July 22, 2018 League 1 Ontario--Oakville Blue Devils vs Vaughan Azzurri L1O Cup semi-final (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday July 22, 2018 League 1 Ontario game between Oakville Blue Devils and Vaughan Azzurri
played at Sheridan College in Oakville at 4:00pm. This was a single game semi-final for the L1O Cup.

Oakville Blue Devils (all navy, white numbers)

....................26 Matt George
29 Carlo Difeo...6 Victor Gallo...5 Konner McNamara...22 Al James
.........17 Brandon Duarte...24 Mavir Gill...14 Taylor McNamara (cpt)
..........9 Filipe Vilela...23 Anthony Novak...30 Rajvir Khalon

Subs:...27 Karman Saini (gk)...4 Matt Monteiro...11 Judah Hernandez...21 Khody Ellis
...19 Logan Podrebarac...20 Hitesh Joshi...25 Stephen Ademolu
team officials:...team head coach Brett Mosen...assistant coaches Billy Steele, Duncan Wilde and Glenn McNamara
...therpaist Doug McMahon and Mark Heathcote

Vaughan Azzurri (white socks and shirts, red shorts, black numbers)

......................12 Micahel Argyrides
17 Devante Walker...23 Shiquan Lowe...11 Daniel Gogarty...4 Josh Kiselyov
.........21 Anthony Osorio...25 Justin Springer...10 Jason Mills
.........13 Ryan Raposo...19 Mario Koacevic...14 Jarek Whiteman (cpt)

Subs:...1 Sotaori Varlokostas (gk)...2 Jarred Phillips...3 Joseph Amato...6 Matthew Arnone
...7 Jashua Mills...15 Steve Kloutsouniotis...22 Jace Dayton Kotsoupoulos
team officials:...team head coach Carmine Isacco...assistant coaches Francesco Vescio, Hieu Quach, Patrice Gheisar,
Wayne Mills, and Vance Colm...therapist Estaban Clavijo

Game Officials:...referee Marko Ristic...referee's assistants Marc Henoud and Roshan Mendonsa
fourth official John Vlahos...(watermelon shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 4:01pm...OBD defend west end on this mild and overcast afternoon.
1 min...VA Jason Mills is injured at center line with knock to head.
5 min...VA Lowe passes ball back to goalie but goalie slips but recovers in time to clear.
6 min...VA Whiteman gets to loose ball and shoots 15 yarder from left that's caught by goalie.
6 min...OBD Novak corss from left end line has defender head ball along end line and defender on right send ball dangerously
back across 6 yard box before being cleared.
8 min...OBD Khalon low freekick from left is cleared by one man wall.
9 min...VA Osorio 30 yard freekick from right has VA Lowe in crowd of players head 7 yarder just high and wide right of top corner.
10 min...VA Goagarty 50 yard chip over players wide right.
11 min...OBD James is hurt blocking ball at VA 40 yard line and collapses out of bounds comes back on field but falls again.
14 min...OBD Khalon 33 yard freekick from far right is wide left of net.
15 min...VA Jason Mills 35 yard freekick from left has VA Lowe not able to turn header wide right of net at 6 yards.
19 min...OBD YELLOW card...Gallo earns it for hand ball on sliding block at OBD 40 yard line.
20 min...VA Osorio 45 yard freekick from right is whistled down in box.
24 min...OBD Difeo finishes pressure with 40 yard chip from right. OBD Taylor McNamara gets ball at 12 yards on far left and rolls
across box but defender clears.
26 min...OBD Difeo long throw-in from left is headed away in box by VA player. Difeo cross from far left wins a cornerkick.
27 min...OBD Khalon low cornerkick from right has goalie partially clear and defender further clears.
28 min...OBD Konner McNamara finishes OBD cornerkick from right with chance in box.
28 min...VA Jason Mills 22 yard shot up middle is well over net.
30 min...VA Kiselyov finishes VA pressure with chip of partial clearance at 35 yards on left that goalie catches behind crowd of players.
33 min...OBD Novak finishes off long threow-in play with 25 yard shot well high and wide right of net.
34 min...OBD Novak turns but has 22 yard shot blocked by defender.
36 min...VA Walker 50 yard chip from right has VA Kovacevic rescue on left end line with backheel but defender prevents shot on net.
37 min...OBD Duarte low shot up middle has goalie dive to left post to save.
38 min...OBD YELLOW card...(Gallo or Khalon) earns if for arm grab to slow down VA player's long rush.
39 min...VA Osorio 45 yard freekick from right has goalie punch ball out in crowd of players on left side of box.
40 min...VA Kiselyov long throw-in from left has VA Sporinger head 18 yard pop up just over bar.
42 min...OBD Khalon rolls through ball pass but goalie smothers before OBD Duarte can get to it.
45 min...half ends 4:46pm.

