May 28, 2023 League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division...Woodbridge Strikers vs Vaughan Azzurri game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday May 28, 2023 League1 Ontario Men's Premier game between Woodbridge Strikers
and Vaughan Azzurri played at York Lions Stadium at 2:00pm.

Woodbridge Strikers (all blue uniforms, white numbers)

.................1 Alexander Pothemont (cpt)
.........4 Isaiah Noel...5 Luka Vasic...2 Luca Pinto
23 Uday Arora...17 Gregory Moulopoulos...21 Aidan Hugo...8 Navid Rahman...6 Jacob Spizzirri
................24 Franco Digiovanni...11 Ryley Wishart

Subs:...76 Daniel Clark (gk)...3 Gianluca Condello...7 Justin Cicchillo...9 Ronaldo Marshall
...15 Michael Mancuso...16 Sean Costa...18 Paolo Migotto...25 Joseph Fini
team officials:...team head coach Peter Pinizzotto...assistant coach Fabio Panetta...manager John Scarlato
...equipment manager Kelvin Friseiro...therapists David Lisi and Furkan Demir

Vaughan Azzurri (white socks and shirts, red shorts, navy numbers)

.....................1 Alessio Carbone
25 Sammy Ssebaduka...4 Nyal Higgins...2 Daniel Gogarty...18 Nathanial Edwards
.........5 Raheem Rose (cpt)...10 Emmanuel Zambazis...17 Christian Zeppierri
...........8 Christopher Campoli...11 Ryan Robinson...9 Omar Marzouk

Subs:...12 Gianluca Catalano (gk)...3 Haytin Pabla...7 Abdou Raouf Mohamed...13 Joe Mac
...14 CJ Smith...15 Isacc Bradbury...19 Jeronimo Sabbatasso...21 Soji Olatoye...23 Dujon Martin
team officials:...team head coach Carmine Isacco...assistant coaches Anthony Vadori, Luca Forno,
Martin Eleuteri and Sergio De Luca...therapist Casey D'Mello suspended player: Joseph DiChiara

Game officials:...referee Ryan Schwenger...referee's assistants Joey Filipic and Nick Vagenas
...fourth official Roshan Mendonca...(neon red socks and shirts, black shorts)

First Half:...game starts 2:00pm...Woodbridge defends south end on this hot and sunny day with the bright sun in the south west.
2 min...WS Wishart is fed a through ball at 28 yards up middle and he rolls 20 yard shot that goalie dives right to tip wide of net.
2 min...WS Hugo cornerkick from right is cleared from box.
3 min...VA Marzouk bends 22 yard shot down middle that goalie catches high on left corner of net.
6 min...VA YELLOW card...Ssebaduka earns it for trip on WS Spizzirri at WS 50 yard line who needs trainer.
10 min...WS Moulopoulos 50 yard shot from left is over players and bounces to goalie.
12 min...VA Zeppierri blasts 28 yard shot from left well over net on VA players third time trying to break into box on left.
14 min...WS Moulopoulos passes down field. WS Digiovanni sends high cross from right that WS Wishart twists header on leap
at 8 yards wide left of net.
15 min...VA Rose steps around defender to roll 18 yarder from right to goalie on near post.
16 min...WS Hugo cornerkick from right is well over players in box and out left side.
18 min...Vaughan Ryan Robinson GOAL...VA Sammy Ssebaduka and VA Omar Marzouk work a give and go into
the middle of the box and Marzouk shoots a 12 yard roller from the right that goalie Alexander Pothemont does the splits
to save. Robinson rolls in the rebound from 3 yards into the open left side of the net.
19 min...VA Marzouk rush on left and rolls centering pass that VA Edwards blasts partial clearance at 15 yards well over net.
23 min...VA player blasts 25 yarder down middle well over net.
24 min...a water break is called.
26 min...play resumes.
27 min...VA Higgins concedes cornerkick when WS Wishart tries to cut around him on left.
27 min...WS Rahman cornerkick from left has WS Pinto charge to left to chest down ball but puts ball over end line from 6 yards
for goalkick.
29 min...VA Rose rolls pass between players to VA Mazouk whose 10 yard shot up middle has goalie sprawl and palm ball over net.
29 min...VA Robinson cornerkick from left is short for charging VA Zeppierri who crosses over players lepaing on right side of box.
32 min...W Wishart eludes defender on left and rolls pass into box but no teammate has made a run.
32 min...VA Campoli can't get around VA Rose on right end line so tips ball off him for cornerkick.
34 min...WS Hugo rolls ball from 30 yards up left anad ogalie over to left side to smother ball ahead of WS Spizzirri.
35 min...WS YELLOW card...Digiovanni earns it for pulling down VA Marzouk on run up left.
36 min...Vaughan Ryan Robinson GOAL...VA Nyal Higgins chips ball from 60 yards down middle that has Robinson
flick kick shot at 20 yards around charging goalie and the ball bounces into the open net.
37 min...WS player's 18 yard blast from right is well wide left of net.
39 min...VA Zeppierri is tapped freekick at 40 yards on left and chips well wide right.
40 min...WS Pinto hip checks VA Ssebaduka trying to elude second defender on right. Both players are injured.
41 min...WS YELLOW card...Pinto earns it after he gets up near right corner flag.
42 min...VA Robinson freekick from 25 yards near right end line has sliding VA Marzouk tip ball from 7 yard with shot over bar.
44 min...WS Hugo 35 yard freekick from WS Noel pops header at 8 yards that goalie flies to catch on left post.
48 min...half ends 2:48pm.

