October 19, 2014 League 1 Ontario--Vaughan Azzurri vs Sigma FC Cup Final (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday October 19, 2014 League 1 Ontario game between Vaughan Azzurri and Sigma FC played at BMO Field in Toronto at 2:30pm. This was the Cup Final game.

Vaughan Azzurri (all white, red numbers)

......................1 Dayne St Clair
5 Henry Moody...17 Kamal Miller...3 Joseph Amato (cpt)...2 Casey D'Mello
6 Joseph Di Chiara...8 Carlos Nogueira...15 Matthew Stinson...7 Jonathan Lao...11 Alon Badat
.....................14 Dena Iezady

Subs:...12 Liam McQueenie (gk)...10 Andrew Ornoch...4 Darren Gertiesingh...13 Lucas Puntillo...16 Dayonn Harris ...9 Nathaniel Tambikus...18 Zebulun Thompson
team officials:...team head coach Carmine Isacco (who wasn't here)...assistant coaches Kosta Poulos, Patrice Gheisar, and Luca Forno ...manager Tony De Palma...therapist Andy Choi

Sigma FC (blue socks and shirts, black shorts, white numbers)

.......................1 Corey Marques
3 Tevin Wynter...14 Luca McLean...15 Aaron D'Souza...6 Manny Morgado
2 Johnny Grant...8 Luca Perez...11 Marcel Zajac...16 Julian MacDonald
...............7 Emery Welshman (cpt)...10 Kwame Amoah

Subs:...31 Luke Iacobellis (gk)...5 Nico Correa...19 Jordan Pereira...18 Jordan Kalonji...20 Lucas Ferritto...4 Noah Mehta...9 Mike Matic
team officials:...head coach Bobby Smyrniotis...assistant coach John Zervos...team officials Kevin Muldoon, Ken Peter, and James Haloulos

1st Half:...game starts 2:34pm...VA defends south end.
5 min...Sigma Emery Welshman GOAL...Sigma Johnny Grant had received pass from Welshman earlier at 22 yards but had been checked off ball. Welshman than stole ball off defender and took low 15 yard shot from right into left side of net beyond diving goalie Dayne St. Clair.
6 min...VA Di Chiara blasts low 22 yard shot up middle that goalie catches.
11 min...Sigma Wynter receives ball on right and shoots 22 yarder high and wide left of net.
14 min...VA Badat 20 yard shot deflects off defender and bounces for cornerkick.
15 min...VA Lao cornerkick from left is toucned back to VA Stinson and he blasts 22 yarder that defender stops.
16 min...VA Stinson gets away pass as he's being pushed over at 50 yards and VA Iezady takes 22 yard shot up middle that goalie pushes wide left of post.
16 min...VA Lao cornerkick from left is over to right and ball is cleared.
17 min...Sigma Zajac low 28 yard blast from left is wide left.
18 min...Sigma Welshman pass up right to Sigma Grant who run forward and cuts towards goal and eludes defenders and shoots low 15 yarder wide left of post.
19 min...VA Di Chiara bends 28 yard shot from left wide right of net.
20 min...VA player makes bad back pass from 50 yards has VA Moody is forced to head 20 yarder back to goalie for him to catch before Sigma Welshman could head it. Welshman continued to charge towards goal and the goalie jumped to get a hand to volley the ball upwards and catch it safely.
21 min...VA Di Chiara blasts 40 yard freekick from left that hits top of bar and deflects for goalkick.
24 min...VA D'Mello rushes to middle and 30 yard shot is over net.
25 min...VA Di Chiara is tapped freekick and blasts 12 yard shot into player wall. Sigma has stacked their wall with their entire team as goalie had been called for handling a backpass.
29 min...Sigma Wynter 65 yard freekick from right has Sigma Welshman head ball wide right from 25 yards.
31 min...VA Lao 40 yard freekick from right is partially cleared and VA player crosses from left high and wide right out of box.
33 min...VA YELLOW card...Miller receives it for tackle on Sigma Welshman which was clean but then earns it for tackle on Sigma Amoah on edge of box.
34 min...Sigma Morgado 22 yard freekick from left is just over top right corner of net.
37 min...VA YELLOW card...Iezady earns it for holding Sigma McLean at center line.
38 min...Sigma YELLOW card...MacDonald earns it for tripping VA Badat.
39 min...VA player takes 40 yard freekick from right has VA Moody get to drop ball in box and goalie saves his 10 yard shot in crowd of players.
41 min...VA Lao 40 yard freekick from left is just a step ahead of VA players charging to right post and ball is out for goalkick.
42 min...Sigma Wynter cross from 30 yards on right is caught by goalie stepping forward.
43 min...VA Stinson chips ball forward and to right and has VA Iezady rescues ball on end line and passes back to VA D'Mello who shoots 25 yarder from right that goalie catches.
46 min...half ends 3:20pm.

