The Daily Graphic - Aeros, Roma battle to draw

BY JOEY PAYEUR
Southport Aeros' Steve Wasyliw, left, tries to avoid the oncoming challenge of Roma Sword S.C.'s Nelson Medeiros during last night's 1-1 tie between the Aeros and Roma at Southport Field.
Staff photo by Joey Payeur

— Cats and dogs, Hatfields and McCoys, U.S. soldiers and Iraqi insurgents.Put some entities together, and there’s bound to be trouble.Such was the case with the host Southport Aeros and visiting Roma Sword S.C., who last night appeared every bit the archrivals they have grown to become during a 1-1 tie at Southport in Manitoba Major Soccer League Second Division action.The officials would have been moonlighting as blackjack dealers if they had dealt out the number of cards that could have been issued in a chippy affair that saw one ejection, a near fistfight, several shoving exchanges and an abundance of verbal barrages between players.“These are two teams that play a similar style,” acknowledged Southport’s Steve Wasyliw, who notched the equalizer in the final minute of the first half to help the Aeros (9-7-3) keep alive a six-game undefeated streak and move into a tie for third in the Second Division with the NKMB Saints at 30 points each. Roma (6-9-5, 23 points) remains in seventh place in the division.“They’re two evenly matched teams,” continued Wasyliw. “I don’t think the referee had bad control of the game.”That sentiment was not shared by Roma’s Shawn Driedzic, who was tossed from the game with his second yellow card in the 42nd minute after being flagged for fouling Aeros’ Duane Chaves from behind.“There’s no way that was a yellow,” steamed Driedzic, who rather than leave the general vicinity after his ejection remained on the Roma bench and bantered spiritedly with Southport players, fans and the officials throughout the second half.“There were way worse things happening out there that weren’t called as yellow cards.”Roma opened the scoring in the 26th minute, when Nelson Medeiros tapped in a perfect crossing pass into the open side of the Southport net past goalkeeper Jay Barber for his second goal of the season.But shortly after Driedzic’s expulsion, the Aeros were awarded a free kick from 25 yards out. Chad Green’s arcing shot was deftly headed into the top right corner of the net behind goalkeeper Jimmy Marnoch by Wasyliw, his 10th of the year.The second half belonged mainly to the Aeros, who did their best to capitalize on their man advantage, but to no avail as tempers continue to boil.Wasyliw and Roma’s leading scorer Joel Carriere nearly came to blows in the 70th minute and had to be separated, after the two collided in pursuit of the loose ball.“We tend to try and even up the rough stuff rather than keep our heads in the game,” admitted Aeros head coach Mitch Walker. “I think we’ve done better with that lately, but we still need to get better.“When both teams are getting upset that calls are not being made, both teams tend to open up and it starts looking more like forechecking in hockey than soccer.”Roma appeared to have the game winner in their grasp in the 73rd minute, as Carriere fed Norm Fay streaking down the middle unchecked.With Carriere’s hands raised in anticipation of a goal, Fay went outside to elude a diving Barber. But with the empty net staring at him, the Roma forward with only two goals to his credit this year blasted a shot that clanged off the right post and bounced away harmlessly.The Aeros return to action on Thursday night in Winnipeg with what is expected to be a depleted line-up due to prior commitments, as they go up against second-place Kildonan Cavaliers (12-5-1, 37 points).“It sounds like we’ll be down a few (bodies),” said Wasyliw. “We’ll just have to see what we can do.”

