July 2, 2017 League 1 Ontario--Vaughan Azzurri vs Sigma FC (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday July 2, 2017 League 1 Ontario game between
Vaughan Azzurri and Woodbridge Strikers played at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 4:00pm.

Vaughan Azzurri (all navy, white numbers, red trim)

...................1 Colm Vance
2 Jarred Phillips...6 Brandon John...5 Daniel Gogarty...3 Joseph Amato (cpt)
16 Devante Walker...11 Brandon Mills...7 Jahsua Mills...15 Alister Johnson
.............9 Jarek Whiteman...18 Thomas Sklublak

Subs:...12 Liam McQueenie (gk)...4 Kai Olguin...8 Alexander Zis...13 Malcolm Loukides
...17 Andranik Kagramanyan...19 Dayonn Harris...10 Zachary Zitoli
team officials:...head coach Carmine Isacco...other team officials Patrice Gheisar, Wayne Mills,
Esteban Clavlo, and Tony De Palma

Sigma FC (all white, blue numbers)

....................1 Triston Henry
2 Johnny Grant...4 Jelani Smith...3 Dominic Samuel...5 Kyle Walton
7 Kadell Thomas...8 Giuliano Frano (cpt)...6 Faisal Ghaffur...11 Marcel Zajac
..............9 Alex Halis...10 Justin Stoddart

Subs:...31 Corey Marques (gk)...12 Aiden D'Mello...17 Markell Saddler...18 Arlick Ntabana
...19 Mike Matic...20 Manvir Brar...21 Jordan Kalonji...22 Daniel Jodah
team officials:...head coach Bobby Smyrnotis...other team officials John Zervos, Mike M. Matic,
Joe Henley, and Kiran Persad

Game officials:...referee Alexis Vaughan, referee's assistants Mario Simon and Phil Benevides
fourth official Dan McClintock...(orange shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 4:03pm...VA defends north end on this partially cloudy afternoon wth a strong
wind from the west.
5 min...VA Amato makes key stop on pass from edge of VA box.
8 min...VA Phillips concedes cornerkick on Sigma Thomas long run into VA box on right and cross to left sde of box.
9 min...Sigma Halis runs ball over end lne trying to get around defender on left side of net.
10 min...Sigma Thomas rush into right side of box and low cross is cleared from 6 yard box.
12 min...VA Walker run up middle to get to long chip and goalie gets to ball first at 25 yards to kick away.
13 min...Sigma Walton rush down left and shot from 20 yards on sharp angle has goalie leap and palm ball wide
right of net.
13 min...Sigma player's cornerkick from right is headed away in box.
15 min...Sigma Thomas pushes ball between defenders and charging goalie steps out to 8 yards to dive on left in front
of him.
17 min...VA Sklublak chips ball over defenders but golie catches on bounce before Sklublak can get himself to it.
18 min...Sigma Marcel Zajac GOAL...Sigma Kadell Thomas makes long run up right from center line including getting
around VA Joseph Amato by stepping out of bounds and grabbing his arm as he steps back into play and getting to loose
ball that stayed in bounds at 45 yard line and continuing upfield. He rolls pass from 25 yard line across
to Sigma Alex Halis in middle and edge of box. Halis is cut off by retreating defender crossing his path but steers left
to get away 10 yard shot that's blocked by sliding goalie Colm Vance who trips him up. Zajac shoots in 12 yard rebound
from left into center of net between three defenders on goal line. (easy to believe that if a goal hadn't been scored,
a Penalty kick would have been given).
20 min...VA Walker blasts shot up middle from 30 yards well over net.
20 min...VA Whiteman wins freekick on left edge of Sigma box on knock over injurying him.
21 min...VA Jahsua Mills 24 yard freekick from far left is cleared from box.
22 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Zajac earns it for pulling down runner near right sideline.
24 mn...VA Jahsua Mills 30 yard freekick from right is passed over to center for VA Brandon Mills to blast 28 yarder
up middle that goalie palms over bar.
24 min...referee calls water break.
26 min...VA Jaahsua Mills cornerkick from left is low and VA Whiteman backheels pass through box but defender
in middle clears.
28 min...Sigma Halis 30 yard freekick from left has VA Gogarty head ball away on right side of box.
36 min...VA Walker run up middle into Sigma box but two derfenders squeeze him off ball.
37 min...Sigma Thomas rush on right eluding defender and cutting to edge of box and his low cross is cleared.
42 min...VA Whiteman 25 yard freekick from slight left is well over net. (three VA players lined up to take it).
47 min...half ends 4:50pm.

