July 31, 2024...League1 Ontario Women's L1 Cup Final...North Toronto vs FC London game report (by Rocket Robin)

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

Result and details of Wednesday July 31, 2024 League1 Ontario Women's L1 Cup Final between North Toronto and FC London
played at the Zanchin Automotive Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 8:00pm.

North Toronto Women (white socks and shirts, black shorts and numbers, green shoulders)

........................1 Raven Edwards-Dowdall
14 Elise Bell...16 Jessie De Boer (cpt)...12 Abbey Simpson...3 Taliyah Walker
19 Sarah Flood...7 Nicola Golen...2 Sarah Giles...8 Ivymae Perez
....................9 Jade Kovacevic...18 Morgan Fenton

Subs:...4 Georgia Baldwin...5 Sophie Cockett...6 Katie McMullen...10 Katelyn Yip
...11 Ashley Greco...13 Paisley Pennington...15 Sienna Saluri...17 Tiana Mainella...20 Emma Inciarte
team officials:...head coach Billy Wilson...assistant coach Marc Maunder...goalkeeper coach Rasih Pala
atheltic trainer Marwah Hashimi

FC London Women (all black uniforms, white numbers)

.....................1 Cassidy Joslin
19 Maya Smith...28 Cheyene Bower...10 Bryanna Caldwell...43 Charlotte Cromack
9 Jade Abreo...6 Lindsey Barwitzki...4 Julia Benati (cpt)...3 Lauren Rowe
...........22 Gabby Kohut...16 Ally Rowe

Subs:...30 Lucie Duffy (gk)...5 Tia Schaffer...12 Avarie Thomas...24 Nicole Astaiza
...29 Brooklynn Lambkin...32 Lauren Seidel...35 Giuliana Marra
game officials:...head coach Garrett Peters...team manager Tristan Joyce...physiotherapist Samuel Sanglakhi

Game officials:...referee Amanda Kwan...referee's asssitants Ronni Bijovet and Keara Reilly...fourth official Kim Lee
(red socks and shirts, black shorts)

First Half:...game starts 8:04pm...North Toronto defends north end on this hot and humid evening with a hazy setting sun in the north west. It has cooled down since 6:00pm.
1 min..FCL Benati low 25 yarder from slight left bounces to goalie on near post.
2 min...NT Golen 35 yard freekick is chipped wide left for goalkick.
3 min...FC London Ally Rowe GOAL...FCL Lauren Rowe sends low cross along 10 yard line. Ally Rowe stops ball
and shoots low and forward to find right side of net.
5 min...FCL Lauren Rowe wins cornerkick on run down left wing and cross near end line.
6 min...FCL Kohut chips partially cleared cornerkick from 25 yards which goalie bobbles at 10 yards then picks up on bounce.
7 min...FCL Kohut 30 yard blast is well over net.
9 min...NT Bell wins cornerkick on deflection block of cross off FCL Bower.
9 min...FCL Golen cornerkick from right is into outside side mesh of net.
11 min...FCL goalie catches NT Giles 40 yard chip from left in front of crowd in box.
12 min...FCL Lauren Rowe cuts towards goal from left but sends 25 yard shot wide left.
13 min...FCL Ally Rowe turns and fires 25 yarder down minddle that goalie flies right to push wide of post.
14 min...FCL players owrk out short cornerkick from right but shot is blocked.
16 min...North Toronto Jade Kovacevic GOAL...Koavacevic is given a pass on the right at 25 yards. She steps to right
around a defender and shoots a low 18 yarder that catches just inside the left post with goalie Cassidy Joslin guarding
the near post.
17 min...NT goalie catches 25 yard shot from right on near post.
19 min...FCL goalie picks up ball deflected off defender at 10 yards.
20 min...FCL Benati chips 22 yarder from left that lands on top right corner of net.
22 min...FCL Bower shoots punched out cross wide left down middle from 20 yards.
24 min...FCL Lauren Rowe on 1 v 2 rush on left rolls ball over end line.
27 min...FCL player chips 33 yarder from right that goalie catches.
28 min...FCL Lauren Rowe runs down left and centering roller has goalie dive at 15 yard line and breaks up pass play.
29 min...NT sub...Greco replaces Fenton.
31 min...FCL Cromack pass from left has FCL Abreo shoot low 30 yarder wide left.
36 min...NT Kovacevic is given through ball and hits right post. NT Golen gets partial clearance and shoots 15 yard roller
that diving goalie pushes wide left of post.
41 min...FCL player's high cross from right is over box.
42 min...NT Greco short pass to NT Kovacevic whose 25 yard roller up middle is picked up by goalie on left post.
43 min...NT Kovacevic rolls 30 yard pass down left side over end line.
48 min...NT Kovacevic recovers blocked shot and takes 28 yarder down middle that's over the bar.
48 min...Half ends 8:52pm.