Halftime: Only the WS subs stay outside in this hot weather to warm up.

Second Half:...starts 3:04pm.
halftime subs:...WS Fini replaces Pinto.
....................WS Ruddock replaces Wishart.
....................WS Mancuso replaces Rahman.
....................WS Cicchillo replaces Digiovanni.
46 min...WS Ruddock pass to WS Mancuso for run down right and cross through 6 yard box has ball tipped for cornerkick.
47 min...WS player's cornerkick has WS Cicchillo get low 22 yard blast off partial clearance from left has goalie on near post
bat ball down anad smother.
48 min...VA Rose low cross into box has ball tipped for cornerkick.
48 min...VA YELLOW card...Head coach Carmine Isacco earns it for punching the plexiglass around the players bench. The referee
was called over by the fourth official to explain what happened before the card.
50 min...VA Robinson cornerkick from right bounces through box and is cleared on right side.
50 min...VA Marzouk makes fake fall to draw cornerkick at 12 yards and VA player following behind him hits Marzouk with low shot!
51 min...VA Campoli cross from left end line has goalie swat ball across box for VA Marzouk who shoots 6 yarder from right
over bar.
53 min...VA Edwards on left rolls centering pass to VA Campoli and his shot deflects off defender for cornerkick.
53 min...VA Robinson cornerkick from right has WS Noel leap on right and pop header over box and out middle.
54 min...WS Hugo 35 yard shot from left is well wide right of net.
55 min...VA Campoli 30 yard freekick hits head in player wall and deflects wide right.
56 min...VA Robinson cornerkick from left has goalie punch ball away on leap on right post and wins freekick.
59 min...WS Spizzirri passes ball foward on right. WS Ruddock shot from 12 yards on right end line has VA defender on wide left
endline concede cornerkick.
59 min...WS Hugo cornerkick from left has defender clear on right side of 6 yard box.
61 min...VA Marzouk can't win Penalty kick on bump from WS Fini.
61 min...WS sub...Marshall replaces Hugo.
65 min...VA Robinson 28 yard freekick from slight right is high and wide right.
67 min...VA Robinson 22 yard freekick top right of box has VA Marzouk pop up header and ball sent forward and he misses
connecting on bicycle kick.
68 min...VA Campoli has 12 yard shot on left blocked.
69 min...VA sub...Mac replaces Zambazis.
...........VA sub...Sabbatasso replaces Robinson.
............a water break is called.
71 min...play resumes.
73 min...VA Marzouk dekes between four defenders and 8 yard low shot has sliding goalie make point blank stop and rebound
is cleared.
75 min...WS Moulopoulos quick freekick from 35 yards is forward and WS Cicchillo wins cornerkick.
76 min...WS Moulopoulos cornerkick on left wins another cornerkick on deflection.
76 min...WS Moulopoulos cornerkick from left bounces through 6 yard box unplayed.
77 min...VA sub...Raouf Mohamed replaces Campoli.
78 min...VA goalie runs to top left of box to beat WS Ruddock to through ball and smother.
79 min...WS sub...Costa replaces Mancuso.
80 min...VA Raouf Mohamed and VA Rose on give and go finishes with Raouf Mohamed getting away shot.
81 min...WS YELLOW card...someone on the WS bench earns it for complaining about VA being awarded a freekick deep
in the VA end. (the league website stats show it must have been Aidan Hugo who had already left the game)
82 min...VA sub...Olatoye replaces Rose. Gogarty becomes the new captain.
82 min...WS Marshall cross from right is out of box on left unplayed.
86 min...WS sub...Condello replaces Moulopoulos.
86 min...WS Costa chips 40 yard freekick which has WS player in crowd of players on edge of box head ball forward
and goalie catches.
88 min...VA sub...Bradbury replaces Ssebaduka.
88 min...WS Ruddock blasts 30 yarder down middle that goalie palms over bar.
89 min...WS Marshall off balance header from 5 yards on left post is wide left of post.
90 min...VA goalie reaches forward to crossed ball before WS Cicchillo can get to it on left post.
91 min...VA sub...Pabla replaces Zeppierri.
93 min...VA YELLOW card...Mac earns it for knocking over WS Condello in WS end.
94 min...game ends 3:53pm.