Carman Valley Leader - Kickers split week in pursuit of playoff spot

By Gene Still

It was a mixed bag for the Carman Kickers as they split their last two games in their attempt to nail down a playoff spot in the Fourth Division of the Manitoba Major Soccer League.Kickers 2 Alliance 0Carman got back on the winning track with an impressive shutout victory over Alliance. With only a tie and two losses to show for their previous three contests, on August 20 the Kickers travelled to Winnipeg to face the host Alliance. And considering that Alliance is mired near the bottom of the division with only four wins this season against 13 losses (going into the Friday night contest), Carman had good reason to be hopeful to emerge victorious. But Kickers’ coach William Hoogerdijk was quick to point out that a triumph was far from a sure thing, in part because Carman needed a regroup at half-time during their previous meeting earlier this season with Alliance, to get the victory. “I told them that ‘there are three points available tonight and we need all three, not a tie or worse, a loss’,” Hoogerdijk said, regarding the pre-game talk with his players. Complicating matters for this latest matchup was the fact that the Kickers were forced to play a man short throughout the entire game. The visitors were also missing – due to prior commitments – two of their key performers, Kendall Ferris and Dale DeWitt. However, the ten players who hit the field for the Kickers more than answered the challenge as they came up with a strong performance, basically from start to finish. “This (Alliance) is a team – that the last time we played them – it was a 1-1 game at the half but we came back to ‘escape’ with the win,” Hoogerdijk said. “But it was different this time round. We went off the field at the end, knowing we earned the victory. “Everybody played solidly in their positions. They knew what they had to do.” The coach noted, that while their opposition may be struggling this year, near the bottom of the standings, a win is a win. “It’s important. It obviously feels good to win a game, especially when you play solid throughout,” Hoogerdijk said. Lyle Vanveen got what turned out the be the winner near the 20 minute mark of the opening half. Jordan Vanderveen then scored the insurance marker with about 15 minutes left in regulation to secure the 2-0 triumph. Ryan Bultena earned the shutout in net for Carman. Hoogerdijk added that along with Vanveen, Tyson Kamminga also had a strong showing for the Kickers with some stellar defensive play. New Youth 5 Kickers 2 A slow start proved very costly for Carman as they made another trek to Winnipeg. New Youth which sits solidly in second place in the division behind Penrol, showed why they’re among the elite teams this season by getting the jump on a slow starting Carman club. “We fell behind the eight-ball fairly early. We were down 2-0 before it was 20 minutes old,” Hoogerdijk said. Despite a sluggish beginning, the Kickers started to regroup but New Youth made it 3-0 with five minutes left in the opening half. “It sort of deflated the guys a bit,” Hoogerdijk said. However the coach said they tried to take advantage of the break to make some adjustments and it paid off – at first – during the opening of the final frame. Lyle Vanveen scored to make it 3-1 with a goal about ten minutes in the half. “We took some runs at them and had them in their end of the field for a while,” he said. “But then they came out and made it 4-1 about seven minutes later (after Vanveen’s goal).” Jordan Vanderveen made it a two goal spread once again with 15 minutes remaining but it was a case of too little, too late for Carman. “We were pressing them, and creating some offensive chances, but we couldn’t score,” Hoogerdijk said. New Youth added another tally with just under a minute left to secure their victory. Kickers’ notebook: Carman has a 7-9-4 record which was good enough to tie them for seventh place with Reservoir Dogs, as of press time. Carman’s final home game of the season is an afternoon matchup on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 3 p.m. when they entertain Fusion.

Winnipeg Sun - Another Challenge for Lucania

Mon, August 30, 2004

Will join Team United at soccer club nationals
By Glen Dawkins

Two-time national champion Lucania is going back to the Challenge Cup. Marcello Paolucci scored as the 2000 and 1987 national champions downed last year's provincial champs Sokol 1-0 to win the Manitoba Soccer Association provincial senior men's championship, yesterday at Red River College. Goalkeeper Bill Klymchuk earned the shutout for Lucania.

Meanwhile, Kim Small scored as Team United defeated 2003 champion Sweat Shack 1-0. Tara Evans picked up the shutout.

The teams advance to the National Club Championships men's Challenge Cup and women's Jubilee Shield, Oct. 6-11 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Winnipeg Free Press - Lucania provincial champs in hot-tempered soccer final

Mon Aug 30 2004

By Chris Cariou

The red cards flowed, the lightning and thunder hit, Marcello Paolucci scored in the 86th minute and defender Ian Brown saved the day in the dying seconds last night as Lucania edged defending champion Sokol 1-0 to claim the 2004 men's MSA Provincial Cup soccer championship.

In a game of high drama, bad tempers and poor discipline by Sokol that resulted in two ejections -- along with a temporary stoppage because of lightning at the Red River College soccer facility -- Paolucci finally scored on Sokol goalkeeper Franklin Hernandez only seven minutes after Dragan Planinac was tossed for taking his second yellow card.

Earlier, Sokol's Greg Adamiec was thrown out of the game for a vicious tackle on Lucania's Franco Cassano. The ejection of Planinac left Sokol two men short from the 79th minute on and Lucania pressed, scoring on a scramble after Hernandez could not corral a rebound.
But with only seconds left, Sokol striker Nino Mandic broke in on the left side and his shot sailed past Lucania keeper Bill Klymchuk, only to be booted safely away by Brown, saving the Lucania victory. They'll represent Manitoba at the national championships Oct. 6-11 in Prince Edward Island.

