June 24, 2017 League 1 Ontario--Aurora FC vs North Mississauga Panthers (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Saturday June 24, 2017 League 1 Ontario game between
Aurora FC and North Mississauga Panthers played at Highland Park in Aurora at 9:00pm.

Aurora FC (yellow socks and numbers, black shorts and shirts)

.................1 Nicholas Luciani
19 Matthew Brown...4 Gianmariano Della Serra...5 Michael Nitchov...2 Calvin Witzell
11 Dylan Rennie...6 Frederick Ameyaw (cpt)...10 Joey Tituana...15 Ali Sozeri
............9 Jared Agyemang...17 Jordan Kalk

Subs:...22 Alexander Jakma (gk)...8 Matthew Cagliana...13 Anu Makinwa...14 Kairev Juta
...16 Ruben Dos Santos...7 Basel Rashrash...18 Lucas Doros
team officials:...team head coach Derek O'Keefe...assistant coach Dave Diplacido, Jimmy Brennan,
Nick Spagnolo...therapist Haley Roberge
suspended player: Justin Broome

North Mississauga Panthers (black socks, shorts, and numbers, red shirts)

.................22 Roberto Custodio Caranzza
14 Daniel Whyte...3 Anthony Wright...5 Tom Wrobel...6 Sundin Esperance (cpt)
21 Gareth Davies...4 Mathew Monteiro...9 Lee-Victor Massunda...10 Laith Adi
..............17 Bradley Fenton...19 Andi Motina

Subs:...1 Daniel De Sousa (gk)...7 Ali Elzeir...11 Jordan Prescod...13 Dale Cudmore
...15 Nicolas Carter...16 Adrian Mehrang...18 Nathaniel Marksman
team officials:...team head coach Sam Medeiros...assistant coach Volen Parashkevov
...manager Martin Eleuteri and Patrick Guirguis
suspended player: Jonathan Jebbison

Game officials:...referee Kuizan Weekes...referee's assistant Filip Dujic and Jay Thomas
...fourth official Dino Pipitone...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 9:08pm...AFC defends east end on this warm night with the sun below the horizon.
5 min...NMP goale catches cross from along right end line.
6 min...AFC Kalk 33 yard freekick from right is headed over end line on right by defender.
6 min...AFC player's cornerkick from right is whistled down in box.
8 min...NMP Esperance 30 yard freekick is cleared in box.
9 min...NMP Esperance 30 yard freekick from far right has NMP player pop header over bar from 10 yards
in crowd of players.
10 min...AFC Sozeri is injured at center line.
15 min...NMP Esperance 33 yard freekick from left has defender head ball away in box and start quick break.
18 min...AFC player low corenerkick from right has defender on right post make clearance.
20 min...NMP Monteiro low cross from right after give and go with NMP Whyte on right is through 6 yard
box unplayed and cleared on left.
23 min...NMP goalie beats AFC Kalk to grab bouncer at 15 yards in middle of box.
25 min...NMP goalie runs out to edge of box to beat AFC Bozeri to cross from right.
27 min...AFC Sozeri powers way up right past defenders and shoots 25 yarder over net.
28 min...AFC goalie slides forward to check NMP Fenton for loose ball and injures himself.
30 min...NMP Davies midair stop of ball at 30 yards and takes midair shot up middle that just misses
to right corner.
32 min...AFC YELLOW card...Della Serra earns it on two-footed slide tackle.
33 min...NMP Esperance 33 yard freekick from left is knocked around in box but saved on left post.
34 min...Panthers Andi Motina GOAL...NMP Sundin Esperance takes a long throw-in from the left
and Motina recovers the ball at about 20 yards near the center. He has a first shot blocked but
recovers a few steps to the right and shoots a low 18 yarder to the left corner of the net beyond
sprawling goalie Nicholas Luciani.
37 min...NMP Esperance cornerkick from right is over players and crossed back from left. NMP Wrobel
heads 7 yarder just over bar.
40 min...AFCAgyemang can't win Penalty kick just inside NMP box.
41 min...AFC goalie slides to 12 yards on left to smother ball ahead of charging NMP player.
43 min...AFC YELLOW card...Sozeri earns it for tackle from behind injurying NMP Wrobel retreating for
ball at NMP 25 yard line on right.
45 min...NMP Fenton 25 yard low cross from right is cleared.
46 min...NMP Whyte long throw-in from right has ball cleared to left and NMP player blasts 35 yarder
from left just high and wide right of net.
46 min...AFC player's cornerkick from right is headed through box by defender.
47 min...AFC Kalk cornerkick from left has defender clear shot at 2 yard line. AFC player's recross bounces
over end line.
48 min...NMP Esperance 30 yard freekick from left has ball cleared from box. NMP Davies shoots 30 yarder
down middle that's stopped.
48 min...half ends 9:56pm.

