June 5, 2022 League1 Ontario...Vaughan Azzurri vs St Catharines Roma Wolves game report (by Rocket Robin)

..................

Results and details of the League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game of Sunday June 5, 2022 between
Vaughan Azzurri and St Catharines Roma Wolves played at North Maple Regional Park at 8:30pm.

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

.................1 Christian Calabro
........17 Alejando Portal Oliva...6 Justyn Thomas...19 Daniel Gogarty
5 Raheem Rose...10 Jason Mills...23 Andron Kagramanyan...3 Riley Ferrazzo...20 Massimo Ferrin
.............8 Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez...21 Dylan Carreiro (cpt)

Subs:...12 Anthony Gurrieri (gk)...2 Ryan Khedoo...7 Jahsua Mills...11 Joe Mack
...13 Taesung Park...14 Trevor Carabin...15 Joshua Pulla...16 Saahb Kular
...18 Baldwin Thomas Cerros
team officials:...team head coach Patrice Gheisar...assistant coaches Anthony Vadori and Jorden Felciano
...manager Antonio De Palma...therapist Katie Bartley

St Catharines Roma Wolves (all white uniforms, red numbers)

.................1 Carson Provenzano
.......17 Elijah Wanless...12 Ethan Miskolczi...4 Luca Ragagnin (cpt)
5 Victo Kariuki...14 Jordan Clements...27 Matthew Wnukowski...26 Nicholas Andreola
...........22 Gianluca Delpriore...10 Luca Danesi...11 Jake Kelly

Subs:...31 Taylor Miskolczi (gk)...2 Justin Dargue...13 Daniel Cavaluzzo...23 Matthew Roda
...25 Christian Piccolotto...33 Constaltino Apostolou...38 Nick Proctor
team officials:...team head coach Federico Turriziani...assistant coach Davide Massafra...manager Carmine Provenzano
...suspended Autumb Frigole (player)

Game officials:...referee Twayne Anderson...referee's assistants Anthony Di Mambro and Amanda Kwan
...fourth official George Soliman...(neon chartreuse shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 8:32pm...VA defends south end.
6 min...VA Ferrazzo dribbles while cutting in from left and his 30 yard roller is picked up by goalie.
7 min...VA Benitez Hernandez pops up ball with foot, VA Rose passes over to left and defender clears at 10 yards.
8 min...VA Benitez Hernandez is injured in box but play continues upfield into VA end.
11 min...VA Benitez Hernandez wins freekick when knocked over at SC 22 yard line.
11 min...VA Benitez Hernandez bends 22 yard freekick from slight right missing the top right corner of net.
13 min...VA have a good four minute spell of most of the possession.
17 min...VA Kagramanyan cross near right end line from 18 yards has VA one-touch low 8 yard shot that's stopped.
17 min...Wolves Luca Danesi GOAL...Wolves Nicholas Andreola chips pass from 45 yards that Danesi receives
at 25 yards on right and he blasts shot into top right corner of net over flying goalie Christian Calabro.
19 min...W Wnukowski is injured at W 40 yard line and needs trainer although VA win the freekick call.
21 min...VA Kagramanyan taps freekick from 40 yareds to VA Ferrin who blasts 33 yarder wide left of net.
22 min...W player's 40 yard freekick down middle is caught by goalie who survives collision with W Delpriore.
24 min...VA Rose receives ball at 28 yards in middle and blasts low shot that goalie dives to save.
VA Benitez Hernandez is called offside on rebound try.
26 min...VA Carreiro 35 yard freekick from right bounces to charging VA Rose but he can't get away shot when defenders
converge at 15 yards on right side of box.
29 min...VA players have short rush up middle and low 35 yard shot is wide left.
31 min...VA players recover to clear mess up in own box.
31 min...W Danesi point blank shot is saved by goaie at 12 yards. W Wanless follow up blast from left is well high
and wide right of net.
33 min...VA Benitez Hernandez is checked off ball as he dribbles into box on right.
36 min...VA Dylan Carreiro cross from 40 yards on left has W goalie Carson Provenzano knock over
VA Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez on left side of the box. Referee Twayne Anderson signals for a Penalty kick.
37 min...VA Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez blasts low Penalty kick wide of left of the post.
38 min...VA Massimo Ferrin GOAL...VA Dylan Carreiro dribbles to right end line and sends in cross. Ferrin charges
in from left and takes low 12 yard shot into low right corner of net.
40 min...VA Alejandro Portal Oliva GOAL... Portal Oliva shoots low 15 yard shot from left into right side of net.
41 min...W Kelly run up left adn rolls centering pass forward but goalie out to 15 yards to beat two players.
42 min...W Kelly is first to long pass up left at 20 yard line but first-touch is over end line.
42 min...W Ragagnin gives hip check injurying a VA player.
43 min...W YELLOW card...Ragagnin earns it for argueing a call during dust up.
44 min...VA Ferrin 25 yard freekick from left is well high of net.
45 min...W Wanless cornerkick from left has partially cleared and rebound blast from 25 yards deflects off defender wide left.
45 min...W Wanless cornerkick from left is high and headed away. W Andreola's follow up is well over bar and back fence.
46 min...half ends 9:18pm.

