August 14, 2024 • 52 mins
James chats with Italy U-20 national team coach Alberto Bollini, welcomes back Pierce Lang as the end of the League1 Ontario season takes shape, and touches on Canada's run at the 2024 Concacaf Girls U-15 Championship, the League1 Canada Inter-Provincial Championship, as well as the inaugural Canada Soccer PDP Championship in the news and notes.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to Next Pod, your weekly look at Canadian prospects
with the One, the Only, the Great, the Wondrous James
Grassi also me Dwayne. I'm Dwayne.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hello, Hello, and welcome to the Next Pod. We've got
a lot of ground to cover today with two big
interviews on the docket, and I was able to grab
a few minutes with Alberto Belini, the Italian men's U
twenty national team coach who was in town over the summer,
and then our league won. Ontario correspondent Pierce Lang drops
by to wrap up the women's Premier Division and check
(00:56):
in on the men as the end of season fast approaches.
Of those, we have a few news items to touch on.
Canada finished third at the CONCACAFF Girls U fifteen Championship
after beating Costa Rica two to one in the third
place match. One nil wins over Puerto Rico and Al
Salvador for Tina Cook's side set up a crucial final
group stage match versus Mexico, where they lost three to one.
(01:19):
Canada then pushed the US to spot kicks in the
semi final, falling four to after a one to one draw.
The US would go on to defeat Mexico three to
nil in the League A Final. Hopefully we'll have a
chance to dig a little deeper into their run in
the future. The first edition of Canada Soccer's Player Development
program Championship kicks off this weekend at Edmonton, Alberta. Will
(01:42):
run from August fourteenth to the eighteenth. All fifty matches
will be broadcast on YouTube, so if you've got any
plans this weekend canceled. Twenty eight teams will be competing
six each, six teams in each of the boys and
girls U seventeen age divisions, and then eight teams in
each at the U fifteen. Twenty twenty four League one.
(02:05):
Canada Interprovincial Cup was played last weekend in Hamilton at
Tim Morton's Field. In the semifinals, white Caps FC Girls
Elite defeated Calgary Blizzard two nil, and CS molrayl Utramal
defeated NDC Ontario five to four in a shootout after
a one to one draw. That was their second NDC knockout,
having beaten CF Montreal in the League in Quebec final
(02:27):
as well. And DC would go on to win the
third place match one nil over Calgary and the white
Caps needed penalty kicks to defeat Utramah after a two
to two draw in the final. That clinched a spot
in the twenty twenty five twenty six concacaft W Champions Cup.
For the white Caps. It was their second straight title
and neatly. Vancouver heads to Al Salvador on Thursday to
(02:49):
compete in the prelims of this year's competition. They faced
Alianza with a spot in Group B alongside Kaitlin Sheridan's
San Diego Wave, Christine Sinclair, Jesse Fleming and Janine Becky
and the Portland Thorns, Club America and Santa FEFC of Panama.
Really curious to see how they fare in this one,
especially with the landscape set to change drastically as the
(03:12):
new Northern Super League takes to the pitch next year.
And now for that first interview. Alberto Bellini, the Italian
U twenty national team coach in twenty twenty three European
U nineteen Championship winning coach, was in town for a
player camp and coaching clinic hosted by Milton Youth Soccer
Club The Milton Magic. I wanted to get a sense
(03:33):
of the talent he sees on the pitch while he's
over here. Other view of Canada abroad has evolved with
the recent successes, how Italy identifies talent and what hosting
the World Cup in twenty twenty six will do for
the sport in this country. And one of the players
for Alberto at that U nineteen Championship was dual national
Luca Kolioscho. So I wanted to get Alberto's thoughts on
(03:56):
the young man as well. Alberto, what brings you to
Toronto and can you give us a sense of of
what these player camps look like?
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Porto Toronto on a on a story Canada Okay, Alto
sap and Minion Avantage, Minanovichinton, alantaqua Verso, Cone Italia, Son
Columbus Center, Quintalta in Canada, Ni Piace Los Paumano, the
(04:26):
li persona Mi piace in modern Jovan.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
His approachonal like.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Culture, Los pot Ara Porto Spiritual contante persona with Marco Bonocio,
cam In Vita Syndra.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
It's a little bit of a history for him, so
it brings him to Toronto. It's first so he has
a passion for Canada because this is fifth time here.
The first time he came in nineteen ninety five through
Conney the federation that brought him here, the Italian Federation,
and he's been coming with and like I said, this
is his fifth camp.
Speaker 6 (04:57):
He loves the.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Characteristics of how hard working our players are and how
much desire they have to get better.
Speaker 6 (05:06):
And obviously through me, I've been able to connect him here.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
To come various times to do this cancer. He's very
happy and very eager and his enthusiastic of coming again lovely.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
He touched on this a little bit there, but what's
the assessment of the local of the quality of the
local players that you see in this week?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
And I got too simply al modo athlete hood approach,
a los port.
Speaker 6 (05:32):
Alto and.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Christ characteristic importante, la diferenza respect too none indispensa factur
ma comnca and a multiportant dopoor did she qu indiana
(05:56):
but the bell.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
And then Tujiasma.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
He says, the most important thing that he sees here
is the obviously the desire of these players and how
excited they are to be on the field. They have
an amazing physical capability, very very strong structure. But what
he finds is lacking maybe tier two would be the
understanding of the tactics. He says that back in compared
(06:24):
to Europe, it's a very tactical match. So when you
come here at the age of fourteen fifteen, sixteen year
olds that are in the camp, they don't have the
exact soccer I queue that one would have from from
the European base.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Completely understandable. I think one of the one of the
one of the issues Canadian software is constantly wrestling with
is identifying and nurturing young talent. How how does the
Italian youth national team go about that?
Speaker 6 (06:55):
Not a scouting molto.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
And then weekend as we are more telepis that technica
lintelgensa that personally.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Love Lego.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Persson the premach.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
All.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
Okay, So he said that this scouting in Italy in
particular is a very very particular system. He goes, everybody
is scouted. The scouter watch every single game that's going
on in the league. So every game that you go
to has scouting in the in in during that game
in the stands, and then he goes. They go through
a selection process where they give up votes in those
(07:51):
voats the major five heading squall.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Technique.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
So technoo, availability, intelligence, personalities and speed.
Speaker 6 (08:01):
Speed and the physical and physical.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
It's been a relatively good few years for Canadian soccer here,
barring the drone madness that we're going through right now.
How is Canadian soccer? Canadian football viewed in Italy and
in Europe.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
And Joly Campellatio Pei camp i'm Campila, the Alto in Altovello,
the competition EDI.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
So the most important thing to note is that Kennon,
over the last few years, when we talk about soccer,
you have more and more players playing in Europe, more
and more players playing in top divisions, in top tiers.
And whenever you have this mix of a player that
plays in a top league around the world at the
highest level, it's by nature that you're going to get better.
Speaker 6 (08:58):
And he says that has a big thing to do
with it.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
So hopefully that continues as they evolved more and more
over the next few years.
Speaker 7 (09:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
John Herdman used to always talk about the number of
tier one players in your squad as being a good
sign of the progress. Absolutely, Alberto I wanted.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
To get MLS LEMLS a level.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Of the camp.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
Yeah, even if you look at the league of in
MLS MLS raises the standard, raises the bar bringing in
several international players from around the world.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
That level gets higher, players get.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
Better, and then it also creates a better culture, better
culture for the people of the city, and you start
to see that passion and that all helps.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
He says, definitely, definitely. One player that was part of
the U nineteen European Championship winning squad for you, Alberta
was Luca Colocho, a guy whose name is pretty familiar here.
Just your thoughts on what you saw from that young man.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
I am ans because Luca is a strong player and.
Speaker 6 (10:03):
Good, good person.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Lanoso Bandolo, Visto, journey letdo sub let technica, probably Jopou.
Speaker 6 (10:26):
Vincinte.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So he said.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
When he saw him for the first time.
Speaker 6 (10:29):
Last year, it took him two days to realize that
he was the person for the team. He selected him
right away.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
He's a professional standard player.
Speaker 6 (10:37):
His speed and technical ability to fit in right with
the top players. He knew he had to sign him
right away. And not only from that, he he said,
it was a it was a winning It was a winning.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
You say he made the winning choice by bringing him
in because we all saw what he was capable of doing.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
And last one for me, uh, Canada will be co
hosting the World Cup in twenty twenty six. I imagine
it how your ninety was a was a strong memory
for you, Alberto. Just what should we look forward to
with the World's Game coming to Canada.
Speaker 6 (11:07):
In tonto prima di porta.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I think we amento porta jao petator businessujiamo tun organ
intotunapamento fantastica, the movimento this port meta video, live into.
Speaker 6 (11:25):
Their culture and live into the los ports.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Percacamente economy and malimportante la positivo versu Giovanni versus republico.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
So the most important thing is obviously we worry about
what it's gonna leave us, but also it's what it's
giving us right now, right now leading up to the
World Cup. It's going to give us that enthusiasm, that passion,
all that build up getting there, and he goes, yes,
once it gets here, of course, you don't want to
talk about the business side of it.
Speaker 6 (12:01):
It's going to be economic for the country and for
the cities. Yes, absolutely, But he.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
Goes what's left after and we see it from yes
to the Italian stage when it was done in USA.
Speaker 6 (12:10):
Is that passion, the growth.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
It's going to create a new movement and with that
movement we can have better players, better leagues and keep
growing as a sport.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Many thanks to Marco Bonofiglio of Pro Stars FC and
v R Sanagalia and Seri D for his help with
the translation, and to Alf the Blasts for setting up
the opportunity to speak with Albert. I recorded the upcoming
interview with Pierce last week and I'd hoped to turn
it around before the Interprovincial Championships on the weekend, but
shamefully I could not. Sorry about that. A few updates
(12:44):
to keep in mind before we throw to Pierce. On
the women's side, we mentioned some uncertainty around the promotion
relegation from the premier of the championship and that has
been sorted. Waterloo won their final match to pips krossop
EFC to the automatic promotion spot. Will now face North
Mississauga in the promotion playoff and that match looks to
(13:04):
be set for August seventeenth. And for the upcoming matches
that I mentioned in speaking with Pierce, Simcoe Vaughn turned
out to be a pretty wild four to four draw
Rovers took a three to two lead in the first half,
Vaughn scored twice around the hour mark and i Jahali
needed to equalize from the penalty spot. In the second half,
Woodbridge Grossapi ended in a two to one win for
(13:26):
SPROSAPI and ifty never give up winner from Omari Cadill
late clinch that victory. Alliance versus Vaughn is set for Wednesday,
as is an interesting relegation battle between Hamilton and Sigma,
which Peers and I touched on a little bit. With
all that said, here's the interview and welcome back to
next part.
