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September 3, 2022 League1 Ontario Final--Vaughan Azzurri vs Blue Devils FC game report (by Rocket Robin)
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Results and details of the League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game of Saturday September 3, 2022 between
Vaughan Azzurri and Blue Devils FC played at Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 1:00pm. This was the Final
of the 2022 season with the winner crowned champion.
Vaughan Azzurri (white socks and shirts, red shorts, navy numbers)
.......................12 Gianluca Catalano
17 Alejandro Portal Oliva...6 Justyn Thomas...19 Daniel Gogarty...3 Riley Ferrazzo
10 Jason Mills...23 Andron Kagramanyan...21 Dylan Carriero (cpt)...8 Massimo Ferrin
..............5 Raheem Rose...24 Koisochukwu Nwafornso
Subs:...1 Christian Calabro (gk)...4 Jaytin Pabla...7 Jahsua Mills...9 Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez
...11 Adam Rustami...13 Taesung Park...16 Dilman Grewal...18 Baldwin Thomas Cerros...20 Ryan Khedoo
team officials:...team head coach Patrice Gheisar...assistant coaches Anthony Vadori, Carmine Isacco, and Jorden Felciano
manager Antonio De Palma...therapist Katie Barley
Blue Devils FC (all navy uniforms, white numbers)
........................1 Lucas Birnstingl (cpt)
..........5 Shaq Lowe...6 Adam Czerkawski...3 Luka Frankovich
12 Mario McLennon...7 Matthew Santos...23 Kyle Porter...20 Gianluca Spadafora
...........17 Brandon Duarte...16 Khody Ellis...9 Taha Ilyass
Subs:...27 Tomas Markovic (gk)...2 Michael Krezeminski...4 Patrick Perriel...10 David Velastegui
...11 Navid Rahman...15 Antonio Sereno...18 Dre Neptune...19 Matheus Mello...22 Marcus Riviere
team officials:...team head coach Duncan Wilde...assistant coaches Glenn McNamara and Jordan McMillan
...manager Kim Ashton...equipment manager Mark Heathcote...therapist Dr Patrello
Game officials:...referee Ryan Schwenger...referee's assistants Jason Vaillancourt and Twayne Anderson
...fourth official Brian Butler...(red socks and shirts, black shorts)
First Half:...game starts 1:05pm...Vaughan defends south end on this very hot and humid day with a bright sun in the south.
18 sec...BD Ilyass cross from left end line is pushed wide left by goalie.
50 sec...BD Porter high cornerkick from right is over players in box.
2 min...BD Ilyass rush and shot from 20 yards wins cornerkick on right.
2 min...BD Porrter cornnerkick from right has VA Thomas clear on near side of box.
3 min...VA Carreiro freekick from middle has defender head away at 15 yards.
4 min...BD Ilyass suffers ankle injury at center line and needs trainer.
6 min...VA Ferrin blasts low 25 yard shot up middle that goalie flies left to push ball wide of post.
7 min...VA player's cornerkick from left has defenders clear in box.
9 min...BD McLennon has to leave game for treatment of a bloody cheek.
12 min...VA Ferrazzo 18 yard shot is blocked by defender. VA Nwafornso 25 yard shot wins cornerkick on deflection in crowd of players.
13 min...VA Ferrazzo cornerkick from right is short and wasted as it's not crossed into box.
15 min...Vaughan Jason Mills GOAL...VA player from 60 yards on left sideline chips ball forward bouncing
to VA Koisochukwu Nwafornso at top left corner of box. Nwafornso turns and rolls centering pass to Mills who stops ball,
turns and fires 18 yarder forward into top left corner of net over goalie at 3 yards.
16 min...VA defenders clear ball on edge of box.
18 min...VA Ferrin 40 yard freekick on left is over sliding VA Gogarty at 6 yards on right.
20 min...VA Thomas run on left and low cross to VA Nwafornso who is bumped over by defender as goalie picks up loose ball.
Nwafornso needs the trainer on edge of BD 6 yard box.
.........A water break is called.
23 min...Play resumes.
24 min...BD Porter receives low centering pass and 22 yard screened shot is rolled wide left.
25 min...VA goalie outjumps BD Santos to catch bouncer on left side of box.
26 min...BD Santos scissor kick down middle from 22 yards is stopped.
27 min...BD Ellis rolls centering pass from left and BD Santos rolls 20 yarder weakly that goalie smothers on right post.
29 min...Vaughan Koisochukwu Nwafornso GOAL...VA Alejandro Portal Oliva and VA Dylan Carreiro work give and go
with Portal Oliva at 18 yard line on right rolling centering pass to Carreiro who rolls ball forward and right to charging
Portal Oliva just wide right of 6 yard box. Portal Oliva rolls ball along 3 yard line past sliding goalie to Nwafornso in center
who has 5 yard tap-in to center of empty net.
