May 13, 2023...League1 Ontario Men's Premier League Scrosoppi FC vs Woodbridge Strikers game report (by Rocket Robin)

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

Result and details of the Saturday May 13, 2023 of the League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game between Scrosoppi FC
and Woodbridge Strikers played at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 9:00pm.

Scrosoppi FC (all black uniforms, white numbers)

........................1 Andres Vaikia
2 Carlo Difeo...6 Victor Gallo...12 Luke Rankin...3 Luka Frankovich
.........7 Omari Cotterell...4 Joshua Parades (cpt)...21 Allexander Zis
.........36 Danny Medeiros...9 Mauro Lulli...11 Faris Ammari

Subs:...8 Tomasz Skublak...10 Marcus Velado-Tsegaye...13 Manveer Gill...16 Khody Ellis
...20 Stantiago Patrarroyo...22 Stanislaw Skublak...24 Sherif El-Masri...25 Santiago Ubate
...66 Mujtaba Ameen Ameen
team officials:...assistant coach Luis Domingos...managers Sara Raulino and Shayne Griffin
...therapist Michael Wong
suspended: Johns Yacou (team official)

Woodbridge Strikers (all white uniforms, blue numbers)

.......................1 Alexander Pothemont (cpt)
4 Isaiah Noel...6 Jacob Spizzirri...8 Navid Rahman...5 Luka Vasic
23 Uday Arora...17 Gregory Moulopoulos...2 Luca Pinto...11 Ryley Wishart
................24 Franco Digiovanni...9 Ronaldo Marshall

Subs:...76 Daniel Clark (gk)...3 Gianluca Condello...7 Justin Cicchillo...12 Luca Rao
...14 Domenico Futia...15 Michael Mancuso...16 Sean Costa...27 Amoo Johnson
team officials:...team head coach Peter Pinizzotto...assistant coach Fabio Panetta...manager John Scarlato
...equipment manager Kelvin Friseiro...therapist David Lisi and Furkan Demir

Game officials:...referee Melvin Christopher...referee's assistants Ghassen Touati and Liam Tremblay
...fourth official Armando Pereira...(red socks and shirts, black shorts)

First Half:...game starts 9:03pm...Scrosoppi defends north end. The sun has set and the temperature is cooling fast.
There's a strong wind from the north.
1 min...Scr Cotterell taps pass centering to Scr Lulli who one touches shot.
2 min...W goalie dives left to catch low shot.
2 min...Scr player's cornerkick from right is worked upfield but wasted as ball is passed away out of bounds for W throw-in.
6 min...Scr Zis 30 yard freekick from left has ball knocked down and Scr Parades 25 yard shot up middle is caught by goalie.
7 min...W Digiovanni low 22 yarder is tipped wide right but goalie smothers to prevent cornerkick on near post.
9 min...W Digiovanni cross from right end line has W player pop up ball and goalie catches in 6 yard box.
11 min...Scr Ammari on 1 v 2 can't get away clear 18 yard shot that's blocked and ball tips out for cornerkick.
12 min...Scr Ammari cornerkick from left is high W Wishart heads away in crowd of players in box starting fast break out.
13 min...W Spizzirri 30 yard shot up middle has goalie catch on right post.
14 min...W Wishart long run up left and 20 yard shot from far left tips off defender and rolls to goalie.
15 min...Scr Medeiros one-touch tip of cross from left is kicked wide left from 15 yards.
18 min...W Spizzirri gets past falled defender for run into box near right end line and 15 yard shot has goalie bat down
on near post and he runs to right to smother rebound at 6 yards.
21 min...Scr Cotterell blasts 22 yarder from right high and left of net.
22 min...The scoreboard has been turned on but has not been set yet.
22 min...Scr Ammari 20 yard low shot has defender stop.
23 min...Scr Zis 35 yard freekick from left is cleared by header in 18 yard box.
24 min...Scr Medeiros wins freekick when tripped at 20 yard line.
24 min...Scr Parades blasts 22 yard freekick from slight right well over net.
25 min...Scr Medeiros runs ball over right end line on rush.
26 min...W Gallo cross from right is over players in box.
27 min...W Wishart low 28 yard shot is caught by goalie.
29 min...Scrosoppi Mauro Lulli GOAL...Scr Luka Frankoich runs down the left and sends short pass to Scr Faris Ammari
who sents centering pass to Lulli who has time to settle it and shoot low 18 yard shot into left corner of net beyond
goalie Alexander Pothemont.
32 min...Scr Lulli on run down right runs over end line before he can get in cross.
33 min...W Moulopoulos blasts tap back pass at 25 yards well wide over end line.
35 min...W Spizzirri bumps over Scr Medeiros at W 20 yards but there's no PK call and Scr starts fast break.
35 min...The scoreboard clock is now set and running.
35 min...W Moulopoulos is injured at Scr 33 yard line and needs trainer. Half the players take a water break.
37 min...Scr Zis cornerkick from right is knocked around in box until W players start fast breakout.
38 min...W YELLOW card...Pinto earns it for somthing setting up Scr throw-in at Scr 30 yard line. Dissent?
40 min...W Digiovanni long run down right but can't elude defender near end line.
41 min...Scr Lulli rush to edge of box but retreating defender pokes ball away before he can get shot.
41 min...Scr Cotterell cuts to center and rolls 20 yarder just wide left of post.
43 min...Scr Frankovich from left sends low cross along 15 yard line through box unplayed.
46 min...Scr Parades 30 yard shot up middle is wide left.
47 min...Scr Zis cornerkick from right has ball headed arouind in box and cleared out middle. Scr Parades blasts 30 yarder well over net.
48 min...half ends 9:51pm.