Speaker 7 (13:47):
I'm really pleased to welcome to the show our Lead
one Ontario correspondent, the voice of League one Ontario, mister
Pierce Lang Pierce, thanks so much for making.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Some time boards, thanks for having me back on James.
Speaker 7 (14:00):
We've reached a critical point in the league. In the
League one calendar, the women's Premier Division has wrapped up
and we're getting excited for the inter Provincial Championships, which
are set to go this weekend. On the men's premier side,
we're near in crunch time in the season. I think
there's about six matches left for most teams. To be
played over these next four weeks, so I thought it
(14:22):
was an awesome time to get you on and look
back at some of the action that's happened and look
ahead to some of the action that's yet. So we'll
jump right in right now. So, as I mentioned, the
Women's Premier season has concluded and NDC Ontario topped the table,
as they had all year long. They clinched first place
sometime in mid July and ended up winning it by
(14:44):
eight points over FC London in the end, and they
did sell without their longtime head coach, Joey Lombardi, a
man who was foundational to the NBC system in this country.
He's been in the news for other reasons of late
that we won't get into too much, but NBC lost
their their next two after clinching against Vaughn and against London.
There are only two losses of the season, so they
(15:06):
were so close to having a.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Pretty epic invincible year.
Speaker 7 (15:11):
And Pierce, what I wanted to get you on was
they topped the table in the regular season last year
as well, but I ended up losing in the playoffs
to Alliance United. Were NBC the deserted winners this season? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (15:25):
I think they've had a phenomenal season, and it's a
testament to the quality of players that they do have.
You mentioned Joey Lombardi, and we kind of discussed this
off air, but I've had very limited interactions with Joey
on a professional level, just kind of in a pregame
(15:45):
chat scenario, and he told me very early on in
this season that he really believed this was the best
team that he's put forward, and that's saying a lot
considering the level of talent that he's had in the
last two years. But the team really jelled and they
were really playing very well together. So it was fascinating
(16:07):
to watch because I caught them a couple weeks ago
in Guelph, and then I caught them in there maybe
second game of the season against oh gosh, North Mississauga,
and we're kind of going to find themselves in a
promotion relegation playoff here in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
But they've.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
I think probably the end of the season. We see
these two losses more as a situation where they're dealing
with the fact that they've lost a lot of their
roster going into these last three weeks and certainly going
into the Interprovincial Championships where a lot of their players
have already left for university. They've played these last couple
(16:51):
of games with a distinctly different roster on their hands
than what we saw through most of the year, and
they've been dealing with injuries as well. It's I think
their record is a testament to the quality and when
you see the changes that have occurred in the lineup,
it kind of explains these two losses heading into the
(17:13):
Interprovincial Championships as a little bit more understandable, with perhaps
the lack of cohesion and some newer, younger faces getting
minutes that probably hadn't been seeing as much playing time
over the course of this season.
Speaker 7 (17:29):
Yeah, that's always one of the challenges for teams this
time of year. TFC two lost a couple of guys
who went off to school as well. But you like
the fact that it gives younger players a chance to
get a taste of it and hope that you know,
when next season comes around, they're that much more ready
to step in. As I mentioned, London made it interesting
in the clothes that are really strong end to their campaign.
(17:52):
They won their last eight matches that the end the season,
including a four to zero win over in DC, but
a winless run they had earlier year just opened up
too big of a gap.
Speaker 8 (18:03):
They did, however, end up lifting the League one Ontario
Cup on the one side, with NBC knocked out by
Gwelph in the round of sixteen, they left that open
a little bit and I thought there was some neat
symmetry that London and North Toronto.
Speaker 7 (18:15):
Ended up finishing third. With the two teams in that final,
London won at two to one. We talked a little
bit about London last time you were on, I believe,
but what have they achieved as a group this year?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Man, It's it's funny to see, right, because London keep
on chugging. Head coach Garrett Peters, who's probably gonna win
Coach of the Year, was Coach of the Month here
this last month really got his team really humming along here.
Like you said, the eight wins in a row that
(18:47):
they've had now, they've really gelled as the season went on,
which is again speaking to what you've talked about. But
this is a lot of players that he's gone through
and he's recruited and he's got a ton of girls
who've who've played at the U sports level, who are
top tier, top tier players wherever they are, whether they're
(19:11):
oh gosh, playing at Kate Bretton University or they're at
UBC like some of these girls. I'm trying to think
of Laurene Rowe specifically, or Ali Rowe, who scored a
goal in that final, who's one of the one of
(19:33):
the elite players in the a U S and who
was up for a Rookie of the Year. She holds
numerous records at her school, and it's just it's fantastic
to see the quality that he's brought in and the
ability that he's had to have them grow as this
cohesive unit because he took over from Mike Markocha, I
(19:58):
believe two years ago and has done a phenomenal job
coming over from Saskatchewan and building that program back to
something that it was before where they were always in
contention for winning the league. With Jade covid Seed, who
(20:22):
will be she'll be providing color commentary as I provide
play by play at the Interprovincial Championships this weekend. She'll
be doing all the games. But she stepped in and
they had to face off against her and her North
Toronto side in that fantastic Cup final that we watched
last week.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
Pierce North Toronto the losing Cup finalists. They had a
nice run in the mid season, but NBC's six wins
start to the year always had them in control. North
Toronto just just tell us a little bit about the
program that it looks like they had another strong year.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Yeah, it's kind of par for the core really for
North Toronto and the way they've been developing things. And
a lot of the credit's got to go to head
coach Billy Wilson on that he brought in Jakekovisvich, who's
obviously the League one Ontario all time leading goal scorer.
I think her record's going to go unbeaten for the
(21:18):
entirety of any of our lives, certainly, and she's the
OCAAA leading score and she came.
Speaker 7 (21:23):
In and she.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
Has led a very young group that it seems as
though anytime I've done a final over the last two years,
North Toronto have been in that match on the girls
or women's side, and they've been bringing through players. You
even only got to look towards Woodbridge, who brought over
(21:48):
Maya Fisher, who's a seventeen year old midfielder who was
starting for them almost the whole season, who might not
have got the playing time at North Toronto with how
deep they are on their women's side, and she's absolutely
fantastic and gone over to Woodbridge to compete. But you
look at just throughout their lineup, they've got quality, quality
(22:11):
players that like Sarah Rawins for example, who's at UBC
who want a national championship last year.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
They're just.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Racked full of top, top players that are rounding into
form just in time to go back to school. Unfortunately,
so they weren't able to pull off the victory against London,
but they were really impressive as the season went on,
and I'm excited to see what they can do in
the years to come because the programming that they have
(22:44):
set in place, and this was my point, off the top,
has created a style of play where these players are
very dynamic and their technical abilities are fantastic, and it
bodes well for our women's game. With that whole leadership
group with Billy Wilson and the announcement today about Marco
Milanovich coming over from the men's program to be the
(23:08):
head coach at AFC Toronto, it's it's it's only up
from there. Really excellent.
Speaker 7 (23:15):
I'm excited to see what the first season of the
Northern super League looks like. And you know, being a
Toronto gay myself, like.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
My allegiances will will most likely end up there.
Speaker 7 (23:25):
I'll be I'll have a little bit of love for
all the teams, but you know that's your hometown. You
got to get behind them. So we've got the NBC
heading to the inter Provincials this weekend. As we touched on,
looks like the Blue Devils are set to be relegated
to the League one Ontario Championship. I think that was
we touched on this a little bit the last time
you were on. It was always likely given the late
move up to the Premiere and North Mississauga is on
(23:48):
the bubble. You know we've got we will have as
the second bottom side in the in the Premiere, they
will play off against the second side its second top
se in the Championship. Currently it looks like Sprissapi FC
are in that top spot. I think there's one more
game left to be played there before we can call
that sor not. Think Waterloo or two points behind them
(24:11):
and they're playing me and Unionville Milliken tonight. So by
the time this goes live, well know, and I'll put
a little update at the end of this conversation so
that everyone's has up to date promotion playoffs ahead. This
is the first year of promotion relegation, and I think
I wanted to get your cloth closing thoughts on how
(24:33):
it influenced the action this year, if at all, and
how it was received by the clubs. How do you
think this this promotion relegation process went this year.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
You know, it's a fascinating question. I've watched that North
Mississauga side take on NBC Ontario in the second or
third game of the season and they were down a goal,
I believe, with ten minutes left and not applying any
pressure whatsoever. And I said in the broadcast and you
can go back and you can find it. They need
(25:07):
to consider that all points matter this season, and they
sat back. They did end up causing a turnover too,
which led to opportunities, but there was no intensity in
that match and it costs them. And you look at
now where they are, where they find themselves, and it's
exactly what I predicted was that if you're not going
(25:28):
to go out and try and win games. And you
have that mentality, there's a good chance that you're going
to find yourself in games you don't want to be
playing at the end of the season. And it's exactly that. Now.
I can't speak to the what went on in the
dressing room at North miss or what's going on around
the league because those are private conversations among coaches that
I'm not necessarily privy to. But I think it's definitely
(25:53):
had a massive impact because the reality is it's only
ten teams, so all the games are good games for
the most part when you take out of account maybe
the two or three bottom teams because they weren't as
competitive for whatever reasons for a lot of the season.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
But in.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
Some cases they played up to their competition as well.