Lucania will be joined there by Team United, who used a goal by Kimberly Small to beat defending champion Sweat Shack 1-0 in the women's senior final earlier yesterday.
"No one wants to see a final settled like this (with one team earning two red cards), but unfortunately that's the way it went and we're happy," said Paolucci. "We still finished the game off. We look at (Sokol playing two men short) as a bonus, but we still finished the game off." Lucania coach Kevin MacKay said Lucania had a good work ethic and great fitness and they wore down Sokol, especially after they found themselves two men short. But when the game was suspended because of lightning with only three minutes left, MacKay warned his players victory wasn't theirs yet and Sokol would have one final burst.

"We have a little tradition on our team that if you haven't scored a goal, we call you maiden," he said. "Well, it was one of our maidens that took the goal away from them and cleared it. Ian Brown hasn't scored a goal all year, but that was probably the biggest play, just clearing it off the line there at the end.

"We're happy to be going to P.E.I. and we think we'll represent the province pretty well."
In the women's game, Team United coach Victor Sloane-Smith said his team lost 3-1 and 2-0 to Sweat Shack in the regular season and while yesterday's victory wasn't pretty, his side was well-deserving of the win.

"The kids weren't at their best today, but they were at their fighting best and that's what brought them through," he said. "They fought all the way for this. This was all about what's in here, in the heart, and they did that. I think if they play with the same amount of heart in Prince Edward Island, they'll hold their own."

chris.cariou@freepress.mb.ca

Winnipeg Sun - Provincial soccer semifinals see former champs in battle

Fri, August 27, 2004

By Glen Dawkins

A pair of former national champions will fight it out in the Manitoba Soccer Association Provincial Cup Senior Men's semifinals, tomorrow at the Vince Leah Recreation Centre. The 2002 national champions Sons of Italy Lions will play Lucania, national champions in 2000, for the right to advance to the provincial final. In the other semifinal, defending champion Sokol will take on Premier Division rivals Ital-Inter.
In the women's semifinals at Red River College, Phoenix Fury will take on past Cup winners Team United while last year's provincial champions Sweat Shack will play Nova.
All games are at 6 p.m.
Winners of the semifinals will advance to the provincial finals, Sunday at Red River College. The women play at 3 p.m., followed by the men's final at 6 p.m. The provincial champions will advance to the national finals, Oct. 6-11 in Prince Edward Island.

Winnipeg Free Press - Lusitania gives big soccer clubs a scare

Wednesday, August 25th, 2004

By Julie Horbal

Although FC Lusitania was eliminated from the Manitoba Soccer Association Cup Senior Men's quarter-finals last night, the fact they were playing in the playoffs was enough to make their season a victory.

"We're your classic Cinderella story," said George Cabral, head coach of the Lusitania team that rose from the basement of the MSA ranks to make it to yesterday's game.

"We've got a lot of heart and a lot of skill. Our run has been unbelievable. I think the guys really enjoyed us entering into the MSA Cup and nobody expected us to get even this far."
As a third division team, Lusitania was matched up against teams two divisions above them when they entered the MSA Cup . They lasted all the way until last weekend before suffering their first loss of the year.

Lusitania fell 1-0 to Ital-Inter in yesterday's quarter-final at the Vince Leah Community Centre, but the determination they showed throughout the season was nothing short of spectacular.
"To play soccer, you need a lot of skill, but to do it well you need a lot of heart," Cabral said. "And we did it. All my guys here, their heads are held up high because we had a good game today. We showed them you can compare a premier division team to a third division team, we really proved that."

According to Cabral, premier teams like Ital-Inter have skill, but more importantly the financial backing to allow them to succeed the way they do.

Lusitania's sponsorships fall short of many teams in the league, but Cabral says his team will use this year to fuel their way upward in the divisions - with or without the thousands of dollars that other teams use to get to the premier division.

"This is the best year we've had," said Cabral. "It's great, there's nothing more I can say. These guys have a good time and we respect ourselves and every opponent we go up against. We've got nothing to be embarrassed about."

In other men's quarter-final action going on last night, Lucania defeated South End Celtics 8-0, while on the women's side Nova defeated Black Magic 1-0 and the Classics fell 2-1 to Sweat Shack.