Final Score:.....Woodbridge Strikers........0.......Vaughan Azzurri........2.......

Attendance varied with about 120 there by halftime. This game was ending one hour before the CPL game of York United FC and Cavalry FC was to take place. It was to help promote League1 Ontario and is one in a series of doubleheaders with CPL games although most are scheduled to take place at Tim Horton's Field in Hamilton involving Forge FC and either their 'downward team' Sigma FC or their development team Hamilton United Elite. A deal to juice attendance was to offer admission to the L1O game for $15 with the understanding that folks could stay for the CPL game. Regular Woodbridge games (this counted as a home game for them) are $10 admission. The attendance continued to rise as time moved closer to the 5:00pm CPL start.

Ryan Robinson scored both goals for Vaughan today. He was a regular player for CPL HFX Wanderers last season. While HFX scooped up two Vaughan coaches plus three players over the winter from the L1O championship Azzurri, Robinson moved the other way back to Vaughan.

CPL York United FC had a few players from seasons past in today's game. Vaughan had defender Daniel Gogarty (well from York 9 FC days), today's backup goalie Gianluca Catalano (an emergency callup for a stretch last season), and defender Soji Olatoye while Woodbridge had midfielder Aidan Hugo. Of course Carmine Isacco was an assistant coach in their early years.

Alessio Carbone earned the shutout for Vaughan. His best save was at 88 minutes when he palmed Dante Ruddock's blast down the middle over the bar. Carbone is a 2003 and was listed as a call up. He was one of five call ups for them on today's roster. Four of them were starters.

I saw Vaughan play the L1O first game of the season back in April. The league site indicates that goal scoring power house Dylan Carreiro and former CPL Forge FC defender Klaidi Cela (oops just saw that he's on to CPL Valour FC) are no longer on the Vaughan roster. Chris Mannella only played that first game.

Referee Ryan Schwenger gave out six Yellow cards (two to each team's 'onfield' players). The most unusual was at 48 minutes when called over by the fourth official to give a card to Vaughan head coach Carmine Isacco for slamming his fist into the plexiglass covering the players bench. I think he was angrier at some of his own players at the time for making some foolish plays not so much for an official's call. Later at 81 minutes he gave one to (from using the league website stats) Aidan Hugo sitting on the Woodbridge bench for some comments he'd made after he'd left the game 20 minutes earlier.

This was the first game of the season that I'd seen a water break called. There was one in each half. That would happen hours later in the CPL game. This was a hot day and we're still only in May. I have an idea this season there will be a lot more.

The win for Vaughan improves their record to 3 wins, 0 losses, 2 ties for 11 points. At the start of the day last year's undefeated first place team and playoff winners sat twelfth in the standings but this weekend some teams were playing their eighth game of the season. I finally asked a team official about why they'd had so many weekends off. No it wasn't that their teams were involved in so many tourneys but he was more inclined to believe my theory that the L1O was counting on Vaughan making a run in the Canadian Championships and may have appreciated the time off so as not to be too tired for midweek Cup games. That hope was soon dashed when team officials answered me they couldn't afford to host a CC Cup game and they were tossed into the Away fishbowl and drew CF Montreal of the MLS, a team two leagues above them in the Canadian soccer hierarchy.

With the rest of the L1O games completed by the time I got home after the CPL game, they had moved up to eleventh spot.

Woodbridge's record falls to 3 wins, 3 losses, 2 ties for 11 points and are placed at twelfth. Their placing right now is a bit too close for comfort to finish Top 12 for the combined 2022 and 2023 season and survive the Top 12 Premier Division split as they were listed as tenth right now four and a half points clear of the thirteenth place team on a table calculated by a fan keeping track. (thanks Bcolt93) With some teams filling their rosters with mercenary players from other L1O teams in hopes of moving up, it's certainly not a given that Woodbridge will be in the Top 12. I received a tweet from the club that their Boys Under 17s had just finished top of their group at the Umbro Showcase tourney so there's a foundation of youth rising through their ranks.

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

Woodbridge Strikers starters