But I think you touched on that Screwsopi versus North
miss game that is probable. I would say, unless Unionville
do beat Waterloo, that's SCISSAPI team's very very young and
(26:33):
very very hungry, and if they have to play at
North Mississauga side that are going to be missing all
their girls who've gone back to the NCAA or U
sports and they've got a team of seventeen eight year
old eighteen year olds who have been playing together all season.
I could see SCISSOPI going up and causing some real
trouble next year in the top flight. If they're giving
(26:54):
the chance, excellent.
Speaker 7 (26:56):
We're looking forward to to whoever ends up meeting that
in that promotion playoff. We don't have a date as
of yet, or we'll be sure to pass that on
what we do. Maybe just to close this little conversation
about the women's side, couple of MVP candidates that you
have in mind, or maybe if there was a game
in the season that you thought really stood out this year?
Speaker 4 (27:18):
Oh gosh, I think there's there's plenty of candidates for
m v P. I think Courtney Poone on North Toronto's
got to get a shout. I think Samantha Murphy on
Woodbridge is worth a look for sure. If I was
picking out of those squads NDC Ontario, if I had
(27:41):
to pick someone, it's hard to say, right because really
there's been so much squad rotation, Like if I wanted
to say it was one of the goalkeepers they were
switching out at half every game. Julia Bonnati's got to
be in the running. At FC London. She's had another
fantastic seasons, as you'd expect from a player of her caliber.
(28:04):
There's there's a number, but if it was someone outside
of those three, I would be I'd be surprised.
Speaker 7 (28:15):
And Pierce. So on the men's side the League one
Ontario Cup, we're down to our final fall. We've got
the Blue Devils versus Simcoe County and one semifinal, North
Toronto versus Vaughn and the other. We know the Oakfield
Simcol Mattress schedule for August twenty eighth. The other one yet,
I haven't seen a date for it, and the final
is on September seventh, later on this year. Who are
(28:36):
you liking in the men's side in the Cup.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
Well, I'm glad you confirmed it's the twenty eighth, since
I'm also the State of announcer for the Blue Devils.
Is that a home game for Oakville?
Speaker 2 (28:48):
I believe so.
Speaker 4 (28:49):
I believe so right, so I'll be getting paid. I
like the sounds of that. I would say that the
favorites have to be Vne at this stage. North Toronto
are pretty good, but I don't think they're of that
that top tier right now, that that we need in
(29:11):
in a in a game where everything is on the line,
like we will have moving forward in the Cup, because
I think it's it's uh Scressop's league to lose. So
we're left with these teams who are still in the Cup.
And as much as I'd love to see Oakville go through,
and I think that they maybe were involved in the
(29:33):
game and the season for me in that at Burlington
Cup tie, and obviously I've got a touch of bias there,
but I I just don't know if anyone else has
what it takes to beat Vaughn. Really like the Cup
is theirs to lose, if I if I had to
(29:56):
say one way or another, but Simcle County rovers if
if I'm honest with you, I know we talked about
this last time. We spoke about how they weren't playing
up to their form from last year. They've gone the
last ten games, or they had gone the last ten
games up until two weeks ago of this season without
(30:19):
Orlandos Benitas Hernandez, and then he came back against Oakville
and tore them to shreds in their regular season match,
which was the league one game of the week that
I did the play by play for and they're they're
looking good. We'll see if they make it through. I'd
predicted Von Simcoe final and then I still think vonn
(30:41):
are just too good. I think I think that just
the way that they're getting their scoring from a couple
of different guys and certainly a name that you and
I both loved talking about in Oh gosh, why is
it just gaving me to now here? Walks. It's who
(31:05):
I'm looking at, who who I know we talked about
before when we when we spoke last time. Uh, he's
just phenomenally had his his look at TFC two. I
think a lot of us don't think he got the
opportunity that was required or that would have allowed him
(31:26):
to display what he's got. I think he would be
a player that a CPL team who are struggling to
score would really want to take a look at. He's
done it at the us L two level, He's done
it everywhere he's been and I and I think that, uh,
he's someone that would make a difference at that level.
And it's a shame no one's given him a shot.
(31:46):
But yeah, I had to put money down it would
be on vond to win the cup and I think
the the Blue Devils will be in tough against Simco
in the match that they've got, So if if it
turns out to be Simcoe versus One, you can't say
I didn't tell you. So yeah, Rashawn, I mean if.
Speaker 7 (32:08):
Your cavalry, if you're Halifax, I don't know how this
guy hasn't gotten a look. He was very much a
Johnny TWEENI at CFC two had a real starters and
finishers kind of thing where he had guys that would
go for that first hour and guys that would go
for that thirty minutes. And then Rashawn's first season he
was just light out in that final thirty minutes. He
(32:30):
scored like six or seven goals and like five hundred
minutes of play. And second season he was given a
bit more of that starters role and he never really
adjusted to it and had the same kind of return.
The game is different depending on when you come home.
But yeah, he's a guy that I've got a lot
of time for and it's good to hear that he's
doing so well with Vaughn, and I think we'll be
(32:51):
seeing him in the CPL before too long. As you mentioned, Pierce,
I'm sorry good.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
He's got nine goals in fourteen games and three in
the Cup in two games, played like he's having a
phenomenal season. Like, so, what's what's he got to do
to get his shot?
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Beyond me? Beyond me?
Speaker 7 (33:10):
But I thought I thought he should have been. Yeah,
I'm if I'm a CPO guy. One of the first
things I'm doing and when the off season comes around
is I'm looking at all those MLS next pro sids,
I'm looking at the academy clubs, and I'm going, all right,
who who needs a position? Because we've seen, you know,
Christian Greco Taylor, who was like all of the white
Caps has done really well. I think Joe Hanson's been
(33:31):
a nice addition for Valor. So there's lots of talent
out there, and you never want to see guys walk
away from the game when they're twenty or twenty one
or something like that. Not for me, is what the
CPL is all about. So yeah, somebody give her show
a chance. You won't be disappointed, Pierce. As you mentioned
in the league, we got a nice little race going
(33:52):
on the men's premiere. The top three Spersafy, Vaughan and
Woodbridge are separated by just five points, and the top
seven beyond them a separated by just nine points with
either five or six matches remaining, and we're seeing some
good pushes from some of those teams. Where Alliance are
on a good run on North Toronto won their last five.
I think Sinco are unbeaten in six. Tell me a
(34:14):
little bit about how this race is shaping up and
what you're seeing from those top sides at the moment.
Speaker 4 (34:20):
I think Scrissapi have probably been the top team again
this year, like and it's easy to say that when
they're sitting top of the table, but they were in
a situation where they weren't in first over the last
a little bit, just because they had an issue with
their turf up at Bishop Reretting High School in Milton,
(34:44):
where they had to reschedule a game, so they were
sitting in a couple of games back. I think if
I look at the points totals for a lot of
these teams, like Alliance, their goal differential is seven, right,
like if they're playing against Let's have a look at
(35:04):
their schedule here of matches coming up, they've got five
games left, six games left with their pro stars. They've
got one, they've got Blue Devils, they've got Burlington, they've
got Screwsoppi, they've got North Toronto. So they've got at
(35:28):
least three games there against teams ahead of them, and
I think they would really benefit from some help scoring.
They've got Lucas Bernstingling goal who's a fantastic keeper who
won Keeper of the Year. And I believe twenty nineteen
who's who's come in and done a job for them.
(35:51):
I think Woodbridge if I look at them, they were
the I believe the U twenty three Reserve Division finalists
last year where they lost to gwelf. It's either you
twenty three or R twenty. I'm pretty competent it's you
twenty three. I don't know if they've got enough steam
(36:11):
to keep up with Vaughan and Scrisapi. I think Vaughn
have it. If anyone's gonna hip Scrissapi for top spot,
it's got to be Vaughn. And then like if we
look at who Von have left, They've got Simco, which
will be a tough game because they're surging. They've got Alliance,
(36:32):
They've got Sigma, who are in a definite situation where
it looks like they could be battling in that relegation
playoff game. They've got North Toronto which will be a game,
and then they've got Blue Devils, so they've got a
tough schedule too. But I think Vaughn are just a
(36:53):
bit more of an upper crust team as compared to
who's below them right now in those three throughs six positions.
So yeah, I think it's it's Scrissapi's league to lose,
and if anyone's going to do it, it's going to
be Borne.
Speaker 7 (37:10):
Yeah, it's shaven up to be a really exciting finish
At the top of the table. It looks like direct
relegation has already been settled with Hamilton United nine points
are drift at the bottom of the table. They've been
winning this all year, and as you mentioned, Sigma are
one of the teams that's battling the stay out of
that promotion playoff match. There's three teams down there that
(37:30):
I have I'm not at risk of that. Its twelth
Sigma and Pro Stars separated by five points with five
or six games left on the season. Wondering how you've
seen the stratification of this of this Premier Division workout.
There's always teams that are going to have really good
years and teams that are going to struggle. How have
you seen the the the influence of of I think
(37:55):
one of the things that we're going to see with
the promotion and relegation I we talked about before was
just how how clubs are going to have to raise
their level if they want to be part of this
top tier. How are you seeing that plan?
Speaker 4 (38:09):
Oh gosh, it just simply in the recruiting really like
you look at it and Pro Stars brought in a
ton of guys because they wanted to avoid getting themselves
into a shooting match down at the bottom. And you
(38:30):
look at their roster. They brought in Taha Ilios, they
had bojmnt at the start of the season, but they've
got they've got really strong coaching too. They got they
brought in Danny Costa, who I don't know if you're
familiar with who his son is Jesse, but he's doing
pretty well for himself, playing over in Europe and being
(38:51):
the captain of the U Punny national team. But the
you look at who came in in position spots for
for someone like Pro Stars like Sam Diltz, or Isaiah
Nowell who came over from Woodbridge. I mentioned Taha, they've
(39:14):
got guys out there who they had to actively go
and recruit to keep themselves competitive. And I think that's
a testament to exactly what you're talking about as far
as staying out of that relegation zone, because they're only
what four points back of Burlington right now. Burlington have
(39:35):
totally self destructed here the last half of the season.
