August 22, 2023...Weekly Rewind by League1 Ontario staff (from canpl.ca)
Weekly Rewind
By League1 Ontario staff, 08/22/23, 10:15AM EDT
TEAMS EITHER FLEW OR FELL AT THE FINAL HURDLE AS THE MEN'S PLAYOFF AND 2024 PREMIER DIVISION LINEUPS WERE CONFIRMED.
The last regular-season weekend saw a six-goal thriller between FC London and North Mississauga
Final Friday
St Catharines Roma Wolves progressed one place up the regular-season table after beating Unionville Milliken with
a 90th-minute winner. The goal came from Michael Solomon, one of two he scored, helping Roma Wolves win 3-2 and finish 17th.
High-scoring Saturday
Scrosoppi won 5-0 against Hamilton United on Wednesday and were confirmed as regular-season winners going into the weekend,
but this didn’t stop them from coming from behind to take three points from Master’s FA in a 2-1 victory. Zion Richards
grabbed the first goal in the 26th minute to give Master’s the lead against a much-changed Scrosoppi side who were preparing
for the playoffs, but 11 minutes later, Volodymyer Kharyton tied the game and Matias Cortes then scored a second-half winner.
North Mississauga and FC London had a thrilling game in which the two teams couldn’t be separated. The score was 3-1
to FC London with just ten minutes to go, but Anthony Morano scored his second goal of the match in the 86th minute,
and Lee-Victor Massunda found the net in the 94th to tie it up.
Neither North Toronto Nitros or Sigma moved in the table as they couldn’t be separated in a 2-2 draw; Miles Green netting
a late equalizer for the latter.
It was another high-scoring win for Electric City on Saturday as they won 4-0 against Windsor City. Finishes from
Nigel Buckley, Bradley Heath, Benjamin Vyfschaft, and a Windsor own goal helped the Peterborough side end the season
in style, but it wasn’t enough to secure a playoff place with other results not going their way.
Meanwhile, Simcoe County Rovers stole the final playoff bye spot with a 1-0 win over Alliance United. Paul Karagianakos
scored the 42nd-minute winner that saw his side finish in second, above Vaughan Azzurri by one point.
It was Simcoe's second win of Week 19 after Karagianakos scored late in injury time to ensure his side beat
North Toronto 2-1 last Wednesday.
Simcoe County Rovers snuck into the top two at Vaughan Azzurri's expense
High-stakes Sunday
If Vaughan's Azzurri’s seven-game unbeaten streak was to come to an end, they wouldn’t have wanted it to be over
the final weekend in a 2-1 defeat to Burlington, ultimately costing them a playoff bye. Christopher Campoli’s
penalty put Vaughan ahead but an Augustus Oku brace changed both sides’ fortunes, ensuring that Burlington made
the playoffs for the first time and Vaughan slipped into the quarterfinal lineup.
Burlington will take on Blue Devils, and Vaughan will face Guelph United, with both quarterfinals taking place Wednesday.
Guelph United secured fifth place in the standings as they won 3-2 against Prostars. It was all square at 2-2
in the 90th minute, but star defender Colin Gander was United’s hero as he scored a 97th-minute winner with
a stunning free kick – the last kick of the game.
A late free kick also saw Hamilton take the final 2024 Men’s Premier Division spot from their weekend opponents,
Woodbridge Strikers. Thanks to a Naz Muccilli penalty, Woodbridge were set to leapfrog Hamilton into the top 12
on the Road to 2024 table until the 83rd minute when Alban Boci curved the ball into the back of the net from
a set piece. In what was an intense close to the game, Hamilton held on.
Darby ended the season strongly as they put away BVB IA Waterloo with a dominant 6-0 triumph. The standout player from
this game was Kashiff Collins who netted four goals.
All eyes now turn to the playoffs.
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