29 min...BD Porter cornerkick from right has BD Lowe leap to lead 18 yarder up middle wide left of net.
31 min...BD Ellis cross from left end line has defender head away.
32 min...BD Porter 33 yard freekick from left is stopped and cleared.
33 min...VA Portal Oliva chests ball down takes 22 yard shot and ball is cleared at 8 yards.
34 min...VA Ferrazzo is injured with high kick to face and needs trainer at 35 yard line.
36 min...VA Rose rush from sideline along 30 yard line and in middle pushes ball just too far for VA Carreiro who pushes ball
over end line.
37 min...BD Porter cornerkick from right has BD Lowe leap in crowd of players and head 25 yarder wide left.
39 min...BD Porter cornerkick from right has BD Czerkawski pop up header from 18 yards wide left but play is whistled down for pushing.
40 min...Vaughan Raheem Rose gains possession in battle in middle and rolls ball forward from 45 yard line
to VA Koisochukwu Nwafornso splitting the defenders on his run almost gains possession at 8 yards well wide right but goalie
dives for ball and misses the ball that Nwafornso tapped forward and trips him over. Referee Ryan Schwenger awards Vaughan
a Penalty kick.
41 min...Vaughan Massimo Ferrin GOAL...Ferrin rolls Penalty kick to left side of net as goalie Lucas Birnstingl dove right.
43 min...BD YELLOW card...Spadafora earns it for sliding tackle on VA Mills who needs trainer at VA 40 yard lline breaking out.
45 min...Vaughan Koisochukwu Nwafornso GOAL...VA Justyn Thomas at 75 yards in middle rolls ball forward
to VA Andron Kagramanyan at center line and he rolls ball forward to VA Dylan Carreiro cutting over from left to middle
at 33 yard line and he one-touches ball forward to Nwafornso splitting defence at 25 yard line up middle and pushes ball
forward and right then gets to ball at 8 yard line on right and chips sliding goalie into low center of open net.
48 min...BD Porter corcnerkick from right has BD Frankovich pop up header at 8 yards up middle and goalie swats away
from left post and defender clears out of box.
49 min...Blue Devils Taha Ilyass GOAL...BD Kyle Porter is tied up with VA Massimo Ferrin at VA 35 yard line and passes
to right for VD Matthew Santos who chips from 30 yard line sideline to Ilyass at 15 yards in center of box who steps right
then cuts 15 yard blast past VA Justyn Thomas and low bouncer into left side of net over diving goalie Gianluca Catalano.
50 min...half ends 1:55pm.
Halftime: The VA subs are the only players who warm up. The game day staff bring out the trophies, medals, and tables
for the presentation later.
Second Half:...starts 2:13pm.
Halftime subs:...BD Velastegui replaces Porter.
....................BD Riviere replaces McLennon.
46 min...VA Ferrin rush down left andd blasts low 30 yarder cutting into middle and fires low 30 yard shot up the middle which
has goalie fly to left and push ball wide of the post.
47 min...Vaughan Koisochukwu Nwafornso GOAL...After a VA cornerkick is cleared by BD players, VA Jason Mills
recovers at VD 35 yard line in middle. He rolls pass right and forward to VA Justyn Thomas who receives pass
at 15 yard line and rolls centering pass partially forward and Nwafornso shoots 6 yarder up middle into open left side
of net as goalie was guarding near post.
49 min...BD Duarte low 15 yard shot from far left is stopped by sliding goalie at 8 yards.
50 min...VA defenders make a few key stops and clearances in VA box.
51 min...BD Santos chips 35 yarder that sliding BD Ilyass shoots wide left from 7 yards.
54 min...BD player chips 35 yarder tfrom left wide right of net.
54 min...VA Rose 30 yard roller up middle is picked up by goalie.
57 min...VA Ferrazzo on give and go shoots 12 yard roller that goalie gets hand to on slide and ball rolls wide right of post.
58 min...BD goalie outjumps VA Thomas to catch cornerkick on right near post.
59 min...BD Ellis tips ball off VA left post and ball deflects over net.
60 min...BD cornerkick from left is cleared out right side of box.
62 min...BD Ellis shot has VA Portal Oliva slide to deflect it giving up cornerkick.
63 min...BD Ellis low cornerkick from left has VA Thomas as nearest defender on left stop ball and clear.
64 min...VA sub...Benitez Hernandez replaces Pabla.
..........BD sub...Perriel replaces Lowe.
..........BD sub...Rahman replaces Spadafora.