They were in second at one point, I believe, if
not first, for a cup of coffee, and then they've
gone on just a losing streak that is of monumental
proportions here when we look at like their last what here,
(39:59):
I've got it up now five games, they've got four
losses in one win, and I bet if it went
back even further, they're probably somewhere closer to eight of
their lost last ten games or losses. So, but they
recruited so heavily. They brought in a ton of guys
(40:19):
like Leefford Allen, for example, who's of a pedigree that's
that's hard to beat, like he's just come back from
playing in Germany. They brought over oh gosh, what's his name?
He was the keeper for Oakville last year Hermans. They've
(40:41):
brought in Marl Louli from Scresopi, they brought in just
Eric Hermans was the name that I was looking for,
just a ton of players, and it just it hasn't
worked out for whatever reason. And they were definitely thinking
that they were going to be in contention to win
this year, especially after being so competitive and the run
(41:04):
they went on to end last season, and it's fallen apart, right,
So I think all of that plays into the desperation
to not merely win the league, but stay the heck
out of that relegation zone. Because I can promise you
Hamilton going down and potentially Sigma going down, those are
(41:26):
your two teams that are affiliated with Forge, right, Like
that That's a a not so ideal scenario for for
anyone really if you're following along with the league, because
they are teams where players are supposed to be getting
experienced when they get sent down from Forge. Right. So
(41:47):
it's a strange days really.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
Right, Yeah, Yeah, I tracked.
Speaker 7 (41:52):
I keep a pretty close eye on what Forge is
doing in terms of building a little bit of an
internal pyramid for themself. They've been very much the leaders
along with Cavalry and a couple other clubs in terms
of really sending those feelers down into the into the
the substructure below the protessional level. And so I have
a feeling that if either Hamilton or Sigma end up
(42:15):
going down, it won't be too long before we see
some routoo in there and they're back in the fight.
But yeah, it's gonna be It's gonna be a fascinating
close to the year. We got some news that then
in the Championship, the TFC Academy will not be fielding
a team in League One next year. They currently hold
the top spot for automatic promotion, so that opens up
one of those promotion and playoff spots from the championship.
(42:38):
Right now, I think it's London and Saint Catharines Unionville
are very much still in that race, with those three
teams separated by six points. But yeah, Wealth Sigma Pro
Star is one of those teams is going to be
in a battle when it comes to that playoff promotion
death to hold on to their place in this top
division here.
Speaker 4 (42:56):
Yeah, if I were was the betting man, I would
say Sigma's going down. Just are shipping goals like nobody's business.
You look right now, they're minus eighteen as opposed to
Gwelph who are minus ten. Like, you don't want to
be in either of those situations really, But if you
like look at look ahead to the game's remaining. What
(43:17):
are we at right now? We're late, We're mid August,
so uh, North Toronto are still on the schedule. Alliance
are still on the schedule. Oh here, I'm looking at
the wrong team. Give me a Sea. For whatever reason,
it brought up pro Stars again. Sorry, Gwelf have Hamilton,
(43:41):
so there's points ideally for GWELF Blue Devils, that's not
out of the question there. Blue Devils have kind of
been all over the place. Scresapi is not a great
matchup for GWELF moving forward, But then they've got Woodbridge,
they've got Sigma again, and then they've got single county
(44:01):
rovers Whereas if you look at Sigma their games remaining
on the docket, there's Burlington who are going to be
desperate and have given them a game already this year.
They've got Hamilton, which is fair play to them, but
then they've got Vne, They've got Guelph, and then they've
(44:23):
got Woodbridge again. So I don't like Sigma's chances. If
I'm being totally honest, I definitely could see them going down.
They've just struggled scoring, which is surprising when you look
at who they've got on their squad, right because certainly
if you look at Vonn Trevigner certainly is someone who
(44:44):
you would expect to be just smashing in goals. They've
got Kadel Thomas on the rosters. Still like it's just
faiz Al Gaffer, who is a name that's been around,
guys that have been there and done it, and they
just can't seem to two uh put balls in the
back of the head. It's it's it's gonna send them
(45:07):
down with there. Of all the of all the teams
that you have talked to me about two years ago
being in a relegation battle, I never I never thought Sigma.
I thought at worst they would be mid table.
Speaker 7 (45:21):
That's the thing about this game, man, you never know
where it's going to go. Last one, before we wrap
this up from Pierce, thanks so much for your time.
As always, I just some of your early your early
thoughts on or I guess mid thoughts, midway thoughts on
who's lined up to be some MVP candidates and maybe
if you if you go through some of the games
(45:42):
you've watched this season, maybe one that really sort of
stands out. And then I'll close with some upcoming key dates.
We got a lot of action ahead of us one
of these next four weeks.
Speaker 4 (45:51):
Yeah, I think I already touched on. The most exciting
game for me that I saw would have been that
uh Arlington versus Blue Devil's game where Blue Devils came
back and gave a game to Burlington that they seemed
like they were out of And for me, my MVP,
(46:16):
my MVB has got to be our man. Rayshawn Walks again,
He's he's on a team that's sitting in second. He's
got nine goals, like sure, Battye Sallback's ahead of him
with twelve for North Toronto, but they're not even really
in contention for winning the league. Javonte Lane has put
in ten and he's been fantastic, but I don't think
(46:37):
he's He's got his team in contention, and that has
a lot to do. I think with Orlandez, Benitas Hernandez
being out of the lineup as well, that's kind of
held them back. But yeah, it leaves the door open
for someone like Rayshawn Walks or Ronaldo Marshall to to
come in and be our MVP this year. If it
was someone else, I would be surprised, but hey, there's
(47:00):
been There's been bigger surprises in my life than Rushawn
Walks not winning MVP this year.
Speaker 7 (47:07):
So and if he is maybe having that League one
on Ontario MVP trophy on his resume, we'll get him
that CPL spot where we're pushing for. I took a
quick look at the schedule coming up this week alone.
We've got Simco against Vaughn on Saturday. We've got Woodbridge
Supershape on Sunday, and then next Wednesday we have Alliance
(47:27):
and Vaughn. And now there's gonna be a lot of
a lot of big games coming up over these next
few weeks.
Speaker 2 (47:33):
So tune in.
Speaker 7 (47:34):
We'll hear Pierce on the call, and Pierce, I'm looking
forward to the hearing your adultsit tones on the Interprovincial
Championships this weekend. And if I do make it out
to Hamilton, I'll come say I don't know.
Speaker 4 (47:46):
Well, James, thanks for the client compliments. The check is
in the mail and Yeah, if you haven't been watched along,
please do. It's a heck of a time to be
involved in Canadian soccer. There's so much fantastic action on
the going. Yeah, if you can't make it out to Hamilton,
tune in on one Soccer. The Interprovincial Championships will be there.
(48:06):
It'll be me and Alf Deblasis switching between games with
Jig cove Sek as our color commentary. We've got a
fantastic panel as well with Chelsea Spencer and April Simon
who were both fantastically accomplished women at the League one
(48:26):
and allegiate and professional levels in their own rights. So
should be fantastic weekend.
Speaker 2 (48:34):
As always, it's great to have Pierce pis so generous
with his time to keep us up to date on
all the goings on in League one Ontario. A few
more end the season updates before we say goodbye. On
the women's side, as we mentioned, Blue Devils were relegated
from the Premier to the Championship. Will Rush Canada will
be relegated from the Championship to League two Ontario. In
(48:55):
League two, the top two sides from each conference in
the Northeast Division.
Speaker 9 (48:59):
That's all Alliance United and Vaughn, and in the southwest
it's Hamilton United and Waterloo moved on to the promotion playoffs,
with Vaughan emerging as the winners, defeating Alliance in the
championship match.
Speaker 2 (49:10):
Vaughn will be competing in the League one Ontario Championship
next season in the U twenty Reserve Division. On the
women's side, the top four sides Pro Stars, FC, Whitecaps, London,
SC North Toronto Nitros and Alliance United competed in the
playoffs at the start of the month, with Pro Stars
defeating London for to one in the final. Part of
the Pro Stars coaching staff was one Marco Bonifiglioso. Congratulations
(49:34):
to Marco. And On the men's side, the championship is
entering the final two weeks. TFC Academy, as Pearson I
touched on, who currently topped the table, will not be
returning to League one Ontario in twenty twenty five, so
FC London are set to be promoted automatically in their stead.
They currently hold a six point lead over the Saint
Catherines Roma Wolves. Saint Catherines should they hold on to second,
(49:58):
will or third that should be will face the eleventh
ranked premier side in the promotion playoffs. Pickering FC currently
set at the bottom of the table, three points off
of Windsor City Waterloo and Masters FC are just a
point ahead, and DARBYFC just a point ahead of them,
so there's lots of potential movement over these next two
rounds in the championship at the bottom of the table.
(50:20):
The Men's League two Ontario playoffs are underway. The top
side from each conference the Northeast, Central and Southwest, as
well as the top second place side qualified for the playoffs,
so Von Assuri B, Sigma FCB, Scrissapi FCB and Alliance
United B. Shout out to Sudbury who just missed out
by two points on reaching the playoffs in their first season.
(50:42):
Vaughan beats SCRISSAPI, an Alliance beat Sigma in the semifinals
this past weekend, so An Alliance will meet in an
upcoming final to determine the League to Ontario champions. Both
finalists have already secured promotion, as the championship will be
bumped up from ten teams to twelve next year. The
winner of the third place match between SCRISSHAPI and Sigma
(51:03):
will face the bottom side in the championship in a
promotion relegation playoff, and in the U twenty men's Reserve division,
the Von Missouri won the championship four n ill over
North Toronto Whennitros at the start of the month. The
top two teams again from each division made the semifinals.
Vaughan and North Toronto from the Northeast Whitecaps London sc
(51:24):
and North Mississauga from the southeast. North Toronto needed penalty
kicks to dispatch London, while Vaughan defeated North Mississauga in
their clash. One last thing the League one Ontario Men's Cup.
We're still awaiting the date of that North Toronto Vaughn semifinal,
but Blue Devil Simcoe County is set for August twenty eighth,
and then the final will be arriving in September. Thanks
(51:47):
for listening. The summer of soccer may be coming to
an end, but there's still plenty of action.
