April 25, 2017 League 1 Ontario--Match Preview: Windsor TFC v North Mississauga Panthers (from League 1 Ontario website)
Match Preview: Windsor TFC v North Mississauga Panthers 04/25/2017, 3:45pm EDT By League1 Ontario staff With only three days before the League1 Ontario 2017 season kicks off, anticipation is at an all-time high for what the season ahead will hold - the fourth season in the lifetime of this standards-based, pro-am, Ontario senior league. The off-season has brought a number of changes, with two new clubs coming into the league from Ottawa, a venerable name added to the women's division in Toronto Blizzard, and an exciting young women's team out of Unionville that looks stacked with junior national team players. These are only a few of the storylines in the league, and there are so many more... The weekend of April 28 - 30 is all about the men's division, with the women starting up on the weekend of May 5 - 7, so stick with us as we sequentially preview the match-ups and the teams that will do battle over our opening two weekends! Everything kicks off at the southernmost tip of the province on as Windsor TFC open their campaign against visitors North Mississauga Panthers. University of Windsor will be Windsor TFC's home stadium once again and they will hope to get the right start in their home opener at 8:15 p.m.under the lights on Friday April 28. Typically a strong, powerful team stocked with experienced players and some exciting young talent, Windsor had a difficult end to the 2016 campaign after securing only four wins in the final three months of the season. The team will be looking to rebound quickly in 2017, and have made some interesting moves in both the technical staff and squad. North Mississauga, on the other hand, finished out their 2016 season as one of the hottest entities in the league. Despite a rocky start in their first five matches, the Panthers then gathered steam and won 11, drew three and lost only three of their 17 matches spanning from June to October. But the Panthers look to be an almost entirely different entity in 2017, with their early roster showing only a few of the names from the 2016 squad, and 2016 head coach Rick Titus also departed. With such a new look, will the Panthers be able to pick up where they left off? Both teams have fresh leadership in 2017, with Sam Medeiros named as head coach of the Panthers and Zibby Piatkiewicz recently announced as the TFC satellite club's new head coach. Medeiros was a former professional player in Portugal, before turning to coaching. He holds UEFA and CSA A licenses and was previously the head coach of men's professional team York Region Shooters, the Seneca College Women's team, as well as a provincial teams coach. Piatkiewicz is a CSA B licensed coach and is well known in Windsor for his time with Polonia White Eagles and the University of Windsor Lancers, with whom he was most recently assistant coach of the women's varsity team. Windsor, one of the original League1 teams, have consistently changed their coaches in a search for the right fit. Will the fresh face of Piatkiewicz galvanize the southerners and get the team the sort of consistency after the strong start and home form they have generally demonstrated in previous seasons? On the Panthers side, Medeiros arrives as a well-known and respected coach in Ontario circles, with bonafide professional chops as both a player and coach. Much will be said about the good work that was done last year in the Panthers first season, but the opening day battle between these two managers new to their teams and facing significant early pressures to live up to standards set in the past will be riveting indeed. Windsor and North Mississauga are certainly not short on talent, and in both cases we will see some returning faces and some notable absences. Windsor owner Vancho Cirovski suggests the team will be built off the spine of experience that has served the side well in the past, with the following players confirmed as part of the 2017 squad. "Danny Dragoi, the midfielder with international experience has committed to a full time position with the club for the 2017 season," said Cirovski. "On loan to Detroit City FC from DWB Adria last year, Dragoi joined Windsor in time to score against TFC Academy and lift the team to a 1-nil win on August 19." "Stephen Ademolu, another international quality player, who has competed in Sweden, Norway, and Lithuania, concentrated on running his player development business last season but will be back this year," he added. "Ademolu will also coach with Windsor TFC Academy during the 2017 season." "Jamar Kelly, Windsor’s no-nonsense defender, returns to the line-up after appearing in 14 matches with the senior squad last season. Kelly played 1,260 minutes and was assessed 6 yellow cards en route to being named to the L1O West Division All Stars." "Finally, Kyle Vizirakis will likely be assigned the bulk of playing time between the pipes this year," he concluded. "The 6’ 5” Windsor-born keeper logged 1,620 minutes for WTFC in 2016 as well as 946 for the University of Windsor. He backstopped the Lancers into the 1st round of the OUA playoffs, posting a 1.71 GAA across 11 matches." On the North Mississauga side of things, Medeiros looks to have some players returning from 2016 but to date there is no sign of the quintet of All-Stars and goal-getters Joey Melo, Jose De Sousa, Bradley Fenton, Jordan Montoya and Lee-Victor Massunda. The five combined for 41 goals over the season and were regular starters in their opening season. But Medeiros highlighted several talents in his team, some of whom did show well in 2016 as well. "We have Laith Adi in central midfield, who is very dynamic," he said, "as well as Juan Bernal?, a playmaker with tonnes of experience." "Anthony Whyte , goalkeeper, has great hands, and knows how to lead his team from the back. Aside from the coaching staff, the keeper is most important player on the field." "In addition there is Abi Madaraka at full back, very good at 1v1 and tracking opponents?, endless work rate," Medeiros said. "And Arian Mehrang, a versatile young player that can play multiple positions, has a great work ethic and is very coachable." "Finally, I would highlight Fadi Salbalk, a centre forward that has an eye for goal and Andi Motina - a support striker and powerful player individually, who can carry the team in both phases of the game." The maturity and experience of Windsor, playing at home at the University of Windsor and pitted against the x-factor of a brand new North Miss team coming off an exciting first season should provide plenty of intrigue on opening day. Add in the quality, but thus far League1 untested, new managers on both sides and the outcome of this contest could be anyone's guess. If you can't make it out to the match, follow the minute-by-minute account on League1 Ontario's Live Match twitter account, and tune into the League1 YouTube channel or head to League1Ontario.com afterwards for full match video, match recap, and post-match interviews with the coaches!
back to 2017 League 1 Ontario Men's index
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