MSA men's and women's semifinals go Friday night at 6 p.m. at Vince Leah Community Centre and Red River College, respectively.

julie.horbal@freepress.mb.ca

Carman Valley Leader - Kickers still looking to get back on a winning track

By Gene Still —

William Hoogerdijk hopes this isn’t a case of deja vu. Last year, a late season slide in the standings ended up costing the Carman Kickers’ a playoff spot in the Manitoba Soccer League’s Fourth Division. And while, as of press time, Carman is in a playoff position sitting in seventh place, the coach is concerned because the club has only has a tie to show for their last three games. On August 5 the Kickers were shutout 2-0 in Portage la Prairie by the host team from Southport. And they followed up that defeat with another on August 12 at Carman Collegiate Field. The loss to the Rangers from Winnipeg, came despite the fact that Carman opened the scoring just before the ten minute mark of the opening half. Kickers’ striker Lyle Vanveen drove straight down the middle to create a scoring opportunity. And after taking advantage of a Rangers’ defensive miscue, Vanveen scored on a header from a sharp angle to make it 1-0 for the host squad. However Carman was unable to hang onto the lead as the visitors tied it 1-1 just 15 minutes later. And the score remained that way at halftime. Despite surrendering the lead, Hoogerdijk wasn’t too discouraged because of the way Carman played during the opening half. “It went back and forth but I really thought it was our game to win,” Hoogerdijk said. However, after a fairly solid start to the final half, as play wore on, the Rangers started to take over the contest. “We started off pretty well in the second half but our play kind of dropped off. We seemed to be very hesitant and maybe showed them too much respect,” he said. “You’ve got to play aggressive – with discipline – in this game. When you’ve got that balance, you can dictate the flow.” That failure to ‘play aggressive’, proved costly as the Rangers scored what turned out to be the winning goal on a penalty kick with about 15 left in regulation. They put the game out of reach with an insurance tally with five minutes remaining to earn a 3-1 win. The defeat dropped Carman’s record to 6-8-3. He isn’t necessarily pressing the panic button, but the coach said they need to start adding to their victory column if they want to ensure a post season berth. When Carman hit the field last Wednesday evening to host Euro, a club that is chasing them in the standings, it was a slightly better result as the two teams battled to a 2-2 draw. Euro actually started the opening ten minutes shorthanded as a few of their players were late showing up. However, while they worked hard, the Kickers were unable to capitalize. “We played well – moved the ball well,” Hoogerdijk said. “But they started getting their guys back and at the middle of the (opening) half they got a break and scored. “After that, things didn’t look to great for us, they kept coming at us.” But the coach made a few adjustments and Carman started to press the attack by taking a few more chances on offence. “Sometimes the best defense is a good offence,” Hoogerdijk explained. And that attitude seemed to pay off on the scoreboard as striker Lyle Vanveen tied the game with about eight minutes remaining before intermission as his shot bounced off a Euro defender into their own net. Carman took advantage of the intermission to regroup even more. “We didn’t necessarily dominate offensively, but we shut them down defensively and that paid off with some offensive chances,” Hoogerdijk said. But their efforts went unrewarded as it was Euro who regained the lead about 25 minutes into the final frame. “For a while the guys were a little dejected because we had been playing well but they were the ones who got the goal,” he noted. The Kickers didn’t fold and eventually rebounded and their work paid off as Jordan Vanderveen tied the match with only eight minutes left. After that, Carman kept up the pressure but just couldn’t get the winning goal. “A tie is better than a loss,” Hoogerdijk said. “(But) we’ve got to get wins – it’s as simple as that. “We’ve got four games left and we know there are other teams that we’re battling for a playoff spot with, that have some games in hand.”

The Daily Graphic —Aeros take draw with cards

BY KEITH BORKOWSKY

Southport Aeros’ Chad Green scored his team’s first goal in a 4-4 tie against Juve yesterday.
Staff photo by Keith Borkowsky

Southport Aeros experienced its first fan move of the game. But unlike the popular promotion, used by the Winnipeg Goldeyes to move select fans from cheap seats to prime seats, this one was ordered by a soccer referee twice in yesterday’s Manitoba Major Soccer League second division contest between Southport Aeros and Juve.

