August 13, 2024...League1 Ontario Weekly Rewind Week 16 (from League1 Ontario website)
13 August 2024
Weekly Rewind
There were some epic battles in League1 Ontario as teams fought for points with less than a handful of matchweeks remaining.
Top two pull away
Title-chasing Vaughan Azzurri have had a free-scoring matchweek in the Men’s Premier Division. Firstly, they dismissed
Burlington 4-0 on Wednesday thanks to a first half onslaught which saw the in-form Reshaun Walkes open the hosts’ account.
Then Saturday saw goals fired in across the division, with eight of them coming in a thrilling 4-4 tie between
Simcoe County Rovers and Vaughan; Ijah Halley’s spot-kick 13 minutes from time was enough to snatch a point off
the visitors after Vaughan had come back from 3-1 to lead the game 4-3.
Elsewhere, a late goal from Joseph Willingham-Murphy saw Burlington hold Sigma to a 1-1 tie, while ProStars ended their
losing run by winning late on at Alliance United thanks to Christian Lacuesta’s 86th minute strike – just a minute after
he had come off the bench.
North Toronto comfortably swept aside winless Hamilton United 3-0; Luca Di Marco’s brace proving the key difference.
Sunday’s two fixtures provided big results at both ends of the standings, as Guelph United picked up a precious point
at Blue Devils thanks to Gray Yates’ second-half penalty. It was Guelph’s second 1-1 tie of the week, after Jack Sears’
goal nine minutes from time rescued a point at home to bottom-side Hamilton United.
Meanwhile Scrosoppi reclaimed the lead at the top following a 2-1 win at Woodbridge Strikers. Omari Cotterell scored
the deciding goal which leaves the Strikers eight points behind their Sunday opponents with four games left.
Title race almost over
It wasn’t just the Men’s Premier Division that lit up this week, as the latest Men’s Championship matchweek brought
some twists and turns at the top and bottom of the standings.
On Friday, bottom-side Pickering completed a second-half turnaround to tie 2-2 with Master’s FA; picking up a huge
point in the process thanks to goals from Andi Mutembezi and Isaiah Wisdom.
Their closest relegation rivals Windsor City grabbed a point of their own after holding Darby to a 1-1 tie
thanks to Gonzalo Gil De Pareja Sena’s second-half goal. BVB IA Waterloo and North Mississauga also tied 1-1,
with Luc Coulombe’s second-half equalizer forcing the sides to share the spoils.
Saturday’s two games focused on the top in the standings, with TFC Academy maintaining their lead by ending
St Catharines Roma Wolves’ long winning run with a 4-2 victory. FC London, however, lost ground in the title
race after Hans-Conny Chery’s late goal for Unionville Milliken meant their clash finished 3-3.
The two results mean that if TFC Academy win at Windsor City next time out, then they will be crowned the division’s
inaugural champions with one game to go. FC London also need a point to secure automatic promotion after Chery’s
heroics kept Unionville within touching distance… for now.
There’s also potential for either St Catharines Roma Wolves or Unionville Milliken to qualify for the promotion
playoff game, and both have 29 points with the latter having played one less game.
Women’s action
The Women’s League2 Final saw Vaughan Azzurri B crowned the division champions after they beat Alliance United B 3-1,
and they have earned promotion to the Women’s Championship for the 2025 season.
Women’s Premier champions NDC Ontario tied 1-1 with League1 Québec’s CS Mont-Royal Outremont in their League1 Canada
Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship semifinal, only to lose in a penalty shootout.
However, they did come back strong to beat Calgary Blizzard 1-0 on Sunday thanks to Adriana Bianchin’s early strike.
They held on to earn bronze as League1 BC’s Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Academy beat CSMRO to retain the title.
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