..........BD sub...Krzeminski replaces Ellis.
65 min...BD Santos high cross on run down left sideline to VA 25 yard line has VA Gogarty miss ball on left side of box
but also prevents BD Riviere from getting to it and ball bounces wide right for goalkick.
66 min...BD Riviere run down right to get to ball and low cross near end line has VA Thomas clear in 6 yard box.
66 min...VA YELLOW card...Mills earns it for time wasting kicking ball out of bounds after whistle.
68 min...VA Ferrazzo rolls pass forward and VA Carreiro rolls 22 yard shot off right post.
69 min...BD Ilyass pops 22 yard header just over net on receiving cross from left.
69 min...VA sub...Jahsua Mills replaces Ferrazzo.
.........A water break is called.
71 min...play resumes.
72 min...VA Benitez Hernandes can't win Penalty kick call on BD Frankovich tackle in box.
73 min...BD Velastegui blasts loose ball at 25 yards well over bar.
77 min...BD Krzeminski spins and shoots 18 yarder that goalie catches.
78 min...VA YELLOW card...Carreiro earns it for sliding tackle on BD Krzeminski at VA 30 yard line. Carreiro helps Krzeminski
get up but then goes down himself injured and signals to be sustituted.
79 min...BD sub...Neptune replaces Frankovich.
...........BD sub...Mello replaces Riviere (who'd only come in at halftime).
...........VA sub...Pabla replaces injured Carreiro before play resumed. Jason Mills becomes captain.
80 min...BD Velastegui 35 yard freekick from left has BD Czerkawski pop 15 yard header that goalie catches.
80 min...VA Benitez Hernandez cornerkick from right is short and VA players win throw-in.
82 min...VA YELLOW card...Pabla earns it for sliding tackle on BD Krzeminski.
83 min...BD Velastegui 35 yard freekick from right has VA Thomas pop ball away with header.
84 min...BD Mello cross along 8 yard line and goalie flies forward and pushes ball ahead. BD Santos shot from 10 yards in middle
is blocked by defender.
85 min...Two BD players are down with injuries. It's Duarte and Czerkawski.
86 min...VA sub...Khedoo replaces Ferrin before play resumes.
87 min...BD Duarte is injured and needs trainer at VA 40 yard line. He leaves the game on the far sideline.
91 min...VA sub...Thomas Cerros replaces Rose.
93 min...VA Thomas Cerros long run down right sideline eluding defenders until knocked over just to right of 18 yard box.
Two VA players in pursuit continue into box until a delayed whistle. BD Neptune and VA Thomas Cerros are injured.
BD are awarded a freekick.
94 min...BD Santos 28 yard freekick from slight left is sent over net.
94 min...game ends 3:04pm.
Final Score:....Vaughan Azzurri........5.......Blue Devils FC........1.........
The stands were full with some spillover lining along the fence (not blocking the view of front row fans) into each endzone. I asked L1 Canada commissioner Dino Rossi for his fan estimate like I did last month when the L1O Women's final was held here and he said 1200. (800 for the Women's). This game had a surprise 1:00pm starting time and the weather was much warmer than seasonal with a temperature of 33C but with humidity 'feeling like 40C' per my phone's weather app. The sun burned down most of the game from the south as did a wind from that direction which wasn't blowing cooler air. Only thing we might have lucked into (I know the game time was scheduled weeks in advance) was to play it early to avoid the 5:00pm expected thunderstorm which has effected a few games this season. That threat never materialized and my neighbouring city was still waiting for even a drop of rain well into the night. Referee Ryan Schwenger gave out four Yellow cards (three to Vaughan) in this all for hard or sliding tackles except one for time wasting. I suppose with the game being so out of hand, there really isn't much need for timewasting. Water breaks were scheduled in each half. First half won flowed perfectly as there was an injury that required a trainer at 20 minutes and second one at 70 minutes when there was a substitution being made anyway. A pleasant surprise that the officiating crew were all L1O officials. Tony Comacho, a national assessor and instructor at the Canadian Soccer Association was here for the game and he said it was a reward for their work during the season. Previous years they chose a referee who also officiated CPL games or way back even Canadian international referees. He could use first names with players telling them to move back downfield before their throw-in. Fourth official Brian Butler explained to the Vaughan bench why a dropped ball went to the Blue Devils after Schwenger stopped play when a player was injured from each team—because it was in the Blue Devils box even though Vaughan players had possession—because a call in the box always goes to the defending team. Vaughan put this game away in the first half roaring out to a four goal lead. Blue Devils got one back in first half added time but Vaughan scored in the first two minutes of the second half killed off any Blue Devils momentum. That goal was the third of the game for Koisochukwu Nwafornso who also had an assist and drew the Penalty kick so he was involved in all five goals. He was subbed off at 64 minutes or