Former champs struggle to ninth-place finish at nationals - WFP

Tue Oct 11 2005
By Allan Besson
SOMETIMES the breaks work in your favour. Sometimes times they don't.
"We've been here (Canadian Senior Soccer Championships) so often," said Lucania team captain Russ Harder, whose Manitoba squad settled for a 2-0 ninth-place win over Yukon yesterday in Calgary. "We understand that there are lucky breaks here and there. In 2000, when we won the championship, we had a few breaks go our way. This year we didn't have any, so I guess it evens out."
Franco Cassano scored in the first half for Lucania and Rob Gale added the other goal in the second half.
"Ninth place is kind of embarrassing," said Harder, a centre back. "This was definitely the worst we have finished in my nine years with the team. We have won a gold, a couple of bronze and fifth. This year we have nothing to show for it."
Lucania drew with Alberta 1-1 in first game of the tournament, and lost to Saskatchewan 5-2 in the second. In the consolation rounds, Lucania beat Newfoundland 2-0 and then took on Yukon.
"We looked beyond the win (with Saskatchewan)," said Harder, "and we got away from our game. We've got to retool a bit for next year now and look for some new players. We had a great year in Manitoba winning the MSA Cup, league and playoffs. But we'll have to be a little more focused on being competitive in Nationals for next year." Sweat Shack took seventh overall in the women's senior championship, beating Newfoundland 2-1.
"Our seed was seventh, so we finished in our seed," said Manitoba coach Martyn Daly, "but realistically our goal was to finish in the top five."
Sweat Shack got a goal from Rose Bohemier and then won the game on penalty kicks as the teams were tied 1-1 after regulation.
With an average age of 22, Daly said Sweat Shack will be back next year:
"We know what we have to do to get better. That's why these things are a good benchmark, you can see what separates you from the best, and get a good sense of the things we have to work on to close that gap."
At Sydney, N.S., the South End United Under-18 girls were aiming to finish in the medal round, and that is what they did yesterday but fell short of a bronze when they lost 4-1 to Quebec. "The girls played really well,' said their coach Judy Pirnie. "We're not disappointed as long as the kids gave a 100 per cent performance, and they did."
South End's lone goal was scored by Jessica Perrault. "We were happy to have made it into the medal round," said Pirnie, whose team beat Prince Edward Island 7-1, New Brunswick 5-1, tied Saskatchewan 1-1 and lost to Ontario 4-1 in round-robin play.
In the men's under-18 championship, Phoenix finished 10th after losing to Prince Edward Island 4-3. The Manitobans' finished the round robin with one tie (1-1 with New Brunswick) and three losses, 3-0 to Ontario, 6-1 to Quebec and 5-3 to Nova Scotia.
In the under-14 girls nationals in Moncton, N.B., the Bonivital Flames finished fourth after losing to Alberta 3-1. The Flames finished first in the three-team pool with victories of 5-0 over New Brunswick and 3-0 over British Columbia. In semifinal play, they lost 5-1 to Ontario.
Nova Scotia beat Brandon United Cougars 2-1 in the under-14 boys seventh-place final.
At Mount Pearl, Nfld., Manitoba's Phoenix defeated P.E.I. 7-1 to take ninth place in the boys under-16 championship, after losing all four of its round robin games. On the under-16 girls side, Bonivital Flames defeated Newfoundland 6-3 to finish sixth.
allan.besson@freepress.mb.ca

Tri-S men’s soccer teams come up short -Selkirk Journal

Sports Shorts


Friday October 07, 2005

Selkirk Journal — Soccer season is over for both of Selkirk’s mens teams as they come up just short in divisional playdowns.
The Tri-S Div. 2 team managed a quarter round 3-2 shootout win over the Kildonan Cavaliers Sept. 23 but could move no closer to the championship match as they lost in the semis to Spitfire F.C. 2-0 on Sept. 25.
With Spitfire the only team Selkirk was unable to topple this year, the local club appeared due for a win as they held the Winnipeg team in check. The game was 1-0 until the final minutes when a second goal ended Selkirk’s hopes.
Ivar Helgasson scored twice in the Kildonan game with goalie Kyle Swystun adding the winner in a shootout.
Selkirk finished the regular season in third with a 11-8-3 record.
The Tri-S Div. 5 team likewise finished in third with a 14-6-4 record but were dumped in the quarterfinals by sixth place Granite United 1-0 as the vaunted Selkirk offence was held pointless.
With their finish, the Div. 5 club is expected to move up to Div. 4 next season.

