August 4, 2018 League 1 Ontario--Vaughan Azzurri vs Toronto FC III (Men's Cup Final) (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Saturday August 4, 2018 League 1 Ontario game between Vaughan Azzurri and Toronto FC III
played at The Ontario Soccrer Centre in Vaughan at 7:30pm. This was the L1O Cup Final.

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

................12 Jarred Brown
5 Devante Walker...25 Justin Springer...23 Shiquan Lowe...6 Matthew Arnone
21 Anthony Osorio...9 Andranik Kagramanyan...8 Dylan Sacramento...2 Jarred Phillips
.........7 Jace Dayton Kotsoupoulos...14 Jarek Whiteman (cpt)

Subs:...1 Shyon Gaeeni (gk)...3 Joseph Amato...4 Josh Kiselyov...10 Jason Mills
...13 Ryan Raposo...15 Austin Ricci...20 Daniel Cramarossa
team officials:...team head coach Carmine Isacco...assistant coaches Francesco Vescio, Hieu Quach,
Patrice Gheisar, and Wayne Mills...therapist Estaban Clavijo

Toronto FC III (all red, white numbers)

.............1 Sebastian Sgarbossa
2 Kai Martin...5 Luke Singh...4 Mohamed Omar...3 Afram Gorgees
7 Ryan Robinson...8 Joshua Moreira (cpt)...6 Noble Okello...13 Kunle Dada-Luke
.............9 Zakaria Abdi...10 Mehdi Essoussi

Subs:...12 Spencer King (gk)...11 Ralph Priso...14 Kaeson Trench...15 Sal Mazzaferro
...16 Antonio Carlini...18 Jayden Nelson...19 Daniel Bilousov
team officials:...team head coach Danny Dichio...assistant coaches Angelo Cavalluzzo, Benoit Cheyrou,
and Marco Casalinuovo...manager Daniel Marozzo...therapist Samra Habtom

Game officials:...referee Scott Bowman...referee's assistants John Vlahos and George Suliman
...fourth official Marco Ristic...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 7:33pm...VA defend north end on this hot and humid evening.
Tech difficulties from the last game must have been solved because the national anthem was played.
2 min...TFC Essoussi cornerkick from left has defender flick away and start fast break out.
3 min...Vaughan Azzurri Jace Dayton Kotsoupoulos GOAL...VA Shiquan Lowe at VA 30 yard line in middle rolls pass over
to VA Jarred Phillips at VA 45 yard line on right sideline. Phillips chips ball from VA 40 yard line that lands at TFC 22 yards
on left and bounces towards middle where charging Kotsoupoulos gets behind defender and chips 10 yarder on second bounce from
middle into low left corner of net over goalie Sebastian Sgarbossa finally stepping forward to 7 yards.
4 min...VA Osorio low 22 yard shot from right that goalie smothers.
7 min...TFC Dada-Luke cross from left into VA box has defender boot away.
7 min...VA Osorio on run to TFC 40 yard line feeds pass up middle to VA Kotsoupoulos at 30 yard line over on right and he rolls 15 yarder
just wide left of post.
9 min...VA Arnone rush on right from TFC 40 yard line and low cross from 15 yard line into 6 yard box has charging VA Kotsoupoulos tip ball
from 8 yards high and wide right of net.
10 min...TFC Singh dribbles up middle and 28 yard shot tips off defender at 22 yards and deflectcs to goalie to catch.
11 min...TFC Essoussi 22 yarder from left edge of box has defender head ball away.
12 min...TFC rush on right and cross to TFC Dada-Luke has goalie catch before he can get to it.
13 min...TFC Abdi turns and low 22 yarder up middle is picked up by goalie.
16 min...VA Walker checks TFC Dada-Luke off ball inside left side of VA box and breaks out.
17 min...VA Osorio is passed centering ball and 8 yard shot tips off defender and over net for cornerkick.
17 min...VA Sacramento cornerkick is whistled down in box.
21 min...TFC Dada-Luke pass to TFC Abdi but VA Lowe back to make huge block on 7 yard shot from left.
22 min...VA Springer gets back to head TFC player's cross from right sending it out for cornerkick.
23 min...TFC Gorgees cornerkick from right has TFC Okello shoot 20 yard roller up middle tipping off defender for another cornerkick.
24 min...TFC Robinson cornerkick from right is short and upfield and wasted.
24 min...TFC Abdi and TFC Moreira double header of ball from right and VA defender dribbles away on left side of box.
25 min...TFC Essoussi clears VA cross through box from left.
26 min...A water break is called.
28 min...play resumes.
30 min...VA YELLOW card...Walker earns it for sliding tackle at VA 30 yard line.
31 min...TFC Gorgees 25 yard freekick after TFC Essoussi fakes taking kick on left and goalie catches on left side of box.
31 min...VA Osorio cornerkick from right has ball knocked away but VA Springer sky ball in crowd of players at 10 yards over net.
34 min...VA Osorio chips 30 yard freekick up middle and VA Arnone heads ball at 6 yards on left and VA Lowe scissor kick into
net from right side. The goal is called back for being offside.
35 min...VA Kotsoupoulos low cross along right ennd linne has VA Sacramento tip 5 yarder that's smothered by sliding goalie in center
of goal.
37 min...VA Sacramento 35 yard freekick from slight left has defender flick for cornerkick with header.
38 min...VA Osorio cornerkick from right has goalie swat ball left through box while flying forward through crowd of players.
41 min...VA goalie smothers loose ball at 6 yards.
43 min...TFC Martin 25 yard freekick near left cornerflag is off head in one man wall.
44 min...TFC YELLOW card...Robinson earns it for tackle on VA Phillips injurying him on breakout at VA 35 yard line.
45 min...VA Walker throw-in from right to VA Kotsoupoulos hit ball back to him and Walker then crosses for VA Sacramento hits top left
corner of bar with 12 yard header.
46 min...VA Sacramento cross from 20 yards on left has defender clear on edge of 6 yard box.
48 min...half ends 8:21pm.

