August 4, 2018 League 1 Ontario--Woodbridge Strikers vs Unionville Milliken (Women's Cup Final) (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Saturday August 4, 2018 League 1 Ontario game between Woodbridge Strikers and Unionville Milliken SC
played at Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 5:00pm. This was the Women's final of the L1O Cup.

Woodbridge Strikers (all blue uniforms, white shoulders and numbers)

....................1 Vanessa Fiore
11 Diamond Simpson...14 Christina White...10 Alyscha Mottershead (cpt)...18 Kira Bertrand
23 Vanessa Thompson...6 April Syme...15 Vladanka Gurovski...19 Erica Brunet
............8 Christabel Oduro...7 Jenny Wolever

Subs:...25 Sarah-Anisha Bradbury (gk)...2 Kylee Bertrand...3 Karissa Jivraj...4 Calaigh Copland
...12 Katelynn Vindis...16 Justina Meneses
team officials:...team head coach David Porco...assistant coach Trevor Bertrand...manager Adam Candido
...therapist Ben Intarakosit

Unionville Milliken SC (all red, white shoulders and numbers)

....................1 Levanta Staggolis
16 Julia Micic...2 Trinity Esprit...10 Coco Kontos...13 Caroline Tepelenas
5 Valentina Khan...4 Payton Robertson...14 Tina Lacava (cpt)...8 Chelsea Cheung
............12 Journey Lashley...9 Natasha Klasios (cpt)

Subs:...20 Isabella Barbieri (gk)...7 Jessica Perusin...15 Claire Michalicka...19 Zanyece Harris-Wright
team officials:...assistant coaches Alex Morales and Paul Omoghan...therapist Edward Nigro

Game officials:...referee Brad Doubrough...referee's assistants Derrick Farwell and Daniel Boduryan
...fourth official Michael Heuthe...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 5:02pm...WS defends north end on this hot, sunny, and humid late afternoon with
a breeze from the south west.
6 min...WS Gurovski cornerkick from left has WS Thompson tip header from 12 yards on left post wide right of net.
7 min...WS Mottershead takes ball off UM Lacava preventing shot.
7 min...WS goalie is out to 12 yards to pipck up bouncer before UM Cheung can make play.
11 min...WS Oduro rescues ball on left end line and wins cornerkick on deflection.
12 min...WS player cornerkick from left has UM Kontos head ball away.
15 min...WS Wolever short pass to WS Oduro whose 10 yard shot deflects off defender for cornerkick.
15 min...WS Gurovski low cornerkick from left has UM Esprit stop ball and start fast break out.
18 min...WS Gurovski on left center pass to WS Oduro in middle who passes back to WS Wolever who shoots 15 yarder wide left.
19 min...WS Simpson 30 yard freekick up mdidle dips onto roof of net.
22 min...WS players is centered roller from left and he low 15 yarder tgips off defender and rolls to goalie.
24 min...A water break is called.
26 min...play resumes.
27 min...WS Gurovski pass down middle from 35 yards and WS Wolever at 15 yards has defender check her off the ball.
29 min...WS Gurovski has 10 yrd shot along left end line is tipped off defender for cornerkick.
30 min...Woodbridge Strikers April Syme GOAL...WS Vladanka Gurovski cornerkick from left has Syme charging across the box
from the right heads a 7 yarder up the middle over the sprawling goalie Levanta Staggolis.
31 min...UM Lashley is checked off the ball on sliding WS White in WS box before she can take shot.
33 min...UM Lacava cornerkick from right has UM Cheung have shot blocked from 20 yards. Cheung gets ball passed back
and blasts 22 yarder up middle just over top right corner of net.
The scoreboard goes wonky for the rest of the game as the 'minute' digit doesn't work and keeps having to be manually set.
36 min...UM Cheung chips 40 yarder from left that goalie catches at 10 yards in middle ahead of UM Lashley.
39 min...WS sub...Kylee Bertrand replaces Brunet.
40 min...WS Thompson cross from 15 yards along right endline has charging WS Wolever knock ball wide right of post from 3 yards.
42 min...WS Oduro is in alone on left and holds up to pass back to WS Kylee Bertrand who chips 25 yarder from left that goalie
catches on bounce wide right of post.
42 min...UM Lashley pass is centered to middle from 25 yards but WS goalie picks up ball at 12 yard line before UM Klasios can
get to it.
43 min...WS Oduro run along right end line but pushes ball over end line trying to deke defender.
44 min...WS Wolever intercepts clearance off UM Esprit and 15 yards hot from left has goalie fly at 7 yards to catch
on right side of net.
47 min...WS Thompson tries to cut around UM Kontos but ends up with 12 yard shot from right that's caught by goalie on right post.
47 min...half ends 5:49pm.

Halftime Entertainment: the ball girls toss 'Race Against Racism' t-shirts and empty refillable water bottles to the crowd.
The Mississauga Police are one of the sponsers of the League 1 Ontario Women's league (although not with the men).