2nd Half:...starts 4:08pm...the weather is unchanged.
Halftime subs:...VA Harris replaces Jahsua Mills.
.................VA Zis replaces Amato.
45 min...VA Johnson cross from right after receiving tapped pass has defender head away on edge of 6 yard box.
47 min...VA Zis cross from 25 yards on left is over player in middle and VA Johnson charging in towards right
post shoots 7 yarder wide left.
49 min...VA player's cornerkick from right is cleared from box by Sigma Smith header that starts fast
Sigma breakout.
50 min...VA Whiteman cross from 25 yards on left has defender in middle head ball away despite being pushed.
51 min...VA Zis cornerkick from right hangs in the wind and VA John heads 12 yarder that goalie catches.
52 min...Sigma Thomas run on left to end line and cross has defender head away by flying on left side.
55 min...Sigma goalie rush out to 22 yards to clear ball before VA Sklublak can get to it.
55 min...Sigma sub...Ntabana replaces Stoddart.
56 min...Sigma Haliis and Thomas on give and go play get into VA box but Halis pushes ball over end line.
57 min...VA Sklublak survives bump by defenderr running to left side of box and his 10 yard shot from left
is into outside webbing of net.
58 min...VA Phillips gets to long pass up left and run to 20 yards but pushes ball too far forward
and rolls to goalie.
60 min...Sigma Halis rush to right end lne and low cross has Sigma Zajac flick up near right post over 6 yard
box and wide left.
60 min...VA Whiteman gets pass at 15 yards and low shot deflects off defender for cornerkick.
61 min...VA Brandon Mills cornerkick from left is cleared in box.
63 min...VA Brandon Mills high cross from 30 yards on right has goalie catch at 8 yards in middle of box.
65 min...VA Sklublak is upended at 27 yards in middle by sliding tackle, injurying him.
.........Sigma YELLOW card...Frano earns it for his part in last play.
65 min...Sigma sub...D'Mello replaces Walton.
66 min...VA player's low 33 yard freekick up mddle has VA Sklublak get foot to and goalie catches near right post.
Sklublak hops around with an injury.
69 min...Vaughan Thomas Sklublak GOAL...VA Jarek Whiteman cross from 30 yards on right has Sigma defender on edge
of 6 yard box head clearance forward to Sigma Arlic Ntabana on edge of 18 yard box in middle but VA Alexander Zis
pokes ball away over to Sklublak who blasts 17 yarder up middle around goalie Triston Henry at 2 yards and into
right side of net.
71 min...Sigma Grant 25 yard shot from right is caught by goalie.
72 min...Sigma Faisal Ghaffur GOAL...Sigma Guliano Frano on run on left gets around sliding VA Devante Walker
at 15 yards on far left and short centering cross falls to Ghaffur at 10 yards and his low shot is stopped
by sprawling goalie on left side of net. Ghaffur steps forward to shoot 6 yard rebound over prone goalie into
left side of net.
75 min...Sigma Zajac rush on left and waits too long to pass to middle. He turns back to tap back for Sigma Smith
and his low 25 yard shot from left is caught by goalie.
77 min...Sigma sub...Jodah replaces Zajac.
78 min...VA Sklublak falls but taps ball to VA Zis from 22 yards who rushes into right side of box and eludes defender
on edge of 6 yard box and sliding goalie but is checked off ball by another defender at 4 yards who clears ball
for Sigma fast break.
78 min...Sigma Grant on counter attack to right is given ball at 35 yard line on right and he runs to end line
and low cross has VA John do the splits at 8 yards to clear away.
79 min...VA Whiteman breaks through defenders cutting to middle almost with left post and 15 yard shot hits the left
post and deflects out for goalkick.
80 min...VA Sklublak pops header behind defenders at 28 yards and runs into box but is steered right chasing ball
but wins throw-in.
80 min...VA head coach Carmine Isacco is ejected for complaining.
81 min...VA Zis cornerkick from right is caught by goalie.
82 min...VA player's 22 yard freekick from left is blocked in player wall then clearance ia popped up. VA Zis
blast from 15 yards on left is saved by flying goalie. VA Whiteman blasts rebound from 8 yards down middle that
is saved by goalie and deflects for cornerkick on left.
84 min...VA Brandon Mills 35 yard freekick chip from left is caught by goalie on right side of box.
85 min...VA Phillips quick throw-in from left is upfield to VA Zis who rolls ball from endline through 6 yard
box unplayed.
86 min...VA sub...Zitoli replaces Walker.
.........Sigma sub...Kalonji replaces Thomas.
.........Sigma sub...Brar replaces Halis.
86 min...VA Halis low cross from 25 yards on far right deflects off defender's back at 15 yards to sprawling goalie
at 3 yards.
88 min...VA Brandon Mills blasts partial clearance from 28 yards up middle deflecting high off defender for cornerkick.
88 min...VA Zis cornerkick from right has VA Johnson pops up header from 12 yards that goalie catches on right post.
89 min...Sigma Jodah rush down right and VA Gogarty slde tackle pokes ball away on right edge of box.
90 min...VA Zitoli chips ball from 30 yards on left into box and VA Sklublak is given ball at 12 yards but can't get
away shot. VA Whiteman low cross from 22 yards on far rght has defender clear in 6 yard box.
91 min...VA Zis low cross from 25 yards on left s just step ahead of sliding VA Zitoli at 8 yards and goalie smothers.
93 min...Sgma Kalonji steals ball up middle at center line and weaves upfield but defender blocks his shot on edge of box.
93 min...VA Zis chips ball from 45 yards on right for VA Sklublak on edge of box in middle who heads ball down but defender clears.
94 min...game ends 5:57pm.