Speaker 1 (52:06):
Thanks for listening. To support the podcast, go to Patreon
dot com. Slash twenty fourth minute
Welcome to Next Pod, your weekly look at Canadian prospects
with the One, the Only, the Great, the Wondrous James
Grassi also me Dwayne. I'm Dwayne.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hello, Hello, and welcome to the Next Pod. We've got
a lot of ground to cover today with two big
interviews on the docket, and I was able to grab
a few minutes with Alberto Belini, the Italian men's U
twenty national team coach who was in town over the summer,
and then our league won. Ontario correspondent Pierce Lang drops
by to wrap up the women's Premier Division and check
(00:56):
in on the men as the end of season fast approaches.
Of those, we have a few news items to touch on.
Canada finished third at the CONCACAFF Girls U fifteen Championship
after beating Costa Rica two to one in the third
place match. One nil wins over Puerto Rico and Al
Salvador for Tina Cook's side set up a crucial final
group stage match versus Mexico, where they lost three to one.
(01:19):
Canada then pushed the US to spot kicks in the
semi final, falling four to after a one to one draw.
The US would go on to defeat Mexico three to
nil in the League A Final. Hopefully we'll have a
chance to dig a little deeper into their run in
the future. The first edition of Canada Soccer's Player Development
program Championship kicks off this weekend at Edmonton, Alberta. Will
(01:42):
run from August fourteenth to the eighteenth. All fifty matches
will be broadcast on YouTube, so if you've got any
plans this weekend canceled. Twenty eight teams will be competing
six each, six teams in each of the boys and
girls U seventeen age divisions, and then eight teams in
each at the U fifteen. Twenty twenty four League one.
(02:05):
Canada Interprovincial Cup was played last weekend in Hamilton at
Tim Morton's Field. In the semifinals, white Caps FC Girls
Elite defeated Calgary Blizzard two nil, and CS molrayl Utramal
defeated NDC Ontario five to four in a shootout after
a one to one draw. That was their second NDC knockout,
having beaten CF Montreal in the League in Quebec final
(02:27):
as well. And DC would go on to win the
third place match one nil over Calgary and the white
Caps needed penalty kicks to defeat Utramah after a two
to two draw in the final. That clinched a spot
in the twenty twenty five twenty six concacaft W Champions Cup.
For the white Caps. It was their second straight title
and neatly. Vancouver heads to Al Salvador on Thursday to
(02:49):
compete in the prelims of this year's competition. They faced
Alianza with a spot in Group B alongside Kaitlin Sheridan's
San Diego Wave, Christine Sinclair, Jesse Fleming and Janine Becky
and the Portland Thorns, Club America and Santa FEFC of Panama.
Really curious to see how they fare in this one,
especially with the landscape set to change drastically as the
(03:12):
new Northern Super League takes to the pitch next year.
And now for that first interview. Alberto Bellini, the Italian
U twenty national team coach in twenty twenty three European
U nineteen Championship winning coach, was in town for a
player camp and coaching clinic hosted by Milton Youth Soccer
Club The Milton Magic. I wanted to get a sense
(03:33):
of the talent he sees on the pitch while he's
over here. Other view of Canada abroad has evolved with
the recent successes, how Italy identifies talent and what hosting
the World Cup in twenty twenty six will do for
the sport in this country. And one of the players
for Alberto at that U nineteen Championship was dual national
Luca Kolioscho. So I wanted to get Alberto's thoughts on
(03:56):
the young man as well. Alberto, what brings you to
Toronto and can you give us a sense of of
what these player camps look like?
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Porto Toronto on a on a story Canada Okay, Alto
sap and Minion Avantage, Minanovichinton, alantaqua Verso, Cone Italia, Son
Columbus Center, Quintalta in Canada, Ni Piace Los Paumano, the
(04:26):
li persona Mi piace in modern Jovan.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
His approachonal like.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Culture, Los pot Ara Porto Spiritual contante persona with Marco Bonocio,
cam In Vita Syndra.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
It's a little bit of a history for him, so
it brings him to Toronto. It's first so he has
a passion for Canada because this is fifth time here.
The first time he came in nineteen ninety five through
Conney the federation that brought him here, the Italian Federation,
and he's been coming with and like I said, this
is his fifth camp.
Speaker 6 (04:57):
He loves the.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Characteristics of how hard working our players are and how
much desire they have to get better.
Speaker 6 (05:06):
And obviously through me, I've been able to connect him here.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
To come various times to do this cancer. He's very
happy and very eager and his enthusiastic of coming again lovely.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
He touched on this a little bit there, but what's
the assessment of the local of the quality of the
local players that you see in this week?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
And I got too simply al modo athlete hood approach,
a los port.
Speaker 6 (05:32):
Alto and.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Christ characteristic importante, la diferenza respect too none indispensa factur
ma comnca and a multiportant dopoor did she qu indiana
(05:56):
but the bell.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
And then Tujiasma.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
He says, the most important thing that he sees here
is the obviously the desire of these players and how
excited they are to be on the field. They have
an amazing physical capability, very very strong structure. But what
he finds is lacking maybe tier two would be the
understanding of the tactics. He says that back in compared
(06:24):
to Europe, it's a very tactical match. So when you
come here at the age of fourteen fifteen, sixteen year
olds that are in the camp, they don't have the
exact soccer I queue that one would have from from
the European base.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Completely understandable. I think one of the one of the
one of the issues Canadian software is constantly wrestling with
is identifying and nurturing young talent. How how does the
Italian youth national team go about that?
Speaker 6 (06:55):
Not a scouting molto.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
And then weekend as we are more telepis that technica
lintelgensa that personally.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Love Lego.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Persson the premach.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
All.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
Okay, So he said that this scouting in Italy in
particular is a very very particular system. He goes, everybody
is scouted. The scouter watch every single game that's going
on in the league. So every game that you go
to has scouting in the in in during that game
in the stands, and then he goes. They go through
a selection process where they give up votes in those
(07:51):
voats the major five heading squall.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Technique.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
So technoo, availability, intelligence, personalities and speed.
Speaker 6 (08:01):
Speed and the physical and physical.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
It's been a relatively good few years for Canadian soccer here,
barring the drone madness that we're going through right now.
How is Canadian soccer? Canadian football viewed in Italy and
in Europe.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
And Joly Campellatio Pei camp i'm Campila, the Alto in Altovello,
the competition EDI.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
So the most important thing to note is that Kennon,
over the last few years, when we talk about soccer,
you have more and more players playing in Europe, more
and more players playing in top divisions, in top tiers.
And whenever you have this mix of a player that
plays in a top league around the world at the
highest level, it's by nature that you're going to get better.
Speaker 6 (08:58):
And he says that has a big thing to do
with it.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
So hopefully that continues as they evolved more and more
over the next few years.
Speaker 7 (09:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
John Herdman used to always talk about the number of
tier one players in your squad as being a good
sign of the progress. Absolutely, Alberto I wanted.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
To get MLS LEMLS a level.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Of the camp.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
Yeah, even if you look at the league of in
MLS MLS raises the standard, raises the bar bringing in
several international players from around the world.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
That level gets higher, players get.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
Better, and then it also creates a better culture, better
culture for the people of the city, and you start
to see that passion and that all helps.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
He says, definitely, definitely. One player that was part of
the U nineteen European Championship winning squad for you, Alberta
was Luca Colocho, a guy whose name is pretty familiar here.
Just your thoughts on what you saw from that young man.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
I am ans because Luca is a strong player and.
Speaker 6 (10:03):
Good, good person.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Lanoso Bandolo, Visto, journey letdo sub let technica, probably Jopou.
Speaker 6 (10:26):
Vincinte.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So he said.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
When he saw him for the first time.
Speaker 6 (10:29):
Last year, it took him two days to realize that
he was the person for the team. He selected him
right away.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
He's a professional standard player.
Speaker 6 (10:37):
His speed and technical ability to fit in right with
the top players. He knew he had to sign him
right away. And not only from that, he he said,
it was a it was a winning It was a winning.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
You say he made the winning choice by bringing him
in because we all saw what he was capable of doing.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
And last one for me, uh, Canada will be co
hosting the World Cup in twenty twenty six. I imagine
it how your ninety was a was a strong memory
for you, Alberto. Just what should we look forward to
with the World's Game coming to Canada.
Speaker 6 (11:07):
In tonto prima di porta.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I think we amento porta jao petator businessujiamo tun organ
intotunapamento fantastica, the movimento this port meta video, live into.
Speaker 6 (11:25):
Their culture and live into the los ports.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Percacamente economy and malimportante la positivo versu Giovanni versus republico.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
So the most important thing is obviously we worry about
what it's gonna leave us, but also it's what it's
giving us right now, right now leading up to the
World Cup. It's going to give us that enthusiasm, that passion,
all that build up getting there, and he goes, yes,
once it gets here, of course, you don't want to
talk about the business side of it.
Speaker 6 (12:01):
It's going to be economic for the country and for
the cities. Yes, absolutely, But he.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
Goes what's left after and we see it from yes
to the Italian stage when it was done in USA.
Speaker 6 (12:10):
Is that passion, the growth.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
It's going to create a new movement and with that
movement we can have better players, better leagues and keep
growing as a sport.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Many thanks to Marco Bonofiglio of Pro Stars FC and
v R Sanagalia and Seri D for his help with
the translation, and to Alf the Blasts for setting up
the opportunity to speak with Albert. I recorded the upcoming
interview with Pierce last week and I'd hoped to turn
it around before the Interprovincial Championships on the weekend, but
shamefully I could not. Sorry about that. A few updates
(12:44):
to keep in mind before we throw to Pierce. On
the women's side, we mentioned some uncertainty around the promotion
relegation from the premier of the championship and that has
been sorted. Waterloo won their final match to pips krossop
EFC to the automatic promotion spot. Will now face North
Mississauga in the promotion playoff and that match looks to
(13:04):
be set for August seventeenth. And for the upcoming matches
that I mentioned in speaking with Pierce, Simcoe Vaughn turned
out to be a pretty wild four to four draw
Rovers took a three to two lead in the first half,
Vaughn scored twice around the hour mark and i Jahali
needed to equalize from the penalty spot. In the second half,
Woodbridge Grossapi ended in a two to one win for
(13:26):
SPROSAPI and ifty never give up winner from Omari Cadill
late clinch that victory. Alliance versus Vaughn is set for Wednesday,
as is an interesting relegation battle between Hamilton and Sigma,
which Peers and I touched on a little bit. With
all that said, here's the interview and welcome back to
next part.