Second Half:...starts 10:11pm.
Halftime subs:...W Mancuso replaces Rahman.
.....................W Cicchillo replaces Marshall.
45 min...Scr Parades chips pass forward and Scr Lulli shoots 12 yarder into outside webbing of net.
47 min...Scr players rush to left edge of W box but can't get away shot.
48 min...W Pinto pushes pass forward on left and Scr goalie is out to edge of box to beat W forward to ball and smother.
49 min...Scr Zis chips cross from 18 yards on left to open Scr Cotterell at 7 yards on right and he heads ball just wide right.
53 min...W Moulopoulos 35 yard freekick down middle has defender in crowd of players pop up header and Scr player clears on left.
54 min...Scr Difeo taps pass to Scr Medeiros who bends 20 yard shot from left wide of net. Scr Zis on left gets away shot.
56 min...Scrosoppi Danny Medeiros GOAL...Scr Faris Ammari ran ball down left cutting toward center and sends pass
to Medeiros who banks 15 yard shot off the inside of the left post.
57 min...Scr Cotterell rush to right end line and rolls ball along 6 yard line and defender clears.
59 min...W player's 18 yarder from right is a roller that hits the left post and defender clears.
59 min...Scr sub...Gill replaces Lulli.
61 min...W Wishart can't draw Penalty kick on tip up on run to right side of box.
63 min...W sub...Johnston replaces Digiovanni.
65 min...W Cicchillo runs ball over end line while cutting in from left.
68 min...Scrosoppi Alexander Zis GOAL...Scr Joshua Parades chips pass from 25 yards that finds Zis shot lifts his leg
to knock ball down on slight left then roofs 8 yard shot into top right corner.
69 min...W sub...Futia replaces Wishart.
69 min...Scr sub...Velado-Tsegaye replaces Cotterell.
73 min...W Mancuso long run up left and rolls pass to W Cicchillo but ball is cleared at 20 yards before he could get to it.
Scr Difeo was injured earlier in play and needs trainer.
75 min...Scr goalie is out to edge of box to clear from W Pinto but concedes cornerkick.
77 min...Scrosoppi Marcus Velado-Tsegaye GOAL...Velado-Tsegaye shakes free of WS player holding his arm at top right
of box to step forward and rolls 10 yarder into short right corner of net.
78 min...Scr Patarroyo replaces Difeo.
79 min...W player can't win hand ball call on Scr player and another W player follows up with a 20 yards blast well wide left.
82 min...Scr Frankovic can't away 6 yard mid air shot in W box.
82 min...Scr sub...Ameen Ameen replaces Ammari.
............Scr sub...Ellis replaces Parades (Gallo becomes captain).
.............W sub...Costa replaces Spizzirri.
.............W sub...Rao replaces Arora.
.............W sub...Condello replaces Pinto.
89 min...W Condello long run down left but pushes ball over end line.
93 min...game ends 10:59pm.

Final Score:...Scrosoppi FC.......4......Woodbridge Strikers......0......

Attendance was about 100 on this mild evening with just a hoodie required as the game wore on. Games at Ontario Soccer Centre for Scrosoppi start at 9:00pm because their home ground in Milton (63k away at the Bishop Reding CHS) is being renovated—school building and field. Before this game, a community group had access to the field until 8:00pm. Late starts like this ensure that there aren't any children here.

I would say the crowd was pro-Scrosoppi (of course they had much to cheer about) but this field is only 200 yards from Vaughan Grove, the home grounds of the Strikers so I wasn't sure if local fans would crowd in here. The OSC also has Unionville-Milliken SC as tenants who also have late starting games as they moved in with one week's notice when the neighbouring City of Markham decided that they would allow their Bill Crothers SS school building to be open on weekends so that cut off LlO tenant teams (including Alliance United who have fled to their natural home of University of Toronto's Varsity Stadium) from change rooms and washrooms.