During the second half of the contest, which ended in a 4-4 draw, match referee Michael Bilenki asked the entire Southport fan base to move away from the bench area when fans verbally protested to a call he made. When it happened again later in the same half, the head official then stopped the game and demanded the same fans to move to the opposite side of the pitch, threatening to abandon the match if they did not comply.“To have our fan support moved, not once but twice, is an insult,” Southport Aeros coach Mitch Walker said after the game.

“Were they being disruptive of the match? No. Fans will jeer bad calls in any sport. The referee said he heard the fans taunting an injury to a player on the field. Who was taunting them?

“I’m not saying we didn’t say it was ridiculous. It was ridiculous on both sides of the ball.”


It was not the first time the referee’s judgment was called into question. After a penalty late in the second half, awarded to and scored by Juve striker Mentor Muccoli, Southport’s players headed back to kick off the ball. As Aeros forward Steve Wasyliw carried the ball up the pitch, a Juve player slapped it out of his hands. The match referee immediately flashed a yellow card, and appeared to caution the Juve player, who grimaced upon being informed of the call.

Later, on the game sheet, he issued the caution to Wasyliw. When Walker went to ask about the discrepancy, the referee told Walker the card was issued to Wasyliw.“If you were ever to use the word debacle in a story, this would be the time,” Steve Assenmacher, an injured Aeros goalkeeper, said of the decision. A verbal disagreement of those facts after the game resulted in Walker receiving a red card from the referee. Walker went to hand the referee his coach’s card, an administrative procedure required to process an ejection, but the referee refused to take it. Instead, he forced Walker to place the card on the ground and walk away before allowing an assistant referee to pick up the card.The incidents took away from a high-scoring contest, initially dominated by Juve. Muccoli scored the first goal of the game on a hard, well-placed shot out of the reach of Aeros’ call-up keeper Cory Thiessen about 10 minutes into the game.Chad Green then tied the contest on a corner kick 15 minutes later, hammering home a loose ball in front of the net.Muccoli struck again at the 30th minute. Wasyliw nearly tied it on a play set up by Ian McCallister, whose long run and hard shot was saved by Juve keeper Joe Dattero. The ensuing rebound went to Wasyliw, who headed it wide.“We’ve had trouble finding the net and finishing,” Walker said. “We had at least three chances in the first half. Guys were staring at an open net and were tapping it wide .... Some of the games we have been lackadaisical at the start. Maybe the cool weather helped, because we were better today.”Juve made it a 3-1 game early in the second half, when Enzo Cotrneo stormed through the Aeros defence and beat Thiessen.McCallister, whose hard work set up a number of Aeros’ chances, was rewarded for his efforts with a goal of his own at the 52nd minute. He took a Dave Roy pass and converted it for his team’s second goal.“He’s got some amazing speed, which we tried to utilize on the outside,” Walker said. “He’s been creating some scoring chances for himself and others. Tonight, he was rewarded with a goal of his own.”With momentum on Southport’s side, several scoring opportunities fell on Aeros’ boots, only to go unconverted.Midway through the second half, Southport striker Duane Chaves took a pass from Chris Carson and made it a 3-3 tie.A Juve foul against a Southport player inside the 18-yard box resulted in an Aeros penalty kick. Wasyliw out-guessed Dattero to put Southport ahead 4-3.“We showed some heart,” Walker said. “It’s disheartening on the sidelines to see a bad call. You get dejected, but we battled through that.” However, that lead was shortlived. A hand-ball by a Southport defender inside the 18-yard box gave Muccoli a chance for his hat trick. He put Juve back on even-footing to stay at 4-4.“It was a good game, a tough game,” Dattero said. “Our guys played well. We had a short bench and I felt we played well for having a short bench.“We needed (the tie) desperately. We’re at the bottom of the table, so any points we can get will help us.”

COSTLY LOSS -- Southport did not pick up any wins this weekend, dropping a 3-2 loss to Eritrean in Winnipeg.
Three Aeros players were lost in that game -- Danny Brooks and Steve Assenmacher were injured while Jay Barber picked up a red card, defending Brooks from an Eritrean player. “Everyone could see Danny was punched in the head,” Walker said. “Danny’s holding his head and the guy came back at him, whether to apologize or whatever and Jay pushed him away, saying: ‘You have no business here.’ Then Jay got the red card.”Duane Chaves and Steve Wasyliw provided the scoring.
INJURY CALL-UPS -- Aside from Thiessen, Glen McCulloch came up from Southport United to play for the Aeros yesterday.