Second Half:...starts 6:05pm.
45 min...WS Oduro short pass to WS Wolever who shoots low 20 yarder up middle that sprawling goalie stops on left post then smothers.
46 min...WS goalie smothers 15 yard roller from right near post.
47 min...WS Mottershead 30 yard shot up middle between players is caught by goalie under bar.
49 min...WS Thompson 20 yard shot from right is caught by goalie.
50 min...UM Micic chips 35 yarder from left that's just over net.
50 min...WS Gurovski is bumped off ball by defender before she can get 10 yard shot on net.
51 min...WS Gurovski cornerkick from right eventually wins another cornerkick on deflection.
51 min...WS players waste a short cornerkick from right winning a throw-in on long shot that's blocked.
53 min...UM Lashley bashes through defenders but her off balance 15 yard shot rolls to goalie.
54 min...WS Kylee Bertrand 30 yard shot from left has goalie tip ball wide right of top corner of net.
55 min...WS player's cornerkick from right is knocked around but WS Mottershead chips 25 yarder down middle well over net.
58 min...WS Oduro rolls 22 yarder down middle that goalie picks up.
59 min...UM YELLOW card...Khan earns it for tackle at UM 50 yard line near sideline.
59 min...WS Wolever receives long freekick at 10 yards on left but can't get away shot but wins cornerkick on end line tip.
60 min...WS Gurovski high cornerkick from left has WS player pop header over end line on right.
61 min...WS Wolever on left passes ball back to WS Syme on right who shoots wide left from 18 yards.
62 min...UM sub...Perusin replaces Micic.
62 min...WS Oduro cross from 15 yards on right end line is knocked down and picked up by goalie.
65 min...WS Kira Bertrand amkes key header at 10 yards on cross from left.
66 min...UM Perusin low 28 yard shot from left is caught by goalie diving to right side of box.
67 min...WS goalie is out to edge of box gto beat UM Klasios to through ball chip.
68 min...WS sub...Copland replaces Gurovski.
68 min...UM Klasios low 22 yard shot from left has diving goalie fumble but with playethof time to recover and smother on right.
70 min...A water break is called.
72 min...play resumes.
73 min...UM Klasios 20 yard shot from right is caught by goalie on near post.
74 min...WS Oduro 40 yard freekick from right is caught by goailie behind players.
75 min...UM Lashley rush down on left and centers to UM Klasios but she is not able to get away shot in box.
75 min...WS YELLOW card...Oduro earns it at UM 50 yards for a tackle or kicking the ball away after whistle.
76 min...WS sub...Meneses replaces Thompson.
77 min...UM sub...Michalicka replaces Lacava.
79 min...WS Oduro passes forward to charging WS Kylee Bertrand but defender intercepts at 12 yards.
80 min...WS Oduro receies low pass from right and stops and shoots low 15 yarder from left that goapoie smothers after making stop.
81 min...UM Cheung pass to UM player whose 20 yarder down middle is smothered by goalie.
84 min...UM Perusin rescues long pass on left and rolls 22 yarder that gaolie smothers on left post.
84 min...WS Oduro rolls through ball pass from 25 yards down middle and WS Copland rolls 10 yard shot wide left of post.
88 min...UM Klasios 25 yard freekick from far right has defender sky clearance. WS goalie stops 28 yard shot rolled between players.
89 min...UM play is called offside but goalie stops 10 yard tipped shot anyway.
92 min...WS YELLOW card...Syme earns it for head clash at center line.
93 min...UM player's ccetnering from UM Lashley is ready for pass although she trips up but WS Syme clears ball out to side from 10 yards.
94 min...game ends 6:54pm.

Final Score:....Woodbridge Strikers......1.......Unionville Milliken SC......0........

Attendance was about 200 on this extremely hot and humid late afternoon. This was a game where a water break in each half was
really required with the humidity making it somewhere above 40 C. There was a man who had a seizure in the crowd just watching
the game. Some of the fans had been given thundersticks to bang together to make noise.

April Syme is a defender but comes upfront for cornerkicks despite being one of the shortest players in the league.

Vanessa Fiore earned the shutout for Woodbridge with a few key saves. Her brother Nicholas is the back up goalie for Pro Stars FC.

They had an unrushed closing ceremony with medal presentations to both finalists players and staff and the trophy presentation
to captain Alyscha Mottershead. Then the team posed for pictures in the goal at the north end before leaving for the dressing
rooms. The men's game was scheduled to start at 7:30pm. If the game had have been tied, they would have gone straight
to Penalty kicks. The men's game did start on time. I asked about the lack of warm up but a TFC III staff member answered
that both teams got to warm up at the indoor facility.

This is the first Cup win for the Women's Woodbridge team as they were losing finalists the last two years. Interesting the
first year (2015) winner was North Mississauga and the present Vaughan assistant coach Trevor Bertrand and two of his daughters
playing in today's game—Kira and Kylee Bertrand all were with the 2015 Cup champs. Now was not the appropriate time to ask
why but I asked if it was somewhat the same reason that Rick Titus left coaching the men's team of North Mississauga to run
coaching of the Master's FA men's team? 'A change of management direction' was a good enough answer from Trevor Bertrand
to answer me. Trevor's neice Tafari Bertrand was also on that 2015 winning team.

My link with Women's soccer is fading but I did congratulate to champs Christabel Oduro and Alyscha Mottershead who were with
W-League Toronto Lady Lynx in years past. I didn't realize until after the game that today's MVP winner April Syme was
on the 2014 Lynx team.

Unionville had only brought 15 players for this game. I don't know why they didn't have a full bench. I saw from the game
roster that nine of the players were born in 2001 or 2002 so that was a very young team. From the League website I counted
that of the 18 players that have played at least one game, only 9 were in today's lineup.

Only two of the Woodbridge players were born this century.

Woodbridge are in fifth place in the league with a record of 5 wins, 0 losses, 3 ties for 18 points. They have played fewer
games than the other teams in the league. Unionville are in eighth place with a record of 4 wins, 3 losses, 2 ties for 14 points
in the thirteen team league. First place FC London with 8 wins, 0 losses, 1 tie are runaway leaders in league play but were
surprisingly ousted by Vaughan when they started play in the second round.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter: @RocketRobin01

Woodbridge Strikers starters