Halftime: Both sides warm up their subs but Wolves only have half their's out there.

Second Half:...starts 9:36pm.
47 min...VA Ferrazzo eludes defender up middle stops between two more and takes 18 yard shot well over net.
50 min...W Kariuki gets back in play to check VA Carreiro off ball on run along end line.
51 min...VA Carreiro cross along 5 yard line on left has defender clear in 6 yard box.
52 min...VA Ferrin runs into W box on left and his low cross is cleared at 6 yard box.
53 min...VA Benitez Hernandez 22 yard shot up middle is high and wide right.
56 min...W sub...Roda replaces Clements.
............W sub...Piccolotto replaces Wnukowski.
57 min...VA Carreiro pass forward to VA Ferrin and W Raganin slides to partially block and tip ball wide left for cornerkick.
58 min...VA Carreiro shoots 15 yarder wide right.
59 min...W Roda is centered pass and 25 yarder over crowd and well over net.
61 min...Wolves RED card...Luca Ragagnin earns his second Yellow of the game for a scissor-leg tackle
on VA Dylan Carreiro charging up the left sideline. Carreiro needed the trainer.
W Kariuki becomes captain of the team.
62 min...VA Ferrin 20 yard freekick from left is hight but just misses top right corner.
66 min...VA sub...Khedoo replaces Ferrin.
...........W sub...Cavaluzzo replaces Kelly.
68 min...VA Carreiro charges to middle and 22 yarder down middle is well over net and back fence.
69 min...VA Benitez Hernandez 7 yard blast wins cornerkick off sliding defender.
70 min...W goalie catches VA chip from 40 yards beating players in box.
71 min...VA goalie dives on loose ball on end line and sliding W player gets his spikes in.
73 min...VA Carabin replaces Kagramanyan.
............W sub...Proctor replaces Andreola.
73 min...VA Carreiro 28 yard freekick up middle is low and wide left.
75 min...VA Benitez Hernandez can't draw Penalty kick on weak bump over.
76 min...VA Carreiro eludes goalie on run to left end line. VA Benitez Hernandez rolls 20 yarder up middle
that diving goalie saves.
78 min...W goalie picks up ball rolled up middle of box.
78 min...VA sub...Thomas Cerros replaces Rose.
.............W sub...Proctor replaces Carreiro. Jason Mills now becomes captain.
80 min...VA Ferrin run to left end line on right passes back to VA Carabin who chips wide left of end line.
81 min...VA YELLOW card* (?)...Portal Oliva earns it for kicking ball away after whistle for W freekick at W 45 yard line.
(* the L1O website doesn't show a card being issued)
82 min...VA player passes forward too far forward for VA Benitez Hernandez and goalie picks up ball.
84 min...VA Khedoo taps to VA Benitez Hernandez in crowd of players and his low shot up middle has goalie dive to smother.
85 min...VA sub...Park replaces Ferrazzo.
............VA sub...Jahsua Mills replaces Portal Oliva.
87 min...W sub...Dargue replaces Kariuki. W goalie Provenzano becomes captain.
...........VA sub...Pulla replaces Benitez Hernandez.
88 min...VA Jason Mills rolls up middle has goalie beat VA Khedoo to through ball pass.
90 min...VA Carabin is injured at W 50 yard line.
91 min...VA Thomas Cerros receives pass on right and blasts 20 yarder high and wide left.
92 min...W YELLOW card...Wanless earns it for pull down on VA Pulla on 2 on 1 rush at W 25 yard line.
93 min...VA Pulla 25 yard freekick from right is wide right of net.
94 min..game ends 10:25pm.

Final Score:...Vaughan Azzurri.......2..........St Catharines Roma Wolves.......1.......