Speaker 7 (13:47):
I'm really pleased to welcome to the show our Lead
one Ontario correspondent, the voice of League one Ontario, mister
Pierce Lang Pierce, thanks so much for making.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Some time boards, thanks for having me back on James.
Speaker 7 (14:00):
We've reached a critical point in the league. In the
League one calendar, the women's Premier Division has wrapped up
and we're getting excited for the inter Provincial Championships, which
are set to go this weekend. On the men's premier side,
we're near in crunch time in the season. I think
there's about six matches left for most teams. To be
played over these next four weeks, so I thought it
(14:22):
was an awesome time to get you on and look
back at some of the action that's happened and look
ahead to some of the action that's yet. So we'll
jump right in right now. So, as I mentioned, the
Women's Premier season has concluded and NDC Ontario topped the table,
as they had all year long. They clinched first place
sometime in mid July and ended up winning it by
(14:44):
eight points over FC London in the end, and they
did sell without their longtime head coach, Joey Lombardi, a
man who was foundational to the NBC system in this country.
He's been in the news for other reasons of late
that we won't get into too much, but NBC lost
their their next two after clinching against Vaughn and against London.
There are only two losses of the season, so they
(15:06):
were so close to having a.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Pretty epic invincible year.
Speaker 7 (15:11):
And Pierce, what I wanted to get you on was
they topped the table in the regular season last year
as well, but I ended up losing in the playoffs
to Alliance United. Were NBC the deserted winners this season? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (15:25):
I think they've had a phenomenal season, and it's a
testament to the quality of players that they do have.
You mentioned Joey Lombardi, and we kind of discussed this
off air, but I've had very limited interactions with Joey
on a professional level, just kind of in a pregame
(15:45):
chat scenario, and he told me very early on in
this season that he really believed this was the best
team that he's put forward, and that's saying a lot
considering the level of talent that he's had in the
last two years. But the team really jelled and they
were really playing very well together. So it was fascinating
(16:07):
to watch because I caught them a couple weeks ago
in Guelph, and then I caught them in there maybe
second game of the season against oh gosh, North Mississauga,
and we're kind of going to find themselves in a
promotion relegation playoff here in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
But they've.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
I think probably the end of the season. We see
these two losses more as a situation where they're dealing
with the fact that they've lost a lot of their
roster going into these last three weeks and certainly going
into the Interprovincial Championships where a lot of their players
have already left for university. They've played these last couple
(16:51):
of games with a distinctly different roster on their hands
than what we saw through most of the year, and
they've been dealing with injuries as well. It's I think
their record is a testament to the quality and when
you see the changes that have occurred in the lineup,
it kind of explains these two losses heading into the
(17:13):
Interprovincial Championships as a little bit more understandable, with perhaps
the lack of cohesion and some newer, younger faces getting
minutes that probably hadn't been seeing as much playing time
over the course of this season.
Speaker 7 (17:29):
Yeah, that's always one of the challenges for teams this
time of year. TFC two lost a couple of guys
who went off to school as well. But you like
the fact that it gives younger players a chance to
get a taste of it and hope that you know,
when next season comes around, they're that much more ready
to step in. As I mentioned, London made it interesting
in the clothes that are really strong end to their campaign.
(17:52):
They won their last eight matches that the end the season,
including a four to zero win over in DC, but
a winless run they had earlier year just opened up
too big of a gap.
Speaker 8 (18:03):
They did, however, end up lifting the League one Ontario
Cup on the one side, with NBC knocked out by
Gwelph in the round of sixteen, they left that open
a little bit and I thought there was some neat
symmetry that London and North Toronto.
Speaker 7 (18:15):
Ended up finishing third. With the two teams in that final,
London won at two to one. We talked a little
bit about London last time you were on, I believe,
but what have they achieved as a group this year?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Man, It's it's funny to see, right, because London keep
on chugging. Head coach Garrett Peters, who's probably gonna win
Coach of the Year, was Coach of the Month here
this last month really got his team really humming along here.
Like you said, the eight wins in a row that
(18:47):
they've had now, they've really gelled as the season went on,
which is again speaking to what you've talked about. But
this is a lot of players that he's gone through
and he's recruited and he's got a ton of girls
who've who've played at the U sports level, who are
top tier, top tier players wherever they are, whether they're
(19:11):
oh gosh, playing at Kate Bretton University or they're at
UBC like some of these girls. I'm trying to think
of Laurene Rowe specifically, or Ali Rowe, who scored a
goal in that final, who's one of the one of
(19:33):
the elite players in the a U S and who
was up for a Rookie of the Year. She holds
numerous records at her school, and it's just it's fantastic
to see the quality that he's brought in and the
ability that he's had to have them grow as this
cohesive unit because he took over from Mike Markocha, I
(19:58):
believe two years ago and has done a phenomenal job
coming over from Saskatchewan and building that program back to
something that it was before where they were always in
contention for winning the league. With Jade covid Seed, who
(20:22):
will be she'll be providing color commentary as I provide
play by play at the Interprovincial Championships this weekend. She'll
be doing all the games. But she stepped in and
they had to face off against her and her North
Toronto side in that fantastic Cup final that we watched
last week.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
Pierce North Toronto the losing Cup finalists. They had a
nice run in the mid season, but NBC's six wins
start to the year always had them in control. North
Toronto just just tell us a little bit about the
program that it looks like they had another strong year.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Yeah, it's kind of par for the core really for
North Toronto and the way they've been developing things. And
a lot of the credit's got to go to head
coach Billy Wilson on that he brought in Jakekovisvich, who's
obviously the League one Ontario all time leading goal scorer.
I think her record's going to go unbeaten for the
(21:18):
entirety of any of our lives, certainly, and she's the
OCAAA leading score and she came.
Speaker 7 (21:23):
In and she.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
Has led a very young group that it seems as
though anytime I've done a final over the last two years,
North Toronto have been in that match on the girls
or women's side, and they've been bringing through players. You
even only got to look towards Woodbridge, who brought over
(21:48):
Maya Fisher, who's a seventeen year old midfielder who was
starting for them almost the whole season, who might not
have got the playing time at North Toronto with how
deep they are on their women's side, and she's absolutely
fantastic and gone over to Woodbridge to compete. But you
look at just throughout their lineup, they've got quality, quality
(22:11):
players that like Sarah Rawins for example, who's at UBC
who want a national championship last year.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
They're just.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Racked full of top, top players that are rounding into
form just in time to go back to school. Unfortunately,
so they weren't able to pull off the victory against London,
but they were really impressive as the season went on,
and I'm excited to see what they can do in
the years to come because the programming that they have
(22:44):
set in place, and this was my point, off the top,
has created a style of play where these players are
very dynamic and their technical abilities are fantastic, and it
bodes well for our women's game. With that whole leadership
group with Billy Wilson and the announcement today about Marco
Milanovich coming over from the men's program to be the
(23:08):
head coach at AFC Toronto, it's it's it's only up
from there. Really excellent.
Speaker 7 (23:15):
I'm excited to see what the first season of the
Northern super League looks like. And you know, being a
Toronto gay myself, like.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
My allegiances will will most likely end up there.
Speaker 7 (23:25):
I'll be I'll have a little bit of love for
all the teams, but you know that's your hometown. You
got to get behind them. So we've got the NBC
heading to the inter Provincials this weekend. As we touched on,
looks like the Blue Devils are set to be relegated
to the League one Ontario Championship. I think that was
we touched on this a little bit the last time
you were on. It was always likely given the late
move up to the Premiere and North Mississauga is on
(23:48):
the bubble. You know we've got we will have as
the second bottom side in the in the Premiere, they
will play off against the second side its second top
se in the Championship. Currently it looks like Sprissapi FC
are in that top spot. I think there's one more
game left to be played there before we can call
that sor not. Think Waterloo or two points behind them
(24:11):
and they're playing me and Unionville Milliken tonight. So by
the time this goes live, well know, and I'll put
a little update at the end of this conversation so
that everyone's has up to date promotion playoffs ahead. This
is the first year of promotion relegation, and I think
I wanted to get your cloth closing thoughts on how
(24:33):
it influenced the action this year, if at all, and
how it was received by the clubs. How do you
think this this promotion relegation process went this year.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
You know, it's a fascinating question. I've watched that North
Mississauga side take on NBC Ontario in the second or
third game of the season and they were down a goal,
I believe, with ten minutes left and not applying any
pressure whatsoever. And I said in the broadcast and you
can go back and you can find it. They need
(25:07):
to consider that all points matter this season, and they
sat back. They did end up causing a turnover too,
which led to opportunities, but there was no intensity in
that match and it costs them. And you look at
now where they are, where they find themselves, and it's
exactly what I predicted was that if you're not going
(25:28):
to go out and try and win games. And you
have that mentality, there's a good chance that you're going
to find yourself in games you don't want to be
playing at the end of the season. And it's exactly that. Now.
I can't speak to the what went on in the
dressing room at North miss or what's going on around
the league because those are private conversations among coaches that
I'm not necessarily privy to. But I think it's definitely
(25:53):
had a massive impact because the reality is it's only
ten teams, so all the games are good games for
the most part when you take out of account maybe
the two or three bottom teams because they weren't as
competitive for whatever reasons for a lot of the season.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
But in.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
Some cases they played up to their competition as well.
But I think you touched on that Screwsopi versus North
miss game that is probable. I would say, unless Unionville
do beat Waterloo, that's SCISSAPI team's very very young and
(26:33):
very very hungry, and if they have to play at
North Mississauga side that are going to be missing all
their girls who've gone back to the NCAA or U
sports and they've got a team of seventeen eight year
old eighteen year olds who have been playing together all season.
