it.
39 min...TFCA Rodriguez cornerkick from right has TFCA player not able to twist 12 yard header on leap in box.
46 min...TFCA Kaye cross from 25 yards on right has defender head ball away at 10 yards.
46 min...half ends 8:52pm.

2nd Half:...starts 9:08pm.
halftime subs:...VA Loukides replaces Walker.
...............VA Nogueira replaces Casupanan.
46 min...TFCA Babouli low cross along right end line is stopped by goalie.
47 min...VA Badat gets rolled pass but flubs 20 yard shot down middle wide left of net.
48 min...VA Cicchillo low 20 yard shot is just wide left.
49 min...TFCA Rodriguez blasts 35 yard freekick from right that goalie bats down and picks up.
54 min...VA YELLOW card...Loukides earns it for sliding check on TFCA Kaye at VA 40 yard line.
55 min...TFCA Rodriguez 40 yard freekick from left has defender head ball out of box at 15 yards.
56 min...TFCA YELLOW card...Robertson earns it for tackle on VA Stinson at VA 50 yard line.
57 min...VA Lao cornerkick from left has VA Fabrizi chest down at 12 yards on right then quick pass to VA player whose 10 yard shot is caught by goalie.
58 min...TFCA Babouli cross from 12 yards on left is caught by goalie diving forward on left post.
60 min...TFCA Uccello gets possession and quick 22 yard shot from left is bent wide right through 6 yard box.
63 min...VA player pops up 25 yard shot that goalie catches.
64 min...TFCA Kaye bounces 25 yard shot from left that goalie catches.
65 min...VA Lao cornerkick from left is over players in box. VA Fabrizi cross from right is cleared from middle of box.
66 min...VA goalie beats TFCA Babouli to dive on pass that TFCA Kaye chipped from 28 yards on left.
67 min...TFCA Babouli gets away 40 yard shot that goalie pushes wide right of post.
68 min...TFCA Rodriguez cornerkick from right has defender head away.
69 min...VA YELLOW card...Fabrizi earns it for tackle on TFCA Kaye at VA 40 yard line.
69 min...TFCA Rodriguez 40 yard freekick from left has defender head ball away at 18 yards.
71 min...TFCA YELLOW card...Mannella earns it for trip on VA Badat breaking over center line.
72 min...TFCA sub...Daniel replaces Uccello.
73 min...VA Lao 20 yard cross from left is picked up by goalie.
74 min...VA sub...Ricci replaces Iezady.
76 min...VA goalie beats TFCA Kaye to dive on through ball.
78 min...VA player's 25 yard shot from extreme left is wide right.
79 min...TFCA Babouli beats VA Fabrizi to ball on left at 40 yards but VA Fabrizi gets back to block his 15 yard shot.
80 min...VA sub...Lombardo replaces Badat.
81 min...VA Lao 35 yard freekick blast from left is wide right of net.
83 min...VA players 15 yard shot from right deflects to goalie.
83 min...TFCA Babouli dribbles forward but 22 yard shot is blocked by defender.
84 min...VA goalie catches cross from endline from 20 yards.
85 min...VA Lombardo gets to throw-in on right end line but defender pokes ball lie to dive on.
86 min...VA Lao 30 yard freekick from right has scramble in box including VA player missing midair kick at 12 yards and play is whistled down when defender is knocked over.
89 min...TFCA Robertson is injured just outside TFCA box cramping up.
90 min...VA Lombardo wins cornerkick when his cross is deflects over end line.
91 min...VA Lao cornerkick from right has a VA player head ball from left and VA Lombardo heads ball over bar from 6 yards.
92 min...TFCA sub...Stowell replaces Robdertson.
93 min...VA Lombardo low 25 yard blast up middle deflects off foot of defender at 15 yards and rolls to goalie.
94 min...game ends 9:57pm.

Final Score:......Toronto FC Academy............1...........Vaughan Azzurri............1................

Attendance was about 550 (according to league chair Dino Rossi Jr) for this inaugural game of the new league. The west side (only side) stands (five rows deep) were filled from goalline to goalline.

I was surprized by how well TFCA played in this game especially playing a man down for 77 minutes. They had just as many good chances as Azzurri had after the sending off. Second half Injury time had VA Jonathan Lau (who took almost all the cornerkicks and freekicks) send in a cornerkick that had the ball headed from the left over to VA Andrea Lombardo who headed the ball over the bar from 6 yards. (thanks for his honesty for admitting that because I wasn't sure it was him when I saw it).

There were no 'pros' in this game. TFCA are an amateur team and Azzurri head coach Carmine Isaaco confirmed that his team includes former pros but there aren't any pros right now.

The league had printed rosters of both teams for me. They detail which players are imports (none) and which are not under 23s Alon Badat and Andrea Lombardo on Azzurri).

The game was being live streamed and taped for archives for the coaches and highlights will soon be available on the league website according to chair Dino Rossi Jr. OSA president Ron Smale and CSA executive Earl Cochrane were in attendance.

TFCA is using their Senior Academy team in this league (1992s to 1997s although mostly 1995 and 1996s). This was the team that was beaten 4-1 two weeks ago by K-W (Kitchener-Waterloo) United of the PDL.

Azzurri had quite a few former players from Toronto FC and their academy. Former TFC pros were Matt Stinson and Andrea Lombardo. Academy players I recognized were Daniel Fabrizi, Jonathan Lao, and Sotiri Varlokostas. Head coach Carmine Isacco was the TFC pro-team's goalkeeping coach in 2007 and 2008. He has used TFCA grads when he coached SC Toronto of the CSL. I will find out next game how many of this current team also plays for him at York University.

Rossi was ready to read off more names of TFC former pros playing in the league. I'd noticed Oscar Cordon at the game. He is playing for Woodbridge Strikers. Emery Welshman is on Sigma FC.

TFCA head coach is Michael Stefano who answered after the game that he has only been with the team for a month. Anthony Capotosto (who was at the League 1 Ontario press conference in April) is head coach of the Junior Academy. Danny Dichio is head coach of the Under 13s this year.

The announcer missed the halftime subs while he was reading lucky draw tickets. I was able to fill them in after the game talking to fourth official Scott Bowman as well as check the subs and cards. Referee Yusri Rudolph gave out three cards to both teams (of course the Red card to TFCA may have changed the outcome of the game). He will be the fourth official at tomorrow's MLS game between Toronto FC vs Columbus Crew. The chair of the CSA Referee's Committee Tony Camacho was also helping out.

The Soccer Centre will be the home field for Vaughan Azzurri for about half their games while TFCA home games will be at the KIA Training Ground in Downsview yet this counted as a 'home' game for the Azzurri.

This first weekend will continue here tomorrow with two games but I will miss those because of the MLS game in downtown Toronto tomorrow. I will try to catch the two Sunday games here at the Soccer Centre starting at 11:00am.

Trivia: In 2007 Luke Moore (now a striker for Toronto FC) scored three goals for Aston Villa in a friendly against Toronto FC that finished 4-2. One of the TFC goals was scored by Andrea Lombardo.

By halftime the DJ was playing Bastille's song "Pompeii" for the third time already tonight. "I'm gonna be an optimist about it" is sung a few times and let's make that a message about this first game. I was quite entertained.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Toronto FC Academy starters

Vaughan Azzurri starters

VA Dena Iezady (14) and Jonathan Lao (7) take opening kickoff.

TFCA Christopher Mannella (6) blasts freekick that goalie catches.

VA Matt Stinson (15) winds up to kick ball away.

A TFCA player is surrounded.

VA players break out of own end.

VA Jonathan Lao (7) takes freekick.

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