Aeros’ season ends with loss to United - PDG

BY JOEY PAYEUR
Tuesday October 04, 2005

WINNIPEG — With everything Southport Aeros have gone through this year, certainly getting one bonus game at the end of a long season was within their rights -- and they almost got two.Southport had a 1-0 lead just before half-time when a controversial play set up the tying goal and turned the tide in favour of United F.C., which scored the game winner in the second half for a 2-1 victory in Manitoba Major Soccer League Second Division quarter-final action on Sept. 25 in Winnipeg.Duane Chaves put the Aeros in front with yet another great individual effort, working his way around a pair of United defenders before delivering a cannon shot to the lower corner.With the intermission looming and the lead seemingly safe, disaster struck Southport in the form of a misstep and a possible mistaken call by the match referee.“The ball had lots of moisture on it from the morning dew,” recounted Aeros defender Cam Scott, who unintentionally instigated the mishap. “I went to clear it, and the ball went off my foot and deflected back into the 18-yard box.“(Southport goalkeeper) Jay Barber) picked it up,” he continued. “No one thought there was a problem. But the ref called me for passing it back to Jay, and gave United a free kick from about 13 yards out. Our wall was backed right up into the net, and they scored off the free kick when it deflected in.”Still reeling from their bad luck, the Aeros couldn’t regroup enough to hold off United, which scored midway through the second half and held on for the win in the affair that began at 9:15 a.m., a kickoff time that had Scott wondering about the league’s playoff scheduling procedures.“The game could have been at a better time for us,” he declared. “Because we’re in Portage, we have to be up at 7 a.m. or sooner to make it out to Winnipeg in time. I know the day and time was picked a long time ago. But it wouldn’t have taken that much to switch one game time.“I think we got the raw end of the deal. I don’t want to make any grudges. But it’s not just us. You have teams in the division from Carman, Selkirk and Winkler, too. Help us out a little bit.”Though the season didn’t finish on an up note, Scott was satisfied with the effort the team put in during a 10-8-4 regular season which put it fifth in Second Division, two points back of Selkirk and United.“Except for that horrendous drought in July, it was a pretty successful season,” stated Scott, who had truckloads of praise for the younger Aeros who firmly established themselves as credible contributors to the Southport cause.“Guys like Dawson Ogilvie, Ben Wettlaufer and Chris Carson stepped up and played full-time roles for us, and guys like Nick St. Goddard and Jordan McAllister also played well.”Southport’s only stretch of difficulty came in July, when it went 0-4-1 and scored only seven goals in five games.No review of the Aeros’ season would be complete without mention of the incredible story of Chaves, who was critically injured in a workplace accident on May 6, but returned almost 11 weeks later and went on to terrorize goalkeepers for an amazing 13 goals in 11 games to lead Southport and almost the Second Division in scoring.“Duane was beyond the hospital bed,” Scott said in reference to the striker’s fragile condition after the accident.“The chance to see what he has been able to do has been absolutely phenomenal. It shows what youth and strength and a good positive attitude can do for a person.“If he’s with us all year, things are different and we’re definitely challenging for promotion (to First Division), rather than just finishing fifth.”Southport player/coach Danny Brooks, who missed the playoff game, said his team can take pride in the demeanour with which it carried itself throughout the MMSL season.“We’ll probably win the team sportsmanship award from the league,” said Brooks.“We managed to stay disciplined and avoid getting into card trouble. We had no one in front of the league disciplinary committee.“Next year is about rebuilding. I have had the opportunity to scout the talent at the high school games while I’m refereeing, and I certainly think there’s a few more youngsters that will be coming into the fold for us next summer.”

Lucania toughs out final victory-Winnipeg Free Press

Lucania toughs out final victory
Mon Oct 3 2005
By Allan Besson
Midfielder Mike Kolinski converted a sweet pass from Rob Gale 32 minutes into the first half for the winner as Lucania defeated Sons Of Italy 2-0 to win the Manitoba Major Soccer League championship yesterday.
"We broke out of our end on a quick counter with a four on three," recalled Kolinski after the game. "I was running up the opposite wing where it was wide open and Gale made a nice cut across the centre, saw me open, flipped the ball through and that is what happened.
"I didn't expect it would happen that way," Kolinski went on. "I had a couple of chances in the beginning, but I was just fortunate to have the ball slip through the defenders legs and come out to my foot so I just buried my chance."
Sons of Italy defeated Ital-Inter 2-0 in one semifinal Saturday to get to yesterday's game, while in the other, Lucania blanked Maples Juventus 6-0, giving goalkeeper Brian Oleksiuk two shutouts in as many days.
In a chippy game that had both teams trash-talking each other both on the field and at the bench, Lucania held the edge throughout the match.
"It was a physical game right from the start, but in the cup final or the big game, the boys always seem to settle down and play well," said Bob Clarke, who coached Lucania to a record of 18 wins, one loss and three ties to finish first in league play this year. "They've been there before, and right from the back to the front it was a solid game for 90 minutes today." "I thought this was a very hard fought game," said Sons of Italy coach Larry Ladobruk. "Both teams actually played fairly well. It was just that our last balls into the box and towards the net were unsatisfactory. They were either short or long, or just not on target. We just didn't get the job done."
Lucania's game plan from the opening kick off was to match Sons of Italy physically, and eventually allow their own skills to take over. "And it seemed to work out that way," said Clarke. "We matched them from the start and our composure and experience just took over."
Clarke said it has been a tough season over all. "There are good teams in Winnipeg, and tough competition. We came through it all, got some breaks and that is why we won everything. This is the end for Manitoba, but we go to Calgary on Wednesday for the Nationals. We'll see what happens out there."
Tempers flared on the field in the second half as Sons of Italy tried desperately to even the score, but at the 65th minute mark their chances were dealt a blow when they lost Steve Rebizant, who drew a red card from the referee for throwing a punch and had to leave the game.
Lucania's insurance marker was scored at the 85th minute when Tim Colisimo crossed the ball in front of the net and it bounced off of a defender, past Sons of Italy goalkeeper Steve Sawatzky.