Halftime: Only the NT players stay out between halfs to warm up.

Second Half:...starts 9:13pm. It's now dark.
51 min...NT Flood on give and go on left and ball is into box and almost has retreating defender deflect into own net but ball
is cleared.
53 min...FCL Barwitzki 35 yard shot is low from right and goalie sprawls to stop then covers on right post.
54 min...FC London Maya Smith GOAL...FCL Charlotte Cromack takes 45 yard freekick from right that's high
and into left side of box that charging Smith gets to and heads 8 yarder into right side of net beyond reach
of goalie Raven Edwards-Dowdall.
55 min...NT Walker 45 yard freekick chip from left has defenders clear on edge of box with header.
56 min...NT Greco has 22 yard shot from right blocked on edge of box.
57 min...NTC Walker 40 yard freekick from right is cleared from just inside the box.
60 min...FCL sub...Thomas replaces Bower.
61 min...FCL Caldwell chips 25 yardere into box and defender heads away.
64 min...NT Golen 22 yard freekick from slight left is low and into player wall and she whiffs on her rebound allowing
for an FCL quick breakout.
65 min...NT sub...Yip replaces Giles.
67 min...NT players can't break through on right side of FCL box.
68 min...NT Kovacevic taps centering pass and NT Walker shoots 22 yard roller down middle just wide left.
69 min...FCL YELLOW card...Thomas earns it for pull down on NT players on rush up right.
70 min...NT player chips 40 yard freekick from right but NT Kovacevic called for handball in box on bounce.
72 min...FCL Aly Rowe rush up right and low cross has FCL Benati rolls shot wide left from 10 yards.
73 min...Players from both teams take a water break as NT Golen is treated for an injury.
75 min...NT Bell cross from the right is high and over the box.
76 min...NT Perez is injured away from the play near the center line.
77 min...FCL Lauren Rowe turns and rolls 15 yarder down middle wide left.
78 min...NT sub...Saluri replaces Perez.
79 min...NT Yip runs down left but is stopped.
80 min...NT Kovacevic cuts 20 yard roller down middle which goalie smothers diving to left post.
81 min...FCL goalie is injured away from play as FCL defenders broke up play on edge of box.
The players take a water break.
86 min...FCL Lauren Rowe is injured at NT 30 yard line with leg injury.
87 min...FCL sub...Astaiza replaces injured Lauren Rowe.
89 min...NT Bell rolls through ball pass from 45 yards directly to FCL goalie.
91 min...NT player's 30 yard low shot from left is between players for easy pick up for goalie.
92 min...NT player wins cornerkick on right.
93 min...NT Kavacevic cornerkick from right is over goalie's hands and out left side of box for throw-in.
94 min...NT Golen can't win Penalty kick on fall on left side of box.
94 min...NT Greco can't keep ball in on right end line and pushed out for goalkick.
97 min...FCL win cornerkick on timewasting dribbles at NT left cornerflag.
98 min...FCL players with cornerkick with more smothering play in corner.
98 min...NT Yip rolls ball over left end line on pass.
99 min...game ends 10:07pm.

Final Score:....North Toronto Women.........1..........FC London Women.................2........