Halftime Entertainment:...a video on Canadian coaching of elite player development was shown on the scoreboard.

2nd Half:...starts 3:38pm.
halftime subs:...Sigma Ferritto replaces Wynter.
.................VA Ornoch replaces Nogueira.
46 min...Sigma MacDonald taps ball to Sigma Morgado who shoots 20 yarder from left high and wide left.
49 min...VA player runs on right to end line but pushes ball out of play.
50 min...VA Lao 45 yard freekick from right has defender head ball away just inside box.
51 min...Sigma Morgado is injured at VA 40 yard line.
52 min...VA Stinson 45 yard shot down middle is well wide right of net.
53 min...VA Stinson rolls pass forward on loose ball on edge of Sigma box but is over left end line.
54 min...VA Iezady cornerkick from left has two defenders head back deflection to him and recross is cleared from box.
55 min...VA player cross from left has Sigma D'Souza head ball away on left post.
56 min...Sigma Ferritto 22 yard shot from right is caught by goalie.
57 min...VA Lao 45 yard freekick chip down middle has goalie catch.
58 min...Sigma Welshman survives bump on run on right but pushes ball over end line.
58 min...Sigma sub...Kalonji replaces Amoah.
59 min...VA player's 35 yard kick has VA Moody end play with bicycle kick from 10 yards that's over net.
60 min...Vaughan Dena Iezady GOAL...VA Henry Moody passes from middle at 45 yards over to Iezady who charges up right sideline, beat defender Aaron D'Souza at 25 yards and cut towards net and shoots low 15 yard short from right into short corner beside sliding goalie Corey Marques.
61 min...Sigma Morgado and Sigma D'Souza are both hurt at Sigma 22 yards.
65 min...VA Lao 50 yard freekick from right has VA Ornoch knock ball down turn and shoot 18 yarder up middle over net.
67 min...VA YELLOW card... Di Chiara earns it for sliding tckle at Sigma 40 yard line.
68 min...VA Iezady pass to VA Di Chiara and he backheels to VA Ornoch but defender kicks ball over end line.
68 min...VA Lao cornerkick from left has VA Iezady just miss redirecting header.
69 min...Sigma sub...Pereira replaces Zajac.
70 min...Sigma Pereira 22 yard freekick from right has Sigma Ferritto head and defender deflects ball out of play.
71 min...Sigma Pereira cornerkick from right is cleared in box.
72 min...VA Iezady rush into box and with arm held by defender shoots 12 yarder wide left of post. Sigma Perez had been injured at Sigma 50 yard line earlier in play.
75 min...VA Badat wins cornerkick on left on deflected cross near end line.
75 min...VA Lao cornerkick from left has VA Badat pops up header at 5 yards on right and goalie catches overhead on right post.
76 min...Vaughan Joseph Di Chiara GOAL...VA Dena Iezady sends in chipped pass from 20 yards to Di Chiara who receives it at 12 yards up middle and shoots 8 yarder into net.
78 min...Sigma sub...Matic replaces Perez.
78 min...VA Badat cuts in and takes shot as he slides and 20 yarder is stopped in box.
79 min...VA Badat chip into box from 25 yards and goalie bobbles overhead catch and VA Iezady bumps into him. Iezady is injured on play.
80 min...VA sub...Harris replaces injured Iezady.
81 min...VA goalie catches headed backpass by defender to beat Sigma Welshman on charge towards net.
81 min...VA Ornoch on left after rush rolls 22 yard shot into outside webbing of net.
82 min...Sigma MacDonald 45 yard freekick is low to right just wide of post in front of charging players.
83 min...Sigma sub...Correa replaces D'Souza.
83 min...VA Harris low cross from 20 yards near right end line has ball cleared.
84 min...Sigma MacDonald from 40 yards on left has goalie catch unchallenged on right.
87 min...VA Lao run up left and low 25 yard shot is smothered by goalie on left post.
88 min...VA sub...Gertiesingh replaces Badat.
89 min...Sigma MacDonald 50 yard freekick from right has defender head ball away on edge of box.
89 min...VA Lao cornerkick from left is tapped around winning throw-in on left.
90 min...VA Harris gets pass on left and shoots 18 yarder over net.
92 min...VA sub...Thompson replaces Lao.
93 min...Sigma Pereira gets ball on deflection off referee and runs up left and sends in cross from 25 yards into box and defender heads away ball at 6 yards.
94 min...VA players waste time on short cornerkick from left.
94 min...game ends 4:27pm.

Final Score:.......Vaughan Azzurri........2.......Sigma FC.........1......

