Thurs July 7, 2016 League 1 Ontario--Watchlist: Woodbridge Strikers (from League 1 Ontario website)
Watchlist: Woodbridge Strikers 07/07/2016, 4:30pm EDT By Anthony Gallo An original member since the inception of League1 Ontario in 2014, Woodbridge Strikers has been one of the clubs with a winning record year after year. Celebrating their 40th anniversary this month, Woodbridge is again on a high in the League1 standings with both teams currently ranking among the top two of their respective divisions. The women’s section has been the latest addition to the club fold, finishing last year's inaugural women’s season in second place and assembling an impressive body of talent featuring current and former national team players, and a bounty of youth prospects. Head coach Joe Parolini stressed that results take a back seat to development. "Our goal is to place girls in professional leagues, scholarships mainly and national teams," said Parolini. Among the long list of Canadian and NCAA DI representatives in the team are the likes of 2015 Golden Boot winnder Jessica Lisi (Memphis University), Alyscha Mottershead (Canada senior team), Christabel Oduro (Canada senior team/ Memphis University), Mikayla Dayes (CAN U17), Emily Pietrangelo (former CANU17/ Pittsburgh University), Jayda Hylton-Pelaia (East Carolina), Lisa Pecheresky (Memphis University), Hope Sabadash (Southern Louisiana/ 2015 Second Team All-American) and Katherine Herron (SMU). Oduro also made headlines in 2015 after being signed to German professional club Herforder SV. On the men's side, Woodbridge has demonstrated an uncanny ability to mix senior, experienced players with younger prospects. The team has the best cumulative defensive record over its two and a half seasons, and is the current L1 Cup holder. Even with the success, the leap from youth focus to senior development has provided challenges for the Strikers. Technical Director and men’s head coach, Peter Pinizzotto said that he didn’t know what to expect from other teams at the outset of League1, but was grateful to have players on his Ontario Soccer League team that could step up a tier and give their team an edge. Players like Cristian Cavallini and Andrew Derayeh were part of that original team, and have been key parts for the Strikers for the past three years. Cavallini has had stints playing professionally in Uruguay professionally, while Derayeh attended the highly-regarded NCAA program at Oakland University. Woodbridge's system is intended to lead from the grassroots level all the way up to League1 Ontario, providing talented youth a pathway through to the Pro-Am level, and the club technical staff an extended period of assessment before bringing a player through to the top level. "Our job is to give them the best future possible," said Pinizzotto. Vice-president Adam Candido thinks the same way, mentioning that one way the club gives younger players an opportunity is to have anybody, even their ball retrievers, be involved on match days. "You need the youth because everybody gets older, and you want to encourage the youth any way you can," said Candido. "We want to show them the stepping stones to League1 and that they have opportunities here." Woodbridge men's players like Zachary Kalak (Dartmouth College), Ignazio Muccilli (Jacksonville University), Adrian Gallo and Joseph Jackson (Drogheda United FC) have all had opportunities to grow their games, thanks to the Strikers. The 2016 team also includes ex-professionals such as former Toronto FC player Oscar Cordon, Dylan Carriero (former Canada U20/ Dundee United/ Queen's Park Rangers), and goalkeeper Matt George (Csakvar FC). Having all these players is a reason why Woodbridge has been so dominant. "It's a matter of trying to identify quality players and then put a good squad out. Sometimes it can be hard, but I’ve been lucky enough for the last years to be very consistent and we’ve been trying to maintain the same players," said Pinizzotto. Candido explained further that the team still has room to grow, even with the results they have had over the years. "For us, there’s always room for improvement as you have to work hard to stay in where you are - it’s very easy to drop as well." "If there are players who come to us for an opportunity to develop as a player, obviously we're going to take them in because that’s what we want to do," said Candido. "The end result isn't winning or losing, it's developing these kids."
back to 2016 League 1 Ontario Men's index
.
.