Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal May 16, 2004 Winnpeg teams battle the Bay

By David Trifunov - The Chronicle-Journal May 16, 2004

Stuart Neely has a simple explanation as to why four high-performance soccer teams from Manitoba are in Thunder Bay this weekend for an eight-game exhibition series against local clubs.

?No snow,? he said with a laugh.

Well, it?s not totally true. Yes, parts of Northwestern Ontario and Manitoba were hit with record amounts of snow last week, but Neely booked this trip long ago. In fact he sees this weekend as an excellent opportunity to prepare for the intense summer season for his provincial teams.

It's preseason for just about everybody,? said the technical director of Manitoba Soccer. Its a valuable time we?ll spend on the field.?

Neely brought with him split girls under-16 and boys under-16 teams to play games against the Lakehead Express and men?s side Italia-Juventus.

Neely, along with the Thunder Bay coaches, are in the process of making final selections for their respective teams.

Manitobas representatives here are all eligible for the All-Stars program, a national youth soccer championship.

?We get an opportunity to see them play against club teams that have been playing for a while together,? Neely said.

Thunder Bay fared quite well yesterday on the first day of competition. Vince Pilegi scored five goals as the LEX under-14 boys beat the Manitoba under-16 girls. The other half of the Manitoba girls then played the LEX under-16 girls to a 0-0 draw.

The Express girls missed a host of golden opportunities to score. But coach Jimmy Flemming wasn?t too concerned. He used numerous line-ups and changed goalkeepers, starting with Carolyn Fragale and switching to Miranda Thibault at halftime.

?We didn?t start off like we planned,? he said, but added some of the chances were too good to be true.

?They?ve got to go in, and they weren?t going in.?

Italia-Juventus had little trouble against their younger foes. Mike Ianni and Ron Badanai each scored twice in a 5-1 win. Greg Davis added the other.

Manitoba did leave with something positive from the first day, however. The under-16 Manitoba side reversed an early 1-0 deficit to win 3-2 over the Express under-16s.

Jonathan Potvin converted a nice crossing pass for the early lead. Bryan Arruda scored the late Express goal, but was immediately ejected for taunting and arguing with the referee.

?Our defence fell asleep in the second half,? coach Frank Ianni said. ?They played a great first half.?

Teams mingle and play again this morning beginning at 10 a.m. at Chapples Park.