Second Half:...starts 5:03pm.
halftime subs:...OBD Ellis replaces Gill.
.................VA Kotsoupoulos replaces Raposo.
45 min...VA Kiselyov throw-in from left is cleared in OBD box for another throw-in.
46 min...VA Kiselyov long throw-in has VA Kotsoupoulos head from 7 yards down middle that goalie palms over bar.
47 min...VA Jarek Whiteman GOAL...VA Anthony Osorio cornerkick from right has Whiteman at 8 yards on right near
end line flick header into top right corner of net past goalie Matt George.
48 min...OBD player's cross from right is cleared from box.
49 min...OBD Vilela run on left to end linne and 12 yard shot is stopped by sliding goalie on post.
50 min...VA Springer is injured on clash of heads with teammate VA Gogarty at VA 33 yard line and needs trainer. Springer
stays in game.
53 min...OBD Difeo long throw-in from right is cleared from box.
55 min...VA Osorio cornerkick from right is over everybody. OBD players on fast break have both goalie and OBD player miss
header attempt at VA 22 yard line.
56 min...OBD Vilela cuts around defender and 10 yard shot hits top of bar.
57 min...OBD Vilela is fed pass up left and shoots 15 yarder wide right of net.
58 min...OBD Difeo long throw in from right but ball is cleared for cornerkick.
58 min...OBD Konner McNamara before OBD cornerkick complains about blood flowing from head of VA Gogarty.
59 min...OBD Novak spears shot forward and wide right left.
59 min...OBD Filipe Vilela is tripped up on a defender's sliding tackle at 5 yards on the left side of the VA box.
Referee Marko Ristic awards OBD a Penalty kick. The sun comes out for a few minutes!
60 min...OBD Filipe Vilela blasts his Penalty kick to the right side of net and flying goalie Michael Argyrides gets
over to stop it and a defender clears on the left side for a cornerkick.
61 min...OBD defender concedes cornerkick on 3 on 2 VA player's break after OBD waste short and low cornerkick that was cleared.
61 min...VA Osorio cornerkick from right has goalie punch ball away jumping near right post and defender clears from box.
62 min...VA Whiteman bashes down right and 10 yard shot on right end line is shot behind net.
62 min...VA Mario Kovacevic GOAL...VA Devante Walker rushes on right from center line and give and go with
VA Jarek Whiteman at 22 yards and Walker shoots low 12 yarder from right and sliding goalie stops at 6 yards. The ball
rolls along the right end line and VA Josh Kiselyov sends in high cross from right edge of box that's over to left side
where VA Jace Dayton Kotsoupoulos chests down on edge of 6 yard box. Kovacevic blasts 8 yard shot that OBD Victor Gallo
stops. Kovacevic gets to rebound and bends 8 yarder down middle into right corner of net with goalie screened behind
crowd of players.
64 min...OBD Khalon low cornerkick from right has him win another.
64 min...OBD Khalon low cornerkick is cleared on right after being stopped on near post by defender.
64 min...OBD Khalon cornerkick from right has goalie palm ball through box.
65 min...OBD Novak can't fully connect on 10 yard shot and goalie grabs ball after OBD work out short cornerkick.
65 min...OBD YELLOW card...Konner McNamara earns it for upending VA Osorio injurying him.
66 min...OBD sub...Joshi replaces Novak.
.........OBD sub...Hernandez replaces Duarte.
.........OBD sub...Ademolu replaces Khalon.
.........VA sub...Arnone replaces Springer.
68 min...VA Kotsoupoulos low 15 yard shot has goalie sprawl to save.
71 min...VA players make too many passes in box for perfect shot but end up with cornerkick.
71 min...VA Osorio cornerkick from right is low and into webbing of net.
72 min...OBD Vilela rush on left and eludes sliding defender and his 10 yard shot on left end line has goalie slide to save
and concede cornerkick on left post.
73 min...VA sub...Phillips replaces Kovacevic.
76 min...VA Whiteman rush on right sends perfect pass to VA Kotsoupoulos who shoots 12 yarder from left high and wide right of net.
77 min...VA Phillips low 15 yard shot around defender but wide right of net.
78 min...OBD Hernandez gets to bouncing ball and chips 20 yarder down middle over net.
82 min...VA Osorio cornerkick from right has goalie palm ball through box ahead of VA Whiteman.
83 min...VA Whiteman rolls through ball pass to VA Osorio whose low 18 yard shot is saved by goalie sliding forward at 8 yards.
84 min...VA Phillips runs ball on rush down right over end line trying to shake defender.
85 min...OBD Difeo long throw-in is pinged around in VA box and VA Kiselyov clears away.
86 min...OBD sub...Monteiro replaces Taylor McNamara (Ellis becomes captain).
87 min...VA sub...Kloutsouniotis replaces Whiteman who was injured earlier.
87 min...OBD Difeo long throw-in from right is cleared in box.
88 min...OBD Difeo is injured near right end line jumping for header and flipping onto his head.
91 min...OBD player's low cross from 25 yards has OBD Ademolu flick header forward but no OBD player can make play.
92 min...VA Walker gets back to nudge OBD Vilela off ball VA inside box preventing him from getting away shot.
94 min...VA Jason Mills on left has time to cut to center but his shot from 18 yards is wide right of net.
95 min...OBD Konner McNamara gets pass on left side of box and shoots wide left from 15 yards.
96 min...game ends 5:54pm.