Halftime Entertainment: There's a t-shirt with an anti-racism message and water bottle toss. Because they were thrown to the crowd
by the young ball boys, they didn't go very many rows up.
The Vaughan players stayed on the sideline during the intermission and TFC III only the reserves did not return to the dressing room.

Second Half:...starts 8:37pm...the sun is now sunk below the stands and the weather is finally cooling.
Halftime sub:...TFC sub...Nelson replaces Robinson.
47 min...VA goalie is bale to clear through hard pass back before TFC player can get to him.
49 min...VA Osorio is injured on clip by TFC player injurying him at TFC 50 yard line.
.......VA YELLOW card...Phillips earns it for dissent about last play.
50 min...VA Osorio 45 yard freekick from right has TFC Omar pop up header in box and other defender clears.
52 min...TFC Dada-Luke has VA Singh check him off ball on left end line.
53 min...TFC YELLOW card...Abdi earns it for tackle injurying VA Osorio at VA 50 yard line.
54 min...TFC Essoussi 30 yard freekick from right bends high wide left of top corner of net.
56 min...TFC Nelson rolls ball forward on right and goalie out to smother before TFC forward can get to it.
57 min...VA Kotsoupoulos 28 yard shot from right is wide left of net.
58 min...TFC goalie out to 40 yards to make clearance.
58 min...TFC Dada-Luke run down left and rolls centering cross and defender stops and clearest 10 yards.
60 min...Vaughan Jace Dayton Kotsoupoulos GOAL...VA goalie Jarred Brown takes freekick from VA 25 yards line.
VA Jarek Whiteman tips ball up with foot at 30 yard line on right then midair volleys centering pass
to VA Dylan Sacramento who misses but ball bounces to Kotsoupoulos at TFC 22 yard line. He runs forward to edge
of box but two defenders are waiting so he rolls pass to right for charging Whiteman who catches up to ball on right
endline and one-touches off-balance cross between four defenders to Kotsoupoulos at 7 yards in middle and he fires
low shot between two defenders to right corner of net.
61 min...TFC sub...Priso replaces Essoussi.
61 min...TFC Abdi shoots 20 yarder down middle high wide right after being set up with pass from left.
63 min...TFC sub...Bilousov replaes Moreira. (Gorgees now becomes captain).
63 min...TFC Gorgees 30 yard freekick from left is high and wide right of net.
65 min...VA Whiteman gets long pass downfield and one-touch chips 25 yarder onto roof of net.
66 min...TFC Neslon beats two defenders on rush on right into box and wins cornerkick on deflection.
67 min...TFC Nelson cornerkick from right has TFC Singh 20 yard shot deflects for cornerkick.
67 min...TFC Nelson cornerkick from right has defender on right side head ball away.
68 min...TFC Nelson cornerkick from right is through players and TFC player chip from 25 yards wide right of net.
69 min...TFC Martin rush down middle eluding tackle and pass right to TFC Abdi who shoots 22 yarder high wide left
of top corner.
69 min...A water break is called.
71 min...play resumes.
73 min...TFC Gorgees has defender sliding tackle concede cornerkick.
73 min...TFC Gorgees cocrnerkick from left has goalie leap and palm through box.
74 min...TFC Priso cornerkick from right has goalie punch away and wins freekick as he was pushed over in crowd.
75 min...VA sub...Raposo replaces Kotsoupoulos.
75 min...TFC goalie is out to 25 yards on left to clear ball before VA Raposo can get to it.
76 min...TFC Daniel Bilousov receives pass at VA 16 yard line on left side. He dribbles to just inside box and holds
up as VA Matthew Arnone is in his way. VA Dylan Sacramento runs in from right and bodychecks him over. Referee Scott Bowman
calls for a Penalty kick after some confusion as Sacramento knocked him over so hard that he landed outside the box.
77 min...TFC Afram Gorgees GOAL...Gorgees blasts Penalty kick low to left side past diving goalie Jarred Brown.
78 min...TFC YELLOW card...Okello earns it for tackle on VA Osorio at VA 40 yard line.
79 min...VA Osorio cornerkick from left has goalie pop ball up then punch away.
80 min...VA Phillips receives pass up the middle and blasts 25 yarder that hits defender and deflects for fast break.
81 min...VA Kagramanyan feeds chip through ball to VA Phillips and he chips 15 yarder that hits the bar and the ball pops
up and back into play 20 yarder downfield.
81 min...TFC YELLOW card...Singh earns it for TFC 35 yaard line for pull down of VA Phillips.
82 min...VA Raposo is fed pass by VA Phillips and shoots low 15 yarder from right that sliding goalie steps at 7 yards.
83 min...VA Arnone 30 yard blasts up middle is low wide left of goal. Arnone was injured falling after that kick and needs trainer.
85 min...TFC Nelson rolls ball in VA box and defender clears at 8 yards.
88 min...VA sub...Cramarossa replaces Sacramento.
93 min...VA Phillips eludes tackle but 33 yard chip is well high wide left of net.
94 min...TFC Gorgees 40 yard freekick from left has ball palmed over net by goallie behind TFC Abdi charging across box at 6 yards.
95 min...TFC Nelson cornerkick from right is partially cleared by two defender and TFC Dada-Luke shoots 20 yarder between players
just wide right of post.
96 min...VA Whiteman is injured on tackle at TFC 40 yard line.
96 min...VA sub...Kiselyov replaces injured Whiteman.
97 min...game ends 9:29pm.