I could see SCISSOPI going up and causing some real
trouble next year in the top flight. If they're giving
(26:54):
the chance, excellent.
Speaker 7 (26:56):
We're looking forward to to whoever ends up meeting that
in that promotion playoff. We don't have a date as
of yet, or we'll be sure to pass that on
what we do. Maybe just to close this little conversation
about the women's side, couple of MVP candidates that you
have in mind, or maybe if there was a game
in the season that you thought really stood out this year?
Speaker 4 (27:18):
Oh gosh, I think there's there's plenty of candidates for
m v P. I think Courtney Poone on North Toronto's
got to get a shout. I think Samantha Murphy on
Woodbridge is worth a look for sure. If I was
picking out of those squads NDC Ontario, if I had
(27:41):
to pick someone, it's hard to say, right because really
there's been so much squad rotation, Like if I wanted
to say it was one of the goalkeepers they were
switching out at half every game. Julia Bonnati's got to
be in the running. At FC London. She's had another
fantastic seasons, as you'd expect from a player of her caliber.
(28:04):
There's there's a number, but if it was someone outside
of those three, I would be I'd be surprised.
Speaker 7 (28:15):
And Pierce. So on the men's side the League one
Ontario Cup, we're down to our final fall. We've got
the Blue Devils versus Simcoe County and one semifinal, North
Toronto versus Vaughn and the other. We know the Oakfield
Simcol Mattress schedule for August twenty eighth. The other one yet,
I haven't seen a date for it, and the final
is on September seventh, later on this year. Who are
(28:36):
you liking in the men's side in the Cup.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
Well, I'm glad you confirmed it's the twenty eighth, since
I'm also the State of announcer for the Blue Devils.
Is that a home game for Oakville?
Speaker 2 (28:48):
I believe so.
Speaker 4 (28:49):
I believe so right, so I'll be getting paid. I
like the sounds of that. I would say that the
favorites have to be Vne at this stage. North Toronto
are pretty good, but I don't think they're of that
that top tier right now, that that we need in
(29:11):
in a in a game where everything is on the line,
like we will have moving forward in the Cup, because
I think it's it's uh Scressop's league to lose. So
we're left with these teams who are still in the Cup.
And as much as I'd love to see Oakville go through,
and I think that they maybe were involved in the
(29:33):
game and the season for me in that at Burlington
Cup tie, and obviously I've got a touch of bias there,
but I I just don't know if anyone else has
what it takes to beat Vaughn. Really like the Cup
is theirs to lose, if I if I had to
(29:56):
say one way or another, but Simcle County rovers if
if I'm honest with you, I know we talked about
this last time. We spoke about how they weren't playing
up to their form from last year. They've gone the
last ten games, or they had gone the last ten
games up until two weeks ago of this season without
(30:19):
Orlandos Benitas Hernandez, and then he came back against Oakville
and tore them to shreds in their regular season match,
which was the league one game of the week that
I did the play by play for and they're they're
looking good. We'll see if they make it through. I'd
predicted Von Simcoe final and then I still think vonn
(30:41):
are just too good. I think I think that just
the way that they're getting their scoring from a couple
of different guys and certainly a name that you and
I both loved talking about in Oh gosh, why is
it just gaving me to now here? Walks. It's who
(31:05):
I'm looking at, who who I know we talked about
before when we when we spoke last time. Uh, he's
just phenomenally had his his look at TFC two. I
think a lot of us don't think he got the
opportunity that was required or that would have allowed him
(31:26):
to display what he's got. I think he would be
a player that a CPL team who are struggling to
score would really want to take a look at. He's
done it at the us L two level, He's done
it everywhere he's been and I and I think that, uh,
he's someone that would make a difference at that level.
And it's a shame no one's given him a shot.
(31:46):
But yeah, I had to put money down it would
be on vond to win the cup and I think
the the Blue Devils will be in tough against Simco
in the match that they've got, So if if it
turns out to be Simcoe versus One, you can't say
I didn't tell you. So yeah, Rashawn, I mean if.
Speaker 7 (32:08):
Your cavalry, if you're Halifax, I don't know how this
guy hasn't gotten a look. He was very much a
Johnny TWEENI at CFC two had a real starters and
finishers kind of thing where he had guys that would
go for that first hour and guys that would go
for that thirty minutes. And then Rashawn's first season he
was just light out in that final thirty minutes. He
(32:30):
scored like six or seven goals and like five hundred
minutes of play. And second season he was given a
bit more of that starters role and he never really
adjusted to it and had the same kind of return.
The game is different depending on when you come home.
But yeah, he's a guy that I've got a lot
of time for and it's good to hear that he's
doing so well with Vaughn, and I think we'll be
(32:51):
seeing him in the CPL before too long. As you mentioned, Pierce,
I'm sorry good.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
He's got nine goals in fourteen games and three in
the Cup in two games, played like he's having a
phenomenal season. Like, so, what's what's he got to do
to get his shot?
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Beyond me? Beyond me?
Speaker 7 (33:10):
But I thought I thought he should have been. Yeah,
I'm if I'm a CPO guy. One of the first
things I'm doing and when the off season comes around
is I'm looking at all those MLS next pro sids,
I'm looking at the academy clubs, and I'm going, all right,
who who needs a position? Because we've seen, you know,
Christian Greco Taylor, who was like all of the white
Caps has done really well. I think Joe Hanson's been
(33:31):
a nice addition for Valor. So there's lots of talent
out there, and you never want to see guys walk
away from the game when they're twenty or twenty one
or something like that. Not for me, is what the
CPL is all about. So yeah, somebody give her show
a chance. You won't be disappointed, Pierce. As you mentioned
in the league, we got a nice little race going
(33:52):
on the men's premiere. The top three Spersafy, Vaughan and
Woodbridge are separated by just five points, and the top
seven beyond them a separated by just nine points with
either five or six matches remaining, and we're seeing some
good pushes from some of those teams. Where Alliance are
on a good run on North Toronto won their last five.
I think Sinco are unbeaten in six. Tell me a
(34:14):
little bit about how this race is shaping up and
what you're seeing from those top sides at the moment.
Speaker 4 (34:20):
I think Scrissapi have probably been the top team again
this year, like and it's easy to say that when
they're sitting top of the table, but they were in
a situation where they weren't in first over the last
a little bit, just because they had an issue with
their turf up at Bishop Reretting High School in Milton,
(34:44):
where they had to reschedule a game, so they were
sitting in a couple of games back. I think if
I look at the points totals for a lot of
these teams, like Alliance, their goal differential is seven, right,
like if they're playing against Let's have a look at
(35:04):
their schedule here of matches coming up, they've got five
games left, six games left with their pro stars. They've
got one, they've got Blue Devils, they've got Burlington, they've
got Screwsoppi, they've got North Toronto. So they've got at
(35:28):
least three games there against teams ahead of them, and
I think they would really benefit from some help scoring.
They've got Lucas Bernstingling goal who's a fantastic keeper who
won Keeper of the Year. And I believe twenty nineteen
who's who's come in and done a job for them.
(35:51):
I think Woodbridge if I look at them, they were
the I believe the U twenty three Reserve Division finalists
last year where they lost to gwelf. It's either you
twenty three or R twenty. I'm pretty competent it's you
twenty three. I don't know if they've got enough steam
(36:11):
to keep up with Vaughan and Scrisapi. I think Vaughn
have it. If anyone's gonna hip Scrissapi for top spot,
it's got to be Vaughn. And then like if we
look at who Von have left, They've got Simco, which
will be a tough game because they're surging. They've got Alliance,
(36:32):
They've got Sigma, who are in a definite situation where
it looks like they could be battling in that relegation
playoff game. They've got North Toronto which will be a game,
and then they've got Blue Devils, so they've got a
tough schedule too. But I think Vaughn are just a
(36:53):
bit more of an upper crust team as compared to
who's below them right now in those three throughs six positions.
So yeah, I think it's it's Scrissapi's league to lose,
and if anyone's going to do it, it's going to
be Borne.
Speaker 7 (37:10):
Yeah, it's shaven up to be a really exciting finish
At the top of the table. It looks like direct
relegation has already been settled with Hamilton United nine points
are drift at the bottom of the table. They've been
winning this all year, and as you mentioned, Sigma are
one of the teams that's battling the stay out of
that promotion playoff match. There's three teams down there that
(37:30):
I have I'm not at risk of that. Its twelth
Sigma and Pro Stars separated by five points with five
or six games left on the season. Wondering how you've
seen the stratification of this of this Premier Division workout.
There's always teams that are going to have really good
years and teams that are going to struggle. How have
you seen the the the influence of of I think
(37:55):
one of the things that we're going to see with
the promotion and relegation I we talked about before was
just how how clubs are going to have to raise
their level if they want to be part of this
top tier. How are you seeing that plan?
Speaker 4 (38:09):
Oh gosh, it just simply in the recruiting really like
you look at it and Pro Stars brought in a
ton of guys because they wanted to avoid getting themselves
into a shooting match down at the bottom. And you
(38:30):
look at their roster. They brought in Taha Ilios, they
had bojmnt at the start of the season, but they've
got they've got really strong coaching too. They got they
brought in Danny Costa, who I don't know if you're
familiar with who his son is Jesse, but he's doing
pretty well for himself, playing over in Europe and being
(38:51):
the captain of the U Punny national team. But the
you look at who came in in position spots for
for someone like Pro Stars like Sam Diltz, or Isaiah
Nowell who came over from Woodbridge. I mentioned Taha, they've
(39:14):
got guys out there who they had to actively go
and recruit to keep themselves competitive. And I think that's
a testament to exactly what you're talking about as far
as staying out of that relegation zone, because they're only
what four points back of Burlington right now. Burlington have
(39:35):
totally self destructed here the last half of the season.