Final Score:...Oakville Blue Devils........0.......Vaughan Azzurri.......2.......

Attendance was about 180 on this overcast day with rain that had fallen since the early morning but stopping in the
early afternoon. As if on cue the sun came out at exactly the same minute Felipe Vilela earned his Penalty kick
and murmurs in the crowd were like this was some divine intervention.

Michael Argyrides earned the shutout for Vaughan and he had to make some great saves but the defensive line held
up well and they had plenty of blocks and takeaways from OBD players threatening their box. Despite making four
subs during the game, the backline of Devante Walker, Shiquan Lowe, Daniel Gogarty, and Josh Kiselyov were left
on the field for the entire 96 minutes.

The game didn't turn out as I expected. Vaughan had played an exhibition friendly against Frosinone Calcio of Italian
Seria A on Friday night. Frosinone are in southern Ontario preparing for their return to top flight soccer for only
the second time in their long history. Frosinone 'only' beat Vaughan 2-1 in that game but I was suspecting Vaughan
would be tired as today's game wore on. I don't know much about the game except Dylan Sacramento scored the Azzurri
goal and I saw his name scratched out of the lineup sheet today. “Oh oh here we go” I was thinking. Assistant coach
Wayne Mills said the team rotated the squad and with friendlies there would be frequent substitutions. One of the
soccer dads said the visitors had a lot of players including trialists (a brutal schedule for them as they play
a select team from the Canadian Academy of Futbol on Monday night and Oakville Blue Devils on Wednesday night
(both games at Ontario Soccer Centre) and then are on to Michigan for a game against Detroit City FC on Tuesday July 31st.
The soccer dad said Vaughan has a big squad too as they can draw on York University players (there off season right now)
and their U-21 squad.