2nd Half:...starts 10:11pm. It's now dark.
45 min...NMP Fenton breaks on right and goalie makes point blank save at 12 yards deflected for cornerkick.
46 min...NMP Fenton cornerkick from right wins another cornerkick.
46 min...NMP Fenton cornerkick from right has NMP player knock ball over end line.
47 min...NMP MOnteiro blasts partial clearance down middle from 30 yards high and wide left.
50 min...AFC Rennie cornerkick from right is cleared on left side of box but AFC win freekick.
51 min...AFC Ameyaw freekick from 28 yards after teammate dummy has goalie push ball wide left of post
and defenders clear.
53 min...AFC defender makes clearance to prevent NMP Monteiro shot at 15 yards on left.
53 min...AFC Witzell 40 yard freekick from left has goalie bat ball down on left post and defender clears.
55 min...AFC player eludes defenders and has shot batted down by goalie on left post.
56 min...AFC Della Serra chips 30 yard partial clearance down middle just wide right of net.
59 min...NMP Motina rush up left and cross has NMP Monteiro head ball down at 10 yards and goalie picks up.
60 min...AFC Rennie 45 yard freekick from right is caught by goalie on bounce.
62 min...AFC goalie picks up 20 yard roller from right at 5 yards on right.
62 min...NMP Esperance cornerkick from left has NMP Motina head 8 yarder just over bar.
63 min...AFC sub...Caguana replaces Sozeri.
64 min...NMP YELLOW card...Wrobel earns it for sliding tackle at NMP 20 yard line.
65 min...AFC Caguana 30 yard freekick from far right s cleared.
66 min...AFC Caguana cornerkick from right has play whistled down in box for AFC player's hand ball.
67 min...NMP Motina rush on left but he pushes ball over end line trying to get by AFC Brown.
70 min...NMP Esperance 60 yard freekick from left is popped up on header and goalie charges forward to catch.
73 min...NMP Esperance long throw-in from left has NMP player pop up ball and goalie catches at 10 yards.
74 min...NMP Esperance low cross from 20 yards near end line is picked up by goalie.
76 min...NMP sub...Marksman replaces Fenton.
.........AFC sub...Rashrash replaces Rennie.
77 min...NMP Marksman rush on left and he and goalie miss connecting on ball on edge of box but goalie turns around
to pick up ball.
79 min...NMP Esperance high cross from 28 yards on left is caught by goalie.
80 min...NMP goalie dives forward to smother ball at 10 yards.
80 min...NMP Massunda cross from 25 yards on left has NMP Motina head 10 yarder wide right of net.
80 min...NMP Marksman 25 yard chip from left is well wide right of net.
81 min...AFC sub...Juta replaces Agyemang.
82 min...NMP Monteiiro has 15 yard shot from right is tipped over net by defender's slide.
83 min...NMP player's cornerkick from left is cleared from box.
84 min...NMP Monteiro 40 yard freekick down middle is low and blocked in player wall.
85 min...NMP Marksman stops ball and takes quick 20 yard shot that's wide right of post.
86 min...NMP sub...Prescod replaces Motina.
86 min...NMP Marksman recovers partial clearance after freekick and shoots over net from 25 yards.
87 min...NMP goalie drifts wide left to catch cross from right.
89 min...AFC Kalk cornerkick from left has defender on right head ball out of box for throw-in.
90 min...NMP Monteiro recovers clearance and blasts 28 yarder from left that goalie palms over bar.
91 min...NMP player's cornerkick from right has NMP Prescod not able to direct header on left side
of box and ball bounces wide left.
92 mn...AFC Caguana 50 yard freekick down middle has defender head away on edge of box.
93 min...game ends at 10:59pm as two AFC players are down injured in AFC end.