They were in second at one point, I believe, if
not first, for a cup of coffee, and then they've
gone on just a losing streak that is of monumental
proportions here when we look at like their last what here,
(39:59):
I've got it up now five games, they've got four
losses in one win, and I bet if it went
back even further, they're probably somewhere closer to eight of
their lost last ten games or losses. So, but they
recruited so heavily. They brought in a ton of guys
(40:19):
like Leefford Allen, for example, who's of a pedigree that's
that's hard to beat, like he's just come back from
playing in Germany. They brought over oh gosh, what's his name?
He was the keeper for Oakville last year Hermans. They've
(40:41):
brought in Marl Louli from Scresopi, they brought in just
Eric Hermans was the name that I was looking for,
just a ton of players, and it just it hasn't
worked out for whatever reason. And they were definitely thinking
that they were going to be in contention to win
this year, especially after being so competitive and the run
(41:04):
they went on to end last season, and it's fallen apart, right,
So I think all of that plays into the desperation
to not merely win the league, but stay the heck
out of that relegation zone. Because I can promise you
Hamilton going down and potentially Sigma going down, those are
(41:26):
your two teams that are affiliated with Forge, right, Like
that That's a a not so ideal scenario for for
anyone really if you're following along with the league, because
they are teams where players are supposed to be getting
experienced when they get sent down from Forge. Right. So
(41:47):
it's a strange days really.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
Right, Yeah, Yeah, I tracked.
Speaker 7 (41:52):
I keep a pretty close eye on what Forge is
doing in terms of building a little bit of an
internal pyramid for themself. They've been very much the leaders
along with Cavalry and a couple other clubs in terms
of really sending those feelers down into the into the
the substructure below the protessional level. And so I have
a feeling that if either Hamilton or Sigma end up
(42:15):
going down, it won't be too long before we see
some routoo in there and they're back in the fight.
But yeah, it's gonna be It's gonna be a fascinating
close to the year. We got some news that then
in the Championship, the TFC Academy will not be fielding
a team in League One next year. They currently hold
the top spot for automatic promotion, so that opens up
one of those promotion and playoff spots from the championship.
(42:38):
Right now, I think it's London and Saint Catharines Unionville
are very much still in that race, with those three
teams separated by six points. But yeah, Wealth Sigma Pro
Star is one of those teams is going to be
in a battle when it comes to that playoff promotion
death to hold on to their place in this top
division here.
Speaker 4 (42:56):
Yeah, if I were was the betting man, I would
say Sigma's going down. Just are shipping goals like nobody's business.
You look right now, they're minus eighteen as opposed to
Gwelph who are minus ten. Like, you don't want to
be in either of those situations really, But if you
like look at look ahead to the game's remaining. What
(43:17):
are we at right now? We're late, We're mid August,
so uh, North Toronto are still on the schedule. Alliance
are still on the schedule. Oh here, I'm looking at
the wrong team. Give me a Sea. For whatever reason,
it brought up pro Stars again. Sorry, Gwelf have Hamilton,
(43:41):
so there's points ideally for GWELF Blue Devils, that's not
out of the question there. Blue Devils have kind of
been all over the place. Scresapi is not a great
matchup for GWELF moving forward, But then they've got Woodbridge,
they've got Sigma again, and then they've got single county
(44:01):
rovers Whereas if you look at Sigma their games remaining
on the docket, there's Burlington who are going to be
desperate and have given them a game already this year.
They've got Hamilton, which is fair play to them, but
then they've got Vne, They've got Guelph, and then they've
(44:23):
got Woodbridge again. So I don't like Sigma's chances. If
I'm being totally honest, I definitely could see them going down.
They've just struggled scoring, which is surprising when you look
at who they've got on their squad, right because certainly
if you look at Vonn Trevigner certainly is someone who
(44:44):
you would expect to be just smashing in goals. They've
got Kadel Thomas on the rosters. Still like it's just
faiz Al Gaffer, who is a name that's been around,
guys that have been there and done it, and they
just can't seem to two uh put balls in the
back of the head. It's it's it's gonna send them
(45:07):
down with there. Of all the of all the teams
that you have talked to me about two years ago
being in a relegation battle, I never I never thought Sigma.
I thought at worst they would be mid table.
Speaker 7 (45:21):
That's the thing about this game, man, you never know
where it's going to go. Last one, before we wrap
this up from Pierce, thanks so much for your time.
As always, I just some of your early your early
thoughts on or I guess mid thoughts, midway thoughts on
who's lined up to be some MVP candidates and maybe
if you if you go through some of the games
(45:42):
you've watched this season, maybe one that really sort of
stands out. And then I'll close with some upcoming key dates.
We got a lot of action ahead of us one
of these next four weeks.
Speaker 4 (45:51):
Yeah, I think I already touched on. The most exciting
game for me that I saw would have been that
uh Arlington versus Blue Devil's game where Blue Devils came
back and gave a game to Burlington that they seemed
like they were out of And for me, my MVP,
(46:16):
my MVB has got to be our man. Rayshawn Walks again,
He's he's on a team that's sitting in second. He's
got nine goals, like sure, Battye Sallback's ahead of him
with twelve for North Toronto, but they're not even really
in contention for winning the league. Javonte Lane has put
in ten and he's been fantastic, but I don't think
(46:37):
he's He's got his team in contention, and that has
a lot to do. I think with Orlandez, Benitas Hernandez
being out of the lineup as well, that's kind of
held them back. But yeah, it leaves the door open
for someone like Rayshawn Walks or Ronaldo Marshall to to
come in and be our MVP this year. If it
was someone else, I would be surprised, but hey, there's
(47:00):
been There's been bigger surprises in my life than Rushawn
Walks not winning MVP this year.
Speaker 7 (47:07):
So and if he is maybe having that League one
on Ontario MVP trophy on his resume, we'll get him
that CPL spot where we're pushing for. I took a
quick look at the schedule coming up this week alone.
We've got Simco against Vaughn on Saturday. We've got Woodbridge
Supershape on Sunday, and then next Wednesday we have Alliance
(47:27):
and Vaughn. And now there's gonna be a lot of
a lot of big games coming up over these next
few weeks.
Speaker 2 (47:33):
So tune in.
Speaker 7 (47:34):
We'll hear Pierce on the call, and Pierce, I'm looking
forward to the hearing your adultsit tones on the Interprovincial
Championships this weekend. And if I do make it out
to Hamilton, I'll come say I don't know.
Speaker 4 (47:46):
Well, James, thanks for the client compliments. The check is
in the mail and Yeah, if you haven't been watched along,
please do. It's a heck of a time to be
involved in Canadian soccer. There's so much fantastic action on
the going. Yeah, if you can't make it out to Hamilton,
tune in on one Soccer. The Interprovincial Championships will be there.
(48:06):
It'll be me and Alf Deblasis switching between games with
Jig cove Sek as our color commentary. We've got a
fantastic panel as well with Chelsea Spencer and April Simon
who were both fantastically accomplished women at the League one
(48:26):
and allegiate and professional levels in their own rights. So
should be fantastic weekend.
Speaker 2 (48:34):
As always, it's great to have Pierce pis so generous
with his time to keep us up to date on
all the goings on in League one Ontario. A few
more end the season updates before we say goodbye. On
the women's side, as we mentioned, Blue Devils were relegated
from the Premier to the Championship. Will Rush Canada will
be relegated from the Championship to League two Ontario. In
(48:55):
League two, the top two sides from each conference in
the Northeast Division.
Speaker 9 (48:59):
That's all Alliance United and Vaughn, and in the southwest
it's Hamilton United and Waterloo moved on to the promotion playoffs,
with Vaughan emerging as the winners, defeating Alliance in the
championship match.
Speaker 2 (49:10):
Vaughn will be competing in the League one Ontario Championship
next season in the U twenty Reserve Division. On the
women's side, the top four sides Pro Stars, FC, Whitecaps, London,
SC North Toronto Nitros and Alliance United competed in the
playoffs at the start of the month, with Pro Stars
defeating London for to one in the final. Part of
the Pro Stars coaching staff was one Marco Bonifiglioso. Congratulations
(49:34):
to Marco. And On the men's side, the championship is
entering the final two weeks. TFC Academy, as Pearson I
touched on, who currently topped the table, will not be
returning to League one Ontario in twenty twenty five, so
FC London are set to be promoted automatically in their stead.
They currently hold a six point lead over the Saint
Catherines Roma Wolves. Saint Catherines should they hold on to second,
(49:58):
will or third that should be will face the eleventh
ranked premier side in the promotion playoffs. Pickering FC currently
set at the bottom of the table, three points off
of Windsor City Waterloo and Masters FC are just a
point ahead, and DARBYFC just a point ahead of them,
so there's lots of potential movement over these next two
rounds in the championship at the bottom of the table.
(50:20):
The Men's League two Ontario playoffs are underway. The top
side from each conference the Northeast, Central and Southwest, as
well as the top second place side qualified for the playoffs,
so Von Assuri B, Sigma FCB, Scrissapi FCB and Alliance
United B. Shout out to Sudbury who just missed out
by two points on reaching the playoffs in their first season.
(50:42):
Vaughan beats SCRISSAPI, an Alliance beat Sigma in the semifinals
this past weekend, so An Alliance will meet in an
upcoming final to determine the League to Ontario champions. Both
finalists have already secured promotion, as the championship will be
bumped up from ten teams to twelve next year. The
winner of the third place match between SCRISSHAPI and Sigma
(51:03):
will face the bottom side in the championship in a
promotion relegation playoff, and in the U twenty men's Reserve division,
the Von Missouri won the championship four n ill over
North Toronto Whennitros at the start of the month. The
top two teams again from each division made the semifinals.
Vaughan and North Toronto from the Northeast Whitecaps London sc
(51:24):
and North Mississauga from the southeast. North Toronto needed penalty
kicks to dispatch London, while Vaughan defeated North Mississauga in
their clash. One last thing the League one Ontario Men's Cup.
We're still awaiting the date of that North Toronto Vaughn semifinal,
but Blue Devil Simcoe County is set for August twenty eighth,
and then the final will be arriving in September. Thanks
(51:47):
for listening. The summer of soccer may be coming to
an end, but there's still plenty of action.
Speaker 1 (52:06):
Thanks for listening. To support the podcast, go to Patreon
dot com. Slash twenty fourth minute
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