Tues August 2, 2016 League 1 Ontario--Men's 2016 East Division All-Stars Roster: A Closer Look (from League 1 Ontario website)

Men's 2016 East Division All-Stars Roster: A Closer Look
08/02/2016, 9:00pm EDT
By Anthony Gallo

After a successful League1 Ontario Women’s All-Star match, we are lined 
up to enjoy the best male players both divisions have to offer. The Western 
All-Stars will face off against the Eastern All-Stars 
on Wednesday, August 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Leading the way for the East is Woodbridge Strikers head coach 
Peter Pinizzotto and Durham United coach Sanford Carabin. On the West side, 
we have FC London’s Mario Despotovic and Sigma FC coach Bobby Smyrniotis.

A total of two goalkeepers, six defenders, six midfielders and four 
forwards will represent the East on Wednesday. Let’s take a closer look 
at who will line up for the Eastern All-Stars...

Goalkeepers:

The East division will be thankful to have two very solid keepers 
on their side. Starting in net is Woodbridge Strikers goalkeeper 
Matt George, who comes in with the second lowest goals against average (GAA) 
of goalies who have played at least five games (0.92). George has brought 
his veteran presence to the already talented and experienced 
Woodbridge team. He had a stint at second division Hungarian side 
Csakvar FC before he made the move to League1 Ontario and was a 2012 
OUA All-Star for Laurentian University. He is also the 2015 League1 
Ontario Golden Glove holder.

Behind George is North Toronto Nitros keeper Mark Rogal. Rogal has put 
some solid numbers up for the first year Nitros team, recording 
a 1.36 GAA in 11 games and a 5-3- 3 record.

Rogal is part of the University of Toronto team that has a partnership 
with North Toronto. He has a 5-1- 1 record and three clean sheets 
for University of Toronto Blues, and attended a Canada U-18 Camp 
in 2012.

The Backline: 

Just like their goalkeepers, the League1 Ontario East division side 
has a solid defensive group to work with in this All-Star match.

Two Woodbridge defenders in Stephen Almeida and Cameron Brooks have 
made the squad, and for good reason. The two have been a key part 
in why Woodbridge has given up a league low 11 goals in 14 matches 
thus far in 2016, and ensured the Strikers have held the best defensive 
record for both the 2014 and 2015 seasons as well. 

Starting the match will be Almeida (14GP, 2G) and he has been a key 
player for Woodbridge, thanks to his ability to push up and still 
contribute on the defensive side. He has had trials with a number 
of professional teams in Europe. Brooks, whho (14GP, 1G) will start 
the match on the bench, is a Laurentian University alumni and an OUA 
All-Star in all four years at the school.

Speaking of solid defensive players, we have North Toronto Nitros 
captain, Niba Macdonald, in the starting lineup. Macdonald 
is an import from Cameroon for the Nitros and has been a rock in the 
back for this North Toronto team. Known for his high work rate, 
Macdonald has netted three goals in 12 games so far this season.

Alongside the defensive starters is League1 Ontario 2016 L1 Cup 
winner and Vaughan Azzurri defender, Nyal Higgins. Higgins (5GP) 
has done a lot of hard work this season, and will be entering his 
first year of NCAA soccer after making the move to Division I school 
Oakland University.

Finishing up the Eastern starters is Durham United's Bruce Cullen. 
Cullen (9GP, 3G) is a former Robert Morris defender, who led 
the Northeast conference with nine assists in 2013, and was part 
of the Northeast Conference First Team that same year.

On the bench, we have Kingston Clippers defender, Eric Koskins. 
Koskins (14GP, 3G) is a former Queens University player and has 
now made the jump to coaching, as he was named as the assistant 
coach for the Queen's men's team.

Midfielders:

The Eastern All-Stars have talent all over the place, 
and it continues in the midfield. Starting off for the East 
is former Queens Park Rangers youth player and Woodbridge Strikers 
midfielder, Dylan Carreiro.

Carreiro (11GP, 3G) has spent the last two years in Scotland 
with Dundee United. After joining the team, he was sent on loan 
to second division side Arbroath FC and scored five goals 
in 11 appearances in 2014/15. Carreiro also saw action with 
Canada at the U-16, U-18 and U-20 level, and was a part of the 
U-23 Canadian team that competed for a berth in this year's 
Summer Olympics in Rio.

Next to Carriero, we have Vaughan midfielder Jarek Whiteman. 
The Azzurri midfielder has been a standout for his York University 
team, and a key part in their OUA and CIS domination. 
Whiteman (10GP, 6G) helped the team win the CIS Championship 
in 2008 and again in 2014 and 2015. He would help them in their 
OUA quest in 2008, in which they lost in the final. However, 
he would win the Ontario University Championship in 2014 and 2015.

Whiteman also was named the OUA West MVP in 2014 and a CIS First 
Team All-Canadian that same year.

Rounding off the starters are two Durham United midfielders 
in Stefan Lamanna and Eddie Lay. Lamanna (7GP, 5G) has translated 
his strong play in midfield for Durham to his University 
of Vermont team. In 2015, Lamanna was named to the America East 
All-Conference Second Team and scored five goals and five assists 
in 20 games last season. He also attended Houston Baptist 
University for two seasons prior to joining Vermont.

Eddie Lay (10GP, 4G) enters this match to replace his York 
teammate Jonathan Lao, who will unfortunately be unavailable 
for this match. Lay was selected by League1 Ontario officials 
and coaches to replace Lao, and for good reason. He has been 
a part of that strong York team with Vaughan's Whiteman, and 
will enter his second year with York. Lay was used mostly
 as a bench player for the reigning CIS and OUA Champions, 
 but still managed to make 10 appearances last season.

On the bench, we have Masters FA and former University 
of Toronto player, Tyrell Rayne. Rayne (11GP, 5G) tallied 
two goals in 12 games in 2012 for U of T. Next to him, 
we have Toronto Skillz midfielder Ryan Reid (10GP, 4G), 
who has been a standout performer for the new team 
in Toronto.

Forwards:

The East division can be thankful for the strikers they 
have named to this All-Star team. First up, we have 
North Toronto's Kilian Elkinson. Elkinson is a Bermuda 
Senior International, and plays for University of Toronto. 
He was named the OUA East MVP in 2014 and named to the 
OUA East Second Team All-Star team that same season. 
He continued his strong 2014 campaign with a CIS First 
Team All-Canadian nod.

Elkinson has been a reliable player for the Nitros this 
season, appearing in six matches and scoring seven goals.

Lining up next to Elkinson is Aurora United athletic striker, 
Simon Adjei.  Adjei (11GP, 8G) joins the new team from 
Aurora via the partnership the club has with a Swedish 
football management group, Lank.

Before joining League1 Ontario, Adjei was plying his trade 
with Swedish third division side Husqvarna FF. It is safe 
to say that Adjei has had a comfortable transition to League1.

On the bench for the Eastern All-Stars are Durham United's 
Kashiff De Jonge (11GP, 6G). De Jonge was part of Durham 
College in 2013 and named an OCAA All-Star that year. 
Next to him is Kingston Clippers striker, Andrew Martin. 
Martin (14GP, 4G) has been at Queen's University for the 
past three seasons, appearing in 36 matches and scoring 
five goals.

back to 2016 League 1 Ontario Men's index

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