who knows what else he would have done. This was the ninth time I'd seen Vaughan this season. Except for the first weekend when I saw them beat Prostars FC 5-1 (a team that would improve and grab the last playoff spot), I never saw them score that many again until today. I saw quite a few of their close games but would receive tweets when I was somewhere else that they'd scored 5,6,7,8 goals as the season wore on against some of the also- rans. A league strategist said they usually wrap up games in the first half and coast the rest of the way so they need to be pushed by Blue Devils early. I was witness to late game heroics when I saw Massimo Ferrin bash his way upfield through six players on London TFC to score the winner in injury time back on June 26 (still my choice for Goal of the Year) and during the semi-final when Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez roofed a shot at 75 minute to the short side top right corner in a come-from-behind against Simcoe County Rovers to get to today's game. Vaughan becomes the first team to win the L1O championship three times. The league started in 2014 with the first two years of not holding playoffs and also had no season in Covid 2020. Only eight years of winners then and Vaughan holds the most (2016, 2018, 2022), can they do it in an 'odd' year? Blue Devils second with championships in 2015 and 2017. Others were Toronto FC Academy 2014, Masters FA in 2019, and Guelph United in 2021. Vaughan is also the first L1O team to be invited to participate in the Canadian Championships for the second time. Their other appearance was in 2019 when they hosted HFX Wanderers (first year of the CPL) and lost 3-2 then went to Halifax and won 1-0 but were put out by the away goal rule. The win may also keep some of the older Azzurri players around for for the chance to play in the Canadian Championships next May likely against a CPL opponent in the opening round instead of moving on to other L1O teams. Just over two weeks ago the Vaughan team won the OPDL Boys U17 Cup so there is a pipeline of future players pushing their way up. After the game medals were given out. Bronze for the four game officials, silver for Blue Devils players and staff, and gold for Vaughan players and staff. The championship trophy was given out and then the Supporters' Trophy for finishing first. Ah Ha! Now that's the time to give it out! Last year Vaughan had just completed their warm up for their semi-final match against Blue Devils and were called back to receive this trophy. Undefeated in the regular season in 2021 too. Posing for pictures was a distraction and momentum killer and Blue Devils jumped on them fast at 12 and 25 minutes and beat them 2-1. Don't you think that played on their mind all this season? I talked to L1 Canada Commissioner Dino Rossi who came over at halftime to make sure the post game ceremony was going to be run well. He answered that the league so far had not been invited to the Allstate Soccer Show trade show yet but he might get them some presence, Sunday October 2 at the International Centre in Mississauga. He introduced me to a guy I didn't recognize as a top blogger knowing him since he ran a team in that other league (Milltown FC). I bragged that I'd attended 41 Men's L1O games and the Women's Final this season plus York United FC and Toronto FC II games. I gave the man my card fumbling in my pocket as I carry two sets of cards. “Oops I have one for my cat as he's more popular than I am” (which is true, he has his own YouTube channel). “Sure I love them” he said maybe just to be polite accepting the second card. Before I left I had the feeling I should know who this guy is. Oops that is Mark Noonan the new commissioner of the CPL just being announced in the position earlier in the week. I was fooled by a pair of sunglasses and a pulled down baseball cap. I've done the same thing many years ago when Jonathan Osorio walked by and said 'Hello' while watching a TFC II game. And this stadium too!
Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01
Vaughan Azzurri starters
Blue Devils FC starters
Blue Devils Brandon Duarte (17) takes opening kickoff.
Vaughan Alejandro Portal Oliva (17) works ball upfield.
Vaughan Raheem Rose (5) looks to center pass.
Another Vaughan rush up the middle.
Blue Devils Khody Ellis (16) sends in cornerkick.
Vaughan Massimo Ferrin (8) runs up for Penalty kick.
Vaughan Koisochukwu Nwafornso (24) takes second half kickoff.
A Blue Devils cornerkick is sent in from the left.
Vaughan players greet their fans.
Bronze medals are given to the game officials.
Blue Devils players and team officials are presented with silver medals.
Vaughan players and team officials are presented with gold medals.
Trophy presentation. Dino Rossi L1 Canada Commissioner, Peter Augruso President and Chair of Board of Ontario Soccer,
Vaughan captains Dylan Carreiro and Jason Mills, and the new CPL Commisioner Mark Noonan
Vaughan players with trophies (the smaller Supporters' Trophy for finishing first and Championship Trophy)
Vaughan Azzurri players and staff pose in net.
Sure. Pile in more people!
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