Attendance was about 350 to 400 on this cool but sunny day with not much wind unlike yesterday's MLS game. Only the west side stand was open and Vaughan fans mostly sat in Section 122 and Sigma's in 124 with 123 reserved for VIPs although those seats soon filled in with regular fans. Support was about evenly split although because I sat closer to the Sigma side they seemed to have a larger cheering section. As Toronto FC Academy had been knocked out in the semi-finals, I noticed only a handful of their supporters. Sigma had brought a lot of their youth team players to watch their senior team. Otherwise it was mostly family and friends of the team. Admission was free!

Players and game officials were so excited to play at BMI Field that I saw them take selfies before the warm ups.

Vaughan played much better in the second half and gradually took over the game. Sigma's Emery Welshman was often the lone threat up front, acting as a holding forward until he could get some support to pass the ball away.

Sigma ended up using the long ball even to just escape their own end. This part I wasn't expecting as I thought Sigma would play better as the game wore on as their semi-final was played early yesterday morning (9:00am to 11:00am) while Vaughan played their semi-final last night between 7:00pm to 9:00pm). To be fair to the league, both these games had been scheduled from Thursday but had to be postponed because of the thunderstorms/winds/flooded fields from that night.

Two games in two days wasn't the whole story as some players on both teams also play in the OSL and would have had Friday night matches. Vaughan goalscorer Dena Iezady said he'd done that. Some of the Vaughan players are members of the York University team and they had a game yesterday. (From York U's website defender Casey D'Mello played all 90 minutes and assisted on their winning goal—4-2 final score—home game against Windsor Lancers and defender Henry Moody came in at the 80 minute mark). Today York U played another home game—0-0 tie against Western Mustangs to complete their unbeaten regular season 14-0-2 and earn a bye directly to the quarterfinals, Vaughan head coach Carmine Isacco is also the coach of York U and was not here today.

Sigma FC were a stronger team in June and July in my opinion when they had more players for the summer but as I'd asked many weeks ago, they sent 40 players to NCAA equivalent teams in time for the college season.

MLS referee Silviu Petrescu officiated today's game and gave out four Yellow cards—three to Vaughan in a game that never got out too rough.

A glitch in the rules of the OSA allowed Sigma midfielder Luca Perez to play in today's game despite me watching him draw a second Yellow card at 78 minutes in yesterday morning's game against Toronto FC Academy.

Best non-scoring chances were at 16 minutes when VA Matthew Stinson got away a pass from 50 yards as he was being pushed over that found VA Dena Iezady in middle and his 22 yard shot had the goalie push the ball wide left of the post. 20 minutes had a VA player send a bad high backpass from 50 yards that VA Henry Moody was forced to head from 20 yards back to his goalie as Emery Welshman was threatening. Welshman continued to charge towards goal and the goalie jumped to get a hand to volley the ball upwards and catch it safely. Just a minute later VA Joseph Di Chiara had a 40 yard freekick from the left hit the top of the bar and deflect for a goalkick. At 25 minutes Di Chiara had a freekick tapped to him at 12 yards and he shot into the player wall. The freekick in the box was awarded because the goalie had handled a backpass. 39 minutes had VA Moody get to a ball that dropped in the Sigma box on a 40 yard freekick and his 10 yard shot in a crowd of players was stopped point blank by the goalie. Moody had his bicycle kick at 59 minutes from 10 yards fly just over the bar. 72 minutes had VA Iezady rushed into the box and with his arm being held shot a 12 yarder just wide left of the post. 75 minutes had Jonathan Lao take a cornerkick from the left and VA Alon Badat popped up a header at 5 yards on the right and the goalie made an overhead catch on the right post.

Joseph Di Chiara score the winning goal for Vaughan and was named the game's MVP.

After the game both teams were presented with medals and Vaughan got to hoist the Cup Winners trophy. Canadian Men's team coach Benito Floro supervised the coin toss and presented the trophy. Sigma player Cyle Larin (not playing today) had scored four goals this season in the League and played for Canada against Colombia earlier this week so Floro might not have been just there to be a guest of honour but to scout players.

So is the season over? Not exactly. Windsor Stars have only played 14 of their 16 league games. League chair Dino Rossi Jr answered my question about that stating that the Windsor at Woodbrige Strikers game will be a forfeit but the Toronto FC Academy at Windsor game will be played this Friday and has turned into a testimonial for retiring goaltender Anthony Santilli. He was a Player of the Week winner in early July. Also Toronto FC Academy as the League Champion will play in the new two leg Inter-Provincial Cup Final against Quebec's best Tier 3 team in the first two weekend of November.

Well so far that's forty-four League 1 games I've attended this inaugral season! OK five were either rained out while I was there (3), once a team no-showed, and once the game was rescheduled on short notice. Very appropriate that I sat near the field like I've done all season so I can piece the game together by asking players who set up their goals if I missed an assist. The other media so I heard were watching from the press box which for most was their first game of the season. Kamal Hylton excepted! Great job.

Thanks to all players and officials for 'assist'-ing me throughout the season!

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Vaughan Azzurri starters