Certainly the Blue Devils pressed in the second half but it left them open to breakouts by Vaughan and goalie Matt George
had to make some fine saves to keep them in the game. Shooting accuracy could have been better on both teams for all
the shots sent wide or high and the goalies wouldn't have been able to stop them all.

Filipe Vilela had a rough day as besides the Penalty shot save he was checked off the ball several times. He really
carried the offence of the team in the second half. 49 minutes he had a run on the left to the end line and his 12 yard
shot was stopped by the sliding goalie on the near post. 56 minutes had him cut around a defender on the right and had
a 10 yard shot hit the top of the bar. The next minute he was fed a pass up the left and his 15 yard shot was wide right.
After the Penalty kick at 60 minutes he rushed up the left at 72 minutes eluding a sliding defender and his 10 yard shot
near the end line had the goalie slide on the left post and save and concede a cornerkick. Injury time had a retreating
Devante Walker get back to nudge Vilela off the ball inside the VA box and prevent him from a shot.

Regular season scorers Brandon Duarte with three, Filipe Vilela with four, and Anthony Novak with seven are listed
as the only OBD players to have scored. Duarte and Novak were both subbed out at 66 minutes. 'Senior' Supersubs
Judah Hernandez and Stephen Ademolu took their place. *(senior meaning well over age 30). The guy watching beside
me in the stands was mumbling about Vilela from right after the Penalty kick was “It's just not his day” which is what
I'd been thinking.

Vaughan had a play at 50 minutes where teammates Daniel Gogarty and Justin Springer clashed heads jumping trying
to connect on a header at the VA 33 yard line. Springer needed the trainer and returned to the game with a field bandage
wrapped around his forehead. Later in the game when OBD Konner McNamara was waiting for a cornerkick in the VA box,
he shouted out “Ref look at that guy's head...I don't want to be playing with that!” I could see through my binoculars
that Gogarty had blood dripping through his brushcut. The referee ordered him off the field for treatment and the
ensuring play led directly to the Penalty kick with VA short a man in the box.

Vaughan had a good chance for a second insurance goal (I can't say that anyone left the stands even during the six
minutes of injury time). 76 minutes had Jarek Whiteman rush on the right on a two on one and send a perfect pass
to Jace Dayton Kotsoupoulos who shot a 12 yarder from the left high and wide right of the top corner. 82 minutes
had Anthony Osorio send in a cornerkick from the right that the goalie had to palm through the box ahead of the waiting
Whiteman. 83 minutes had Whiteman roll a through ball pass to Osorio whose low 18 yard shot was saved by the goalie
sliding forward at 8 yards.

There were a few VA injuries that I was unsure of as serious or exaggerated time wasting but longest was actually for
the treatment of OBD Carlo Difeo who had amazed the crowd with catapulting long throw-ins into the VA box but while
jumping for a header actually almost jumped over a defender but flipped over and landed on his head and needed
the trainer. That play at 88 minutes actually delayed the referee's decision at 90 minutes as to how much extra time
to add as Difeo was still down on the field.

On the field double checking for assists after the game that when I heard it was Anthony Osorio I went over to say
what great cornerkicks he took the entire game and he wasn't the only hero in his family this weekend. His older
brother Jonathan scored the winning goal for TFC against Chicago Fire last night in MLS play. Younger brother Nicolas
plays for Alliance United of L1O. Anthony and Nicolas faced each other last weekend.

Vaughan move on to play Toronto FC III who won in a 6-5 in a seven Penalty kick round after a 90 minute regulation 1-1
result yesterday afternoon against Sigma FC. Vaughan made it to the Cup final last year but were beaten
by Woodbridge Strikers 3-1. They beat Woodbridge in the final for the Cup in 2016 and won the first ever Cup in 2014
in the inaugural year of L1O. This year they met and beat Woodbridge in the quarterfinal round.

The final was to take place two weekends from now although reference of the date and time and venue have now all been
changed on the league website to 'TBD'.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Oakville Blue Devils starters