Final Score:......Aurora FC.......0.......North Mississauga Panthers......1...

Attendance was about 30 for this late night game with thousands of mosquitoes. 
It was moved from Aurora's regular venue at St Maximillion Kolbe HS because 
the school had booked an event before the schedule first came out a team 
official answered me. The Aurora women's team was still playing Vaughan 
when I arrived. Vaughan won that game 2-1 to make it a miserable day for 
both Aurora L1O teams.

I didn't expect to be here but the Master's vs Sanjaxx game was postponed 
for a week and a half I suppose by request because Master's had played 
a midweek Cup game on Wednesday. I hadn't been to Highland Park since 
2002--I believe watching York Region Shooters. This facility isn't too 
far from their regular venue. It has natural grass, no scoreboard, and 
limiting parking. A clubhouse facility makes it hard to determine how 
many people were watching. Also the field looked like it sloped downhill 
to the west. I saw the last twenty minutes of the ladies game and it was 
played in the west end but that may have been because Aurora was pressing 
for a tying goal. It didn't seem to be a factor in the men's game.

The field also has four telephone poles stuck behind each end.  In theory
or at one time these had mesh or wire stuck between them to stop balls 
flying into the woods in the east and the parking lot in the west.  After
all these years there's only a bit of wire between the two middle poles
of the east side.  The west was exposed and there was a ball booted
over the net in the west and hit a windshield but by then it was dark.
No danger of it being my car as I was parked in the overflow area behind
some offices beside the park because the lot was packed for the women's game.

Referee Kuizan Weekes gave out three Yellow cards (two to Aurora). 
Both coaches would have liked more cards--to their opponents of course! 
I know the officials consulted about the lights and now I realize that must 
have played a factor to how they managed the game. The game ended at 10:59pm 
at three minutes of added time and exactly one minute later the stadium 
lights went off! Must have been some city bylaw for an 11:00pm curfew.  
Some fans in the parking lot turned on their car headlights to help 
the players get off the field.

Roberto Custodio Caranzza earned the shutout for North Mississauga. 
He made a few key stops but was greatly aided by this defenders 
of Daniel Whyte, Mathew Monteiro, Tom Wrobel, and Sundin Esperance 
clearing a lot of balls into the box or blocking shots. Black numbers 
on red uniforms were especially difficult to see with the just adequate 
brightness of the stadium lights. (Thanks again to Andi Motina for 
stitching his goal together for my recap).

Panthers looked the more likely team to score to increase their lead 
in the second half. 51 minutes had AFC Frederic Ameyaw take a freekick 
from 28 yards after a teammate dummied and the goalie pushed the shot 
wide left of the post. 62 minutes had NMP Sundin Esperance take 
a cornerkick from the left that had NMP Andi Motina head an 8 yarder 
just over the bar. 80 minutes had NMP Lee-Victor Massunda cross from 
25 yards on the left and Motina headed a 10 yarder wide right. 90 minutes 
had NMP Mathew Monteiro recover a clearance and blast a 28 yarder from 
the left that the goalie palmed over the bar.

North Mississauga improves their record to 3 wins, 6 losses, 0 ties 
for 9 points and sixth place in the West. While there's no playoffs 
except a one-off East-West championship game and there's not much chance 
of getting to that game nearing the halfway mark of the season, 
Panthers won their second round L1O Cup match over Toronto FC III 
ten days ago to advance to the semi-finals of that competition. 
The North Miss women's team won the inaugural L1O Cup for women in 2015.

Aurora's record falls to 1 win, 7 losses, 1 tie for 4 points and seventh 
place out of eight in the East.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Aurora FC starters