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

Attendance was about 90 on this warm afternoon after an early afternoon 
of rain and the sun came out in the second half. There was a strong 
gusty cross-field wind from the west throughout the whole game. 
This game was moved from the confines of McNaughton Field  23 km away 
and moved to two hours later to try and draw a large crowd and it was 
about double their usual crowd--maybe half Sigma supporters but the 
league had promoted this game hard. It turned out it is hard to get 
out a big crowd on a holiday weekend. TFC II had drawn a season 
low 156 last night at this stadium last night. The new rugby team 
Toronto Wolfpack drew 5 thousand downtown—down from 7 thousand 
other weeks.

Referee Alexis Vaughan gave out only two Yellow cards (one in each half 
to Sigma players). She also ordered a water break at 25 minutes and 
ejected Vaughan head coach Carmine Isacco at 80 minutes after much 
complaining throughout the game. He left the field then climbed a hill 
on the east side to continue to 'watch' the game maybe just signalling 
his players. Whispers in the crowd tracked his whereabouts. The hill 
is definitely outside the grounds and defending on the bylaws it may 
not even be part of the Ontario Soccer Centre property.

This was one game that could easily have finished in a tie 
as momentum 78 minutes onward was all Vaughan. It was one of those 
games where in portions the action was too fast to write down.

VA Jarek Whiteman broke through defenders on a run up the left and 
cutting to the middle almost even with the left post and his 15 yard 
shot hit the left goalpost at 78 minutes. 82 minutes had VA Alexander 
Zis blast a shot from 15 yards that the flying goalie Triston Henry 
knocked down. Whiteman blasted the rebound from 8 yards down the middle 
that was deflected wide by the goalie. Henry had a few more routine 
stops to make as well as better protection from defenders blocking 
or at least deflecting VA shots in the box.

Sigma moves into first place in the Western Conference with today's win 
with a record of 8 wins, 0 losses and 2 ties for 26 points. At this 
exact time in Oakville the first place Blue Devils (who held a one 
point advantage over Sigma) were being beaten 3-0 by Durham United.

I think this may be the year that Sigma wins the league. They have 
gotten off to 9-0-0 starts prior years but then at the end of July 
the migration of players starts for NCAA schools and by the time 
the season ends in October they are playing games with their high 
schoolers. Only two starters were younger than age 20. I'm guessing 
that anyone over 22 has likely finished school and are showcasing 
their skills for the upcoming Canadian Premier League which might 
start as early as next summer. You take six guys from Sigma, six 
from Vaughan in a similar situation, add six to eight foreign guys 
and some young guys who don't care about schooling and you've got 
enough players for a team. (my comments made from what I've heard 
about the playing caliber the CanPrem will expect). Moving them up 
will also make room for those high schoolers to get first team time. 
Anyway, for this season it may be Sigma's best chance with the older 
guys to win the West, win the championship game against the best 
in the East, then have a strong team to play in the early rounds 
of the Voyageurs Cup next spring as the CanPrem teams won't 
have started.

Vaughan's record falls to 6 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie for 19 points 
and are in third place in the East, six points behind (spoiler alert) 
as Woodbridge would pull further ahead in the game about the 
length of four football fields away that I would see about one 
hour after this game ended. Well let me get going!

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter RocketRobin01

Vaughan Azzurri starters