Final Score......Vaughan Azzurri....2.....Toronto FC III....1.....

Attendance was not announced but the stands were almost full. L1O commissioner Dino Rossi said after the game that
the stands can hold 1200 but no one usually sits in the first few rows because of people walking along the ground
to the exit. He said they took 560 tickets sold but many others get through by passes. I'd read that some benefactor
for the Vaughan club bought up all the tickets. I'd say that with the standees along the railing there would be at least
1000...biggest L1O game of the season on this hot and humid evening with the setting sun in the north west.
The referee arranged for a water break in each half.

MVP of the game was obviously Kotsoupoulos with both Vaughan goals.

Vaughan almost put the game away after the first goal with Kotsoupoulos rolling a shot just wide left of the post
at 7 minutes and then 2 minutes later VA Matthew Arnone crossed in from the 15 yard line into the 6 yard box and
the charging Kotsoupoulos tipped an 8 yarder just high and wide right of the net. The game settled down to be more
even with no fantastic chances until 35 minutes when Kotsoupoulos sent in a low cross along the right end line
and Sacramento got a foot in to tip a 5 yarder that the sliding goalie was able to smother. 45 minutes had
VA Devante Walker cross in from near the right sideline that Sacramento popped a 12 yard header from the center
of the box that hit the bar on the left post.

The second half from about the 52 minute mark TFC took over for stretches of the half even after the insurance goal
that Vaughan finally scored. 81 minutes had VA Andranik Kagramanyan on a chip sent in a through ball to Phillips
and he chipped a 15 yarder that hit the bar so hard that the ball popped up and back into play 20 yards downfield.
Six minutes of injury time had TFC's best chances with TFC Afram Gorgees 40 yard freekick from the left had the
goalie palm the ball over the net behind TFC Zakaria Abdi charging across the box at 6 yards. The resulting
Jayden Nelson cornerkick from the right was partially cleared by two headers and TFC Kunle Dada-Luke shot a 20 yarder
between players just wide right of the post. A tying goal would have sent the game straight to Penalty kicks as the
same way TFC III got here by beating Sigma FC in the semi-final.

With TFC and TFC II both playing out of town tonight, TFC III didn't have any drop downs to stack the roster and used
an all teenage team. 'Old man' defender Mohamed Omar from 1999 was the only player born in the last century.

Vaughan won this year after losing in the final to Woodbridge last season. This year they knocked out two time winner
Woodbridge in the quarterfinal round. This is now the third time in the five years of the league that Vaughan has won
the L1O Cup. The won the inaugural tourney in 2014 and then again in 2016. Now 2018—looks like they win in the even
number years.

This game started almost immediately with no warmup. I TFC official I asked said the teams got to warm up on the indoor
field while the Women's final was still playing. That game ended just before 7:00pm (lucky for the organizers that
Penalty kicks were not needed) but after that was the medal and Cup presentation.

I didn't notice any representation by York 9 FC or their fans. This would have been an opportunity this holiday weekend
for a table to be set up just outside the one gate and someone handing out postcards with the web address seeking
memberships. I know York 9 has been hitting the youth soccer market hard including Vaughan but this would have been
another chance/reminder. I don't think TFC parents would have objected as ex-TFC Academy players like Dylan Sacramento
and Anthony Osorio now play for Vaughan and will probably be seeking opportunities for Canada Premier League positions.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter: @RocketRobin01

Vaughan Azzurri starters