The Scrosoppi game officials were a unorganized (this was their second home game) getting their game sheets turned in at the last minute, not having a tech guy to turn on the scoreboard, no DJ tonight although announcements were provided by a guy who may have been from the league or club (I didn't catch it).

So no scoreboard operating until about the 35 minute mark. Then worked OK until we got up to the 60 minute mark (problem started before that but wasn't noticeable unless you were paying attention). If you imagine a clock could read AB:CD as the D ticked up the seconds, the A and C were in sync so at a time like 60 minutes the clock C would also show '6' and the D would count 1 to 9 and repeat five times before the minute would change to 61. 73:79 and 83:87 all took place.

Both teams had numerous chances in the first half but it soon became apparent Scrosoppi were getting twice the opportunities. They efficiently pulled away in the second half.

Andres Vaikia earned the shutout for Scrosoppi with a few key saves crucially before their first goal to keep the momentum in their favour.

Referee Melvin Christopher had a pretty quiet game only giving out one Yellow card (to Woodbridge) and not falling for any lame Penalty kick calls.

This game involved last year's eleventh and twelfth place finishers (Woodbridge finishing one point ahead) and is even more important this season because the league is using the combined results from the two seasons (with 2022 scores being counted as 75% and 2023 as 100% of the totals) to decide on a Top 12 Premier Division and have the other 9 teams compete at a Championship Level (translation second tier).

Scrosoppi has recruited an 'all-star' team of players culled from other L1O teams and are making a run for it. I had an interview with Woodbridge coach Peter Pinizzotto after the game (see attached) and it appears they are going the opposite route by stacking their squad with mostly players from their own youth teams (I subscribe to tweets that they send that announce which tourney their teenagers have won and which young player has earned an NCAA scholarship). Pinizzotto said he only has one player left from last year's team. Only six out of nineteen players on his lineup sheet were born before 2001.

These community clubs are the most likely to survive at a lower than Premier level whereas mercenaries will abandon non-top tier teams to join the Top 12 to keep the spotlight on themselves.

The win improves Scrosoppi's record to 3 wins, 1 loss, 0 ties for 9 points. They have played one or two games less than almost all the other teams. There are still three more games this weekend but the win as the last game of Saturday moves them up to fifth place (a L1O official at the game says they will use the top six finishers in the current season to make the playoffs just like last year).

Woodbridge had been on a four game unbeaten streak until tonight after they opening night loss. Their record falls to 2 wins, 2 losses, 2 ties for 8 points and stay in eighth place although a few teams could pass them on Sunday.

Scrosoppi FC was still listed on the lineup sheets as suspended. He was at the game but couldn't be behind the bench. I asked him after the game when he'd be back and he said the suspension is for the entire season. I joked that you could kill someone to serve that long.

I remember him last year coaching ProStars FC to a playoff spot.

ProStars held on to a win that last weekend against Burlington SC and flipped over Guelph United into that sixth spot. Two things now seem surreal months later:

1. Cheering from the stands for Burlington to win that afternoon was Thomas Skublak from Guelph. He was on the Scrosoppi bench tonight (he's still recovering from an injury).

2. A big smile to me from Scrosoppi captain Joshua Parades. “I remember you playing for Woodbridge years ago” I said which was true. More recent, he played for ProStars last season and drew a second Yellow at the end of the first half for argueing with a referee leaving this team short and hanging on for that 4-3 win. I remember teammates that day yelling “Selfish”, “I'll never play with him again”. Coach Yacou wasn't happy neither. He wasn't in the locker room at halftime—rumour was he drove off. Now this year he's captain of Scrosoppi with Yacou as his coach!?

Tomasz Skublak (1997) had company on the bench as younger brother Stanislaw Skublak (2003) was an unused substitute.

In the reverse figure last season on Sunday June 12th at Vaughan Grove, Woodbridge won 4-2.

Every season I conduct a post game audio interview with the head coach of each team the first time I see them play in the season.

My interview with Woodbridge Strikers head coach Peter Pinizzotto (8 minutes, 11 seconds)

Your thoughts on tonight's game?
Is your lineup for 2023 set now or will be another few more University players playing?
What is the reason for your faster start than last season?
How are those older players helping the younger guys?
How many players are in the Woodbridge programs?
My comments about alum Isaiah Johnston.
How important is it to survive the Top 12 Premier Division split?
Is there an advantage to community teams like yours to survival?
Are you still enjoying coaching after all these decades*?

*Toronto Jets and Toronto Italia (including their Diego Maradona exhibition game), A-League Toronto Lynx's first head coach, assistant coach with pre-MLS Montreal Impact, bookending coaching at Woodbridge. His Wikipedia picture is one Wiki site writer 'Shotgun Pete' used from my website as are the reference checks on many details of his career.

Rocket Robin
robin.glover.1958@gmail.com
twitter @RocketRobin01

Scrosoppi FC starters