FIFA Awards 2007 World Youth Championship To Canada-Canadian Soccer Association

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Ottawa, Ontario - At a media conference held in Toronto today, the Federation Internationale de Football Association, FIFA, announced the 2007 edition of the FIFA World Youth Championships will be staged in Canada.FIFA Vice President and CONCACAF President Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago, confirmed that the FIFA Emergency Committee, at its meeting held in Zurich on August 6, unanimously awarded the Championship to CSA.“It gives me a great deal of pleasure to confirm that this awarding of the 2007 FIFA World Youth Championship has been taken by FIFA as a result of the Emergency Committee meeting,” stated Warner. “Recent meetings between FIFA and CSA have led to agreement on most issues related to the staging of this event and as a result of this and the decision by FIFA to stage this Championship in Canada, the construction of Varsity Stadium can now fully proceed.”In his letter to CSA President Sharpe, FIFA President Blatter praised the Association for the “…outstanding organization of the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women’s Championship in 2002 and the professional approach that you and your team has taken in requesting to host this tournament. We thank you for your kind cooperation and very much look forward to working with you for the 2007 edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship.”A major factor in FIFA agreeing to move the timetable forward concerning awarding this event to CSA was the recent decision by the Governments of Canada and Ontario on May 21, 2004 to financially support the development of Varsity Stadium with a joint $35 million contribution to this project. The only condition cited in the awarding of this grant was the requirement by FIFA to stage the World Youth Championship in Canada in 2007. “As a result of today’s announcement, we believe that FIFA has acted with unprecedented speed and that this shall now allow the University of Toronto, The Canadian Soccer Association and its other partners to proceed with the construction of this state of the art, 25,000 seat, $80 million stadium so that it will be ready to host the Championship’s official opening ceremonies and opening match featuring Canada, tentatively set for July 1, 2007,” concluded Warner.“On behalf of the 900,000 playing members of CSA, I want to thank FIFA for the unique way in which they have responded to our request to host this event,” stated CSA President Andy Sharpe. “The faith and trust they have invested in the CSA will be repaid with energy and commitment in ensuring that this U-20 Men’s World Youth Championship will be the best ever event in the history of FIFA. We will spare no effort over the next three years to achieve success and will now commence immediate work with FIFA to ensure we move forward with speed to begin immediate work on this, the biggest event CSA has ever held. ”The FIFA World Youth Championship is a three- week long, 24 nation, 52-match tournament featuring the best young 20-year-old players in the world. It is the second largest event staged by FIFA after the FIFA World Cup, including such graduates as Maradona, Saviola, Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Bebeto and Dunga as well as Canada’s Craig Forrest and many members of the current Men’s World Cup Team including Julian de Guzman, Paul Stalteri, Atiba Hutchinson and Iain Hume. Last held in CONCACAF in 1983 in Mexico, Canada’s most recent participation in this event occurred last December when its squad had its best ever finish, losing to eventual silver medalist Spain on a golden goal in the quarter finals in the United Arab Emirates.The Championship will take place in six major stadiums in at least four major regions across Canada with the tentative dates for the tournament set for July 1-22, 2007.

Lucania - Minnesota Split the Weekend Series!

August 9, 2004 --

Despite what threatened to be a damp weekend, Winnipeg Lucania hosted the Minnesota Blast this weekend in a two game exhibition series at St. Vital Memorial Park. Lucania edged out the Blast 3-2 in game one, while the Blast came away with a 2-1 victory on Sunday.

Saturday night's game saw both teams play at a blistering pace. All five goals of the match came in the first half, with 2 goals from Tim Colisimo and the game winner from Serge Bohemier.

Sunday afternoon's game saw Minnesota take a 1-0 lead half way through the first half when Lucania goalkeeper Adrian Magri attempted to clear a Minnesota through ball, which took an unfortunate deflection into the Lucania goal. Lucania responded in the second half with Serge Bohemier's third goal of the weekend. The Blast earned the eventual winner late in the game to round the weekend series out with both teams earning a victory.

Commenting on the weekend series, Lucania manager Mike Nardiello was pleased with the results. "The pace of the games this weekend pushed our team to the limit. These games will prove to be invaluable going into the MSA Cup."

Veteran defender Russ Harder echoed his manager's comments adding "despite Sunday's result, I think we were generally satisfied with what we took from this weekend. These games elevated our fitness level significantly and we were able to come away from the weekend healthy, which is important at this stage of the season."