Attendance ended up being about 100 people.  An 8:30pm start ensures no young children.  The game 
was held on the NMRP #2 field which is beside the #1 field and identical except the equal sized 
bleachers are on the west side (would be more enjoyable for fans not having to stare into the sun 
but doesn't matter when the games are held this late).  The reason for the change according to a team 
official is a fence surrounds the two fields but these west side bleachers are outside the fence 
while the east side ones facing the #1 field are inside the fence.  The team was fined by the league 
for some of their fans walking onto the field.  (while a game was on? Women's or men's game?).  
Playing on the #2 field eliminates that problem.  Each field has an identical scoreboard so that 
doesn't make a difference.  Tonight the #1 field was rented out for two back-to-back community group 
men's games.  This was pretty distracting as the shouts from their game and the referee's whistle 
being blown confused me but the L1O players could tell the difference probably after playing soccer 
in these conditions since they were 6 years old.   

Certainly the turning point of the game was a five minute burst near the end of the first half when 
Vaughan were awarded a Penalty kick and they missed but came back the next minute with a tying goal 
and then what turned out to be the winner two minutes later.  It really is the sign of a good team 
that they could shake off the disappointment of the spot kick so quickly.

Wolves hurt their comeback bid by having their captain Luca Ragagnin take his second Yellow card 
in his tackle on Vaughan captain Dylan Carreiro running up the sideline at 60 minutes.  Ragagnin drew 
his first at 43 minutes for a hip check in the Wolves end that also injured a Vaughan player.  
Some tackles in between could have sent him off earlier.  Vaughan made their maximum seven subs from 
the 66 minute mark on without worry that an less experienced guy might cough up the ball.  Keeping up 
their offensive threat certainly helped cut down on Wolves even getting out of their own end.  

Vaughan could have made it easier by scoring an insurance goal but they were caught over and over 
with forward passes ruled offside.  The Wolves backline were never broken by having their offside 
trap sprung.  I was trying to recall that it was almost ten times. Near the end, Azzurri were sending 
in those passes with the forwards not starting sprints ahead and the Wolves goalie was out near the edge 
of his box to pick up a few rollers and end their threat.  More accurate shooting by Vaughan could 
also have put the game away. 

Referee Twayne Anderson gave out only four Yellow cards tonight (yes two were to the same player) 
in a game that had periods of tough tackling.  He wasn't falling for Penalty calls and did call a lot 
of freekicks but left a lot to play-on signalling to fallen players as if to levitate them.  
Even Vaughan's Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez was down for 40 seconds of more in the Wolves end 
as play carried on upfield and he eventually got up and limped back to the center line but was ready 
to turn and run back into the Wolves end when a pass made its way to him.  

A surprise tonight was to see Daniel Gogarty back with Vaughan for the first time since 2018.   
He played for the Azzurri from when the L1O started in 2014.  He left to play the first season 
of the CPL York 9 FC in 2019.  Earlier this year he signed a short term contract to play for 
Toronto FC II of the MLS NEXT Pro league.  It must have been short as here he was playing in the 
three man defensive line of Vaughan and looking like he fit in!  He played the full 90. The L1O 
page reveals tonight was his first game for them.    

I asked the Wolves coach how the team got here tonight.  Car pooling but the team hopes to get 
a club bus in the future he said.  130 km distance, so less than half of what it was like for 
yesterday's game in Windsor having to drive to Mississauga but they had a full size coach. 

Tonight's game was the only one in the L1O Men's Premier Division today so no more juggling 
around with 'what if's this weekend.  

The win moves Vaughan into first place with a record of 5 wins, 0 losses, 2 ties for 17 points.  
Some of the other top teams slipped up so they have a one point lead on Alliance United, 
North Toronto Nitros, and Blue Devils.  Nitros lost to relinquish first place and Simcoe County 
lost to miss they opportunity to keep level with Vaughan.  

St Catharines' record falls to 1 win, 5 losses, 2 ties for 5 points.  Their win was in their 
first game this season.  They stay in twentieth of the twenty-two teams.  The top twelve 
over the next two years will be placed into the top tier as the new Premier division and the 
next ten in the Championship.  From 2024 onward there will be a one team up/one team down 
promotion/relegation system so movement will be difficult.  

While I had heard the Canada vs Panama game in Vancouver had been cancelled, I expected to come 
here tonight and watch the game on OneSoccer on replay after I went home.   More concerning 
was I realized I'd left my mosquito spray back in my car.

My post game interview with St Catharines Roma Wolves head coach Federico Turriziani 
6 minutes, 53 seconds 
(audio recorded by Rocket Robin) 
Your thoughts on tonight's game?
Was joining in 2021 at the University/Championship level a stepping stone to returning to semi-pro soccer? 
How did you get these player's together (all but three born this century)? 
How did you feel playing your first game this season against North Mississauga whose coach was one 
   of your team's legends?
Are there any others from the 'old' team involved in the 'new' team? 
How important is it for your team/fans/organization/recruitment that you survive the Top 12/Next 10 
   division split at the top tier level coming up in two years?

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Vaughan Azzurri starters