Our Wolves MR4 team game synopsis vs. Lynwood Golden Boots
by Tony Zito
Who would have thought, on a night as miserable, weather-wise, as this, that it would end with a JOYOUS yelp after we scored our winning goal!!!
Does anyone celebrate our triumphs like yours truly? I should say not.
There was no reprieve from the heavy rain and I appreciate that most of our team showed up and put in the effort despite less than ideal conditions.
I am proud of our resilience. After our opponents tied the game late, most teams would settle for sitting back. Most try to not lose, just hang on, instead of getting back to it , and trying to win the game.
We chose the latter and doesn’t that feel a lot better?
After their first strike, we could have bowed our heads, instead we came right back with 2 quick ones of our own and from then on, we owned this game. There was a lot of beautiful, accurate, deceptive ball movement and with the slick surface, that’s what we needed to do. Our inside midfielders…Nacho, Diego, Alonso. Good reads on those through balls and interceptions. That frustrated our opponents a lot..
Our strikers, a lot more aggressive on balls. I love it! We were giving them fits, causing turnover after turnover. How Carlo Z. scored his goal from that impossible angle, top shelf, with authority, was a thing of beauty!
Our back line, Dylan T., Ahmed R., Sammy B. Chris M., Jameson B., Bright F., with help from Matteo Z., doing some spot duty, once again performed admirably. Especially bearing down on their strikers when it appeared they had a clear path to our goal.
Our wingers, Kevin R, Kevin P…they say speed kills, maybe too strong a word to use here, but you guys chased down ball after ball and their defenders knew that had to be quick in their clearances, and Jeff V. playing his usual calm, efficient way, with some nice flicks and headed clearances.
One of their pressured, weak clearances resulted in our quick 2nd goal, which was brilliantly finished by Diego G..
That followed Alonso G.’s first goal that brought us back into this game, scoring from what seems to be his signature move…on the ground!
Another father-son scoring combo for the Wolves Pack!
Some late pressure, from our opponents, led to another goal and they were gifted a PK to tie the score at 3-3. Disheartening to say the least.Cue the comeback on a late scramble and timely finish by our striker, Christian M., who secured a deserved win for our Pack and ‘Man of the Match’ honours.
Christian MaiorinoThe hold at the end of the game was crucial. Props to Dylan T. for initiating that strategy and to Carlo Z., Matteo Z., Nacho C., and Kevin P. for doing their part to keep the ball away and kill those final minutes of this game.I know our team camaraderie also has something to do with our desire to play hard for one another. I listened as some of you, who probably haven’t seen each other since
Covid, catching up, talking about families, now that some of you have had children, upcoming weddings, and generally trying to reconnect after almost 3 years of pandemic uncertainty.
This makes me the happiest!
Final score:
Wolves 4 Lynwood 3
Strong Performance in Player debuts for Wolves OT2 vs. Inter Milan
by Mark Burger
The Wolves fielded their strongest lineup of the season, with a squad of 15 players, and saw the season debut of Timon Gareau, Michael Owen, Jeff Knight, and one of our rookies, Mike P. Things started brightly too. After a couple of squandered chances, Mark Burger crossed one into the box to an on-rushing Derek Koch, who was taken down in the box. Shezi Aziz stepped up to score on the penalty. Despite more possession and significantly more chances, the Wolves lost their lead as they were surprised by a beautiful goal from distance, that Mark Stone had no chance of saving. At halftime, despite a 1-1 score, the Wolves remained confident and planned to continue their attack. Chance after chance came early in the 2nd half, but the Inter Milan keeper kept the ball out. Finally the breakthrough came, as the 2 rookies combined, from opposite wings, when Kyle Ingram crossed in beautifully, from the left, for Mike Popiel to head the ball home, into the corner. The match was sealed when Kyle crossed once again, this time to Derek, who laid it off beautifully for Mark B. to finish incisively. Jeff Knight’s debut was masterful on ‘D’, directing the back line and cutting out the danger with great timing.
The rookie, Kyle Ingram earned ‘Man of the Match’ for his penetrating runs down the wing and dangerous crosses into the box. Lloyd Fernandes hosted the post match with some delicious chili which kept the team energized as they enjoyed their post-victory celebration with our Wolves OT 4, after their late game.
WOLVES OT2
‘Man of the Match’
Kyle Ingram
Final score:
Wolves OT2 3 Inter Milan 1
Post-Game celebration hosted by Lloyd Fernandes
Wolves OT3 Defense is Stellar vs. Ottawa City Royals
by John Bergeron
Coming off last week’s 8-0 thrashing of the Spitfires, the Wolves OT3 squad were home to Ottawa City Royals this past Friday, looking to keep things rolling.
In a chippy affair, the Wolves opened the scoring from an Ervis Danaj corner kick which was headed in by Sean Debeau.
Before halftime, a miscue from the Royals’ keeper put the ball on striker Jules Alie’s foot who stealthily put it in the back of the net to push the Wolves ahead, 2-0 at the break. That goal was Jules’ third of the season, and he has scored in each game thus far. Well done Jules!
The Wolves went up by three, when Dan Smith’s left-footed strike from just inside the 18-yard box rolled under the diving keeper. The goal is Smith’s second this year.
Shortly thereafter, Smith would exit the match with an injury, forcing an already depleted line up to continue with several players playing out of regular position.
At this point, the Royals would get one back on a mishandled crossed ball that dropped behind our keeper, Edson Resendes.
Momentum shifted briefly and Royals pounced on another opportunity scoring from the top of the box, a shot that no keeper could have stopped.
Tensions rose from that point on, with Royals players taking liberties against our Wolves but we stayed calm.
The Wolves’ defence was stellar all evening, led by ‘Man of the Match’, Eric Chauvin who calmly patrolled and controlled the back with help from Derek Davis, Doug “Kenny” MacIntosh, Danny Chapman, Jon “Wallace” McDougall, and Sean Debeau.
WOLVES OT3
At the final whistle, the Wolves claimed a well-earned victory of 3-2 and travel to Russell for a tough match next Friday.
Wolves OT4 fall to Kemptville
Our Wolves OT4 were in tough against Kemptville losing 4-1, our lone goal scored by Peter Stewart.
Wolves OT5 Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory
by Frank Maiorino
The boys from Ben Franklin lost their first game of the season to a hungry North Dundas side that was looking to rebound from a 9-3 lacquering, the previous week to Gloucester Mexico.
An over-confident Wolves side got out to a quick 1-0 lead after Hasim Hoti was tackled in the box and awarded a penalty kick that he easily buried moments later. North Dundas scored soon after when their speedy mid-fielder took possession of the ball and walked through the heart of the Wolves defence to deftly place a shot into the upper left side of the net. The first half ended 1-1.
The second half started well for the Wolves as they won many 50/50 battles and took control of the game. Hasim Hoti once again took advantage of the team’s strong play and gathered the ball outside of the North Dundas box, dribbling past numerous North Dundas players, to score his second of the game.
North Dundas was undeterred keeping their 4-3-3 formation which pressured the Wolves defense for most of the game and tested our keeper, Dorian Proulx who stood tall. Their persistence paid off as the Wolves began giving the ball away like it was Christmas in July, resulting in the opponents scoring 3 goals in 15 minutes making the final score, 4-2, North Dundas. This humbling loss was quickly erased by a pizza party, hosted together with our Wolves OT3, who were victorious over Ottawa City.
Wolves OT5 will look to redeem themselves against a tough Gloucester Mexico side, at Hornet’s Nest this Friday June 17th.
‘Man of the Match‘,: who scored our 2 goals.
Forza Wolves