Lucania will compete in their first MSA Cup game on either August 23 or August 24, pending the outcome of a draw on August 15th.

Carman Valley Leader-Making a “pitch” for soccer fieldsFacilities needed to cope with growth

By Gene Still


The growth of soccer’s popularity in Carman has led to local recreation officials making a “pitch” to expand the number of available soccer fields in town. Tara Brennan, general manager of the Carman-Dufferin Recreation Commission, said they are in the process of working towards adding to the community’s available soccer pitches or fields. “Over the last couple of years, soccer has grown and those numbers will continue to increase so we’re in desperate need of more soccer pitches,” Brennan said. Robin Cox, coach of the Carman Blues’ squad that competes in a female city league, founded the local soccer program in 1988 with 15 players. And Cox noted how since that time it’s grown to the point that this current season there are approximately 250 players from youth to adult, playing the sport in the community. However the increase in the number of available fields has not kept up with the increase in players. Essentially the town only has one “true regulation” field and that’s on the far east side of Carman Collegiate. The other pitches, at Sunnyside, Dufferin Christian School and another near the baseball diamonds on the collegiate grounds, are not regulation. Brennan said the rec. commission is well aware that this situation needs to change. “It’s huge because as a community the size of Carman, to be in the position to have to turn kids away or force older teams to consider playing home games elsewhere, is not the situation we want to be in,” Brennan said. “It’s so important that we get (more) fields up and going.” Complicating matters is the fact that Recreation doesn’t own any land for soccer. But Brennan said they’re planning to change that by beginning preliminary negotiations with a landowner about the possible purchase of 12 acres. However she was quick to note, that talks have only just begun and there remain many factors to be decided such as lighting, parking, hydro, surveying the land and the final price tag. “It’s hard to predict, because we’re in the process of just looking at the land and surveying and figuring out exactly what we will need,” Brennan said. A local soccer coach and past-president of the Carman Minor Soccer Association, Kelly Gerbrandt, welcomed the push to create more pitchs for the sport. “It’s been a couple of years that minor soccer numbers have been increasing,” Gerbrandt said. “There’s an obvious need for more space. “If you want to develop kids’ skills and keep them coming out, you need to provide places to play.” Brennan added, that while they haven’t set a formal deadline, they are working to solve the problem as soon as possible. Once they’ve decided on their plans, they will approach the councils for Carman and the Rural Municipality of Dufferin, for funding. Additional sources of money will come via grant applications and future fund-raising projects.

Selkirk JournaTri-S soccer club hosting provincials

By Bill Gibb
— The Manitoba Soccer Association under-16 provincial tournament will be held in Selkirk. The event which will see eight girls and eight boys teams from around Manitoba compete for top honours as another soccer year wraps up.The tournament takes place Aug. 13th through 15th and will see the games played at the Rec Centre and the High School. The Tri – S Soccer Club will be organizing and hosting the event. Tri - S draws players from the communities of Selkirk, St. Andrews and St. Clements, said Brenda Ballance, director of communications for the club. “We have boys and girls teams from 11 years up to adults,” she said.Players try out for spots on both recreational and competitive levels of soccer teams. Tri – S is fairly new to the Winnipeg Youth Soccer League and having the opportunity to host the provincial tournament is a great feather in their cap. “Since there are no indoor facilities in our area, we have to go to Winnipeg whenever we play indoors,” said Ballance. “We’re hoping to raise funds to have an indoor facility in our area. Hosting the provincials will help.”Although organizing the tournament is a big job, Ballance is confident that things are coming together. “We could use volunteers to help with the canteen, to take water to the teams, and for flagging,” she said. Donations of all types would also be greatly appreciated. “It would be great to get items for the silent auction on Sunday,” said Ballance. “Any items for the canteen or even cash donations would all be really helpful."

Carman Valley Leader-Kickers win and tie

By Gene Still

— The Carman Kickers continued their quest for a playoff spot and post season positioning in the Fourth Division of the Manitoba Major Soccer League. On July 23 the Kickers took on the St. James Saints and emerged with a 1-0 victory as Jordan Vanderveen recorded the contest’s only goal. The Kickers’ squad hosted Kings Head last Thursday at Carman Collegiate Field. And the match ended in a hard fought, 3-3 draw. Vanderveen scored for the second consecutive game, while Tyson Kamminga and Richard Vanderveen had the other Carman markers.