Attendance was just over 200 according to L1 Canada official Dino Rossi who was there to present the trophy. This game was moved up by three weeks at the request of both teams answered an official from League1 Ontario. The reason is both teams expected to lose players when some return to their NCAA schools. Midweek games are always a tough draw and this one would be even tougher with London being about a four hour drive from the stadium (well at this time of night). It took me 90 minutes to just drive through rush hour traffic from the north central area of Toronto.

I was pumped as just a few hours earlier I'd watched the Canadian Women's Olympic team beat Colombia 1-0 in their final pool game earning a place in the quarterfinals despite starting the group with a -6 point penalty but they won all three of their pool games. When I woke up this morning I read 'Canada Eliminated' and I thought it was them because of the time difference in France but it was about the Men's U-20s being knocked out of the Concacaf Championships in extra time at the quarterfinal stage. Still sad as five of the Toronto FC II guys are on that team.

I wore a maroon coloured t-shirt to impress the owners of North Toronto whose leadership helped get AFC Toronto a place in the new Northern Super League that will start next year. Didn't notice any of them here and I heard NSL executive Diana Matheson was over in Paris. Tonight was only the second the women's match I've attended since the Canada vs Mexico game down at BMO Field at the beginning of June vs 19 L1O men's games (37 men's total in various leagues).

The L1 Cups for both men and women have not been awarded since 2018. They stopped years before Covid as the number of teams in the league grew the regular season became packed and there was no time for this competition. Their first years they played in a closed system with just other teams they played in the regular season. This restart plays out more like the English FA Cup with teams from their own feeder system being part of the draw so in theory an L2 team (third tier) that's not a reserve team for a higher division team could go on to win.

The only real 'open' Cup I remember was in 2016 when the CPSL league organized the Open Canada Cup and in the final Ottawa St Anthony's Italia from the Ottawa Carleton Soccer League beat the Toronto Lynx from the United Soccer League. Not exactly the way you want to showcase the CPSL.

The pathway to tonight were one game knockouts. North Toronto made it here by a first round bye then round of 16 win over Alliance United, quarterfinal win against Woodbridge Strikers, then semifinal win against Darby FC. FC London progressed by first round bye then round of 16 win over BVB 1A Waterloo, quarterfinal win against Guelph United, and semifinal win over Simcoe County Rovers.

Referee Amanda Kwan only gave out one Yellow card the entire game. Although it was hot weather there were no official water breaks but players went over to the sidelines when a trainer was on the field treating an injury.

I thought FCL's Lauren Rowe was the best player on the field with long runs up the wing and crosses sent into the box. Jade Kovacevic was the best for North Toronto but she was often the lone forward and was often overwhelmed by multiple defenders.

FC London becomes the first team to win the Cup twice! In their regular season meetings, North Toronto had beaten London 3-0 on June 1st at home and 3-1 on the road on June 10th. I asked an North Toronto official on the way out about what if they'd scored to tie it in regulation. He was pretty sure it would go right to Penalty kicks to settle on a winner.

After the game I had to go over and talk to North Toronto's Jade Kovacevic. She was a player on the Toronto Lady Lynx. The current Olympic team has former Lady Lynx players Ashley Lawrence, Nichelle Prince, Kadeisha Buchanan, Quinn, Shelina Zadorsky, and Adriana Leon. Kovacevic was on that FC London L1 Cup winning team in 2018. So what's she doing now? She's coaching with the NT's youth teams. “Hmm is there a chance you will try to get a spot on the AFC Toronto team...maybe?” “Maybe” she answered.

In the crowd was the FC London Men's head coach Yiannis Tsalatsidis. The men's team did well last season in the pre-tiered division system finished thirteenth but in the two-year-of-results weighted point system finished seventeenth because of horrid 2022 season before he took over, they didn't make the twelve team split for the Premier Division. This season they are dueling with their sort of brothers TFC Academy in the Championship Division and it's possible both may advance to the Premier through a first place finish equals automatic promotion and second place a playoff with the eleventh place Premier team. He said 'one game at a time' for me speculating about next season.

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

North Toronto starters