The Markham Under-18 Girls House League All-Star team had a perfect start to its 2010 season with a thrilling victory in the Ontario 200 All-Star/Select Soccer Tournament in Grimsby on the July 17-18 week-end. The Hornets dominated their first game of the tournament on Saturday morning but could not beat an outstanding Brantford goalkeeper and had to settle for a scoreless tie. Bryanna Lundie was not as busy as her Brantford counterpart, thanks to the rock-solid play of her defence, but was flawless when called upon. The next game against the Mount Hamilton B team was another close battle, with midfielder Oriana Paoletti scoring the game’s only goal five minutes into the second half when she broke free on a partial breakaway down the right wing and deposited a perfect strike into the far corner. Lundie and the defence were once again unbeatable, preserving the 1-0 win. Markham’s shut-out string finally ended 16 minutes into their third game of the day, as the Hornets found themselves trailing for the first time in the tournament. Instead of deflating them, this Simcoe goal sparked the Hornets into action. Striker Michelle Addorisio tied the game three minutes later and then put Markham ahead with her second goal of the game with ten minutes remaining. Paoletti added an insurance marker in the last minute of the game, as Markham prevailed 3-1 and ensured a berth in the championship final even though they still had another round robin game to go. With five of their players not returning for the fourth round robin game against Mount Hamilton A on Sunday morning, the team needed two U14 call-ups just to field 11 players. With no substitutes and nothing on the line in this game, the team still managed to hold their strong opponents to a scoreless draw. 13-year-old call-up Lauren Wroblewski recorded the Markham shut-out. Mount Hamilton A and Markham finished on top of the five-team division with identical records of two wins and two ties in the round robin, with exactly the same goals for and against. The final promised to be a close, exciting battle, and it lived up to its promise. Bolstered by a third U14 call-up and the return of another player, Markham was back up to 13 players for the final. Mount Hamilton shocked the Hornets 8 minutes into the game with a well-placed shot from distance that was just beyond the reach of Wroblewski and just under the cross bar. Markham struggled to generate any serious scoring chances and it was beginning to look like a second consecutive runner-up finish for the Hornets in this tournament. With about 8 minutes left in the game, the team decided to send defender Natalie Cramarossa into the attack as a fourth forward in a last-ditch attempt to tie the game. The move finally paid off with only two minutes left, as Cramarossa crossed the ball from the right corner and watched it deflect into the goal off a Mount Hamilton defender who was under pressure from a swarm of Hornets. The team decided to continue with four forwards in overtime, and the strategy paid dividends almost immediately, as Addorisio fired a rocket from the top of the 18-yard box that the Mount Hamilton keeper had no chance on. It was probably the most spectacular goal of the tournament, which was fitting for a golden goal that won the championship! Also contributing to the team's big win were: Maggie Bell, Katherine Burnett, Victoria Christofilos, Alana Gottschalk, Jill Kooymans, Ashley Korey, Kristen McCulloch, Rysha Schuler, Rachel Tam, Rosanna Tamburro, and U14 call-ups Victoria Luciano and Clarissa Noxon. The team was coached by Jerry Kooymans and Carmen Addorisio and is sponsored by CIBC.
Last changed: Aug 23 2010 at 11:40 PM Back | |||||||
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| All-Star News 2010 Summer |
