Finally…after almost 19 months, we were back to League action!
The Ottawa-Carleton Soccer League staging their first organized games since September 2019.What felt like a ‘marathon’ became a ‘sprint’ with a little over two weeks to prepare ourselves, I applaud you all for getting your teams organized on time.
We started our 2021 campaign with a severe thunderstorm threatening the start of our MRA team’s first game. But the skies cleared and it became a beautiful night for Soccer.We faced a young, athletic White Eagles team at a beautifully manicured Terry Fox pitch. The first half saw us leading 3-0. The 2nd half our play became more cohesive and determined. The final score was an 8-2 victory led by 3 goals a piece for Q. Vuniqi and Carlo Zito, plus two howlers scored by Diego Gartner and Hardy Nunez de la Torre. Our Players of the Game were Kevin Pereira, Q. Vuniqi, Diego Gartner, and Carlo Zito.
Our OT2 team competed against Ottawa TFC. I heard the injury bug struck which may have contributed to the end result. Our goal scorers were Mark Burger and Michael Owen. Final score was 4-2 for OTFC.
Our OT4 team faced what I’m told is a strong WOS team . Their only goal scored by MRA call-up, Kevin Ridgway. Final score was 4-1 for WOS.
Our newly merged OT6 team had a spirited start to their game. Potting two early goals and controlling all aspects of the game. But soon the aforementioned injury bug saw 4 of our players go down…and out. And our momentum stalled. There were 5 injuries in total, by the final whistle. Our goal scorers were Q. Vuniqi and Oscar Arrieta.Final score was 4-2 for Arnprior.
It’s only Week 1, I’m confident we will see better results in the coming weeks.