Nationals

[ibrox]

So far the reps I know of are:

NB - None - They are serving a 2 year suspenstion due to the fiasco and avoiding of embarassment of getting killed 8-0 every game

PEI - Avondale Islanders (aka Velvet Underground)
NS - Halifax City who defeated Dunbrack inthe final (the one game you lose after only leaking 5 goals in 14 and its the final..lol)
NL - Holy Cross...bout time! (Scary fact: The one time they won Nationals was in *gasp* Saskatchewan in 1988...repeat?)

Anything else?

[loyola]

Quebec- Royal-Sélect de Beauport won this weekend against Corfinium of St-Leonard. This is the first time a men's club form Quebec City, at any age level, qualifies for the Nationals. This team is coached by Laval Rouge et Or head coach, Samir Ghrib.

[Bates]

West Van out of BC. Defending Champs Calgary Callies out of Alberta. Hellas out of Manitoba and Huskies Alumni out of SK. Here is the website for the Tournament.

http://www.csanationals.com/games_men.php

[jogesc2]

Why does the website have Edmonton Scottish as the Alberta reps? They got destroyed at provincials this past weekend.

[tmcmurph]

quote:Originally posted by Bates

West Van out of BC. Defending Champs Calgary Callies out of Alberta. Hellas out of Manitoba and Huskies Alumni out of SK. Here is the website for the Tournament.

http://www.csanationals.com/games_men.php


I only see the Edmonton Scottish out of Alberta. They placed first (Callies second). Too bad because I was hoping that they could pull off the first ever three-peat.

[Bates]

That is a missprint. Callies won the Alberta Championship in Edmonton last weekend where they beat G&G in the final. Scottish won the league but lost to Callies in round robin at Provincials.

[Ed]

In other age groups, following Calgary teams are representing Alberta:
- BU18 Foothills Crew
- GU18 Foothills Athletics
- BU16 SWU Premiers
- GU14 Blizzard Juventus

[tmcmurph]

quote:Originally posted by Bates

That is a missprint. Callies won the Alberta Championship in Edmonton last weekend where they beat G&G in the final. Scottish won the league but lost to Callies in round robin at Provincials.


So it is the Championship winner or the league winner that goes from Alberta? I thought it was the league champ. I could be wrong and pleasantly happy to be so. I would love to see the Callies go for a record 3 straight.

[tmcmurph]

Found it. It is the Callies who will go for Alberta! [8D]

http://www.csanationals.com/teams_ab.php

"The mens and womens champions for Alberta have not yet been decided.

Information on these teams will be posted here once the provincial championships have been played."

And from the ASA site

2009 Senior Provincial Champions
Mike Traficante Challenge Cup - Calgary Callies
Fred Kern Jubilee Shield - Edmonton Victoria Club

Both Men's and Women's teams are off to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for Nationals

That makes me feel a whole lot better.

[DJones]

quote:Originally posted by Ed

In other age groups, following Calgary teams are representing Alberta:
- BU18 Foothills Crew
- GU18 Foothills Athletics
- BU16 SWU Premiers
- GU14 Blizzard Juventus


In other age groups in youth out of BC:

BU18 Vancouver Selects
GU18 SBAA Nitro Elite
BU16 Coquitlam Metro-Ford Juventus (my son's team)
GU16 Kamloops Blaze
BU14 Coquitlam Metro-Ford Sparta
GU14 Semiahmoo Thunder

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by DJones


quote:Originally posted by Ed

In other age groups, following Calgary teams are representing Alberta:
- BU18 Foothills Crew
- GU18 Foothills Athletics
- BU16 SWU Premiers
- GU14 Blizzard Juventus


In other age groups in youth out of BC:

BU18 Vancouver Selects
GU18 SBAA Nitro Elite
BU16 Coquitlam Metro-Ford Juventus (my son's team)
GU16 Kamloops Blaze
BU14 Coquitlam Metro-Ford Sparta
GU14 Semiahmoo Thunder
Is Metro Ford a full club from house league up to youth and adult competitive ?

It would appear the boys program is strong do they run a girls program also ?

[DoyleG]

West Van SC is BC`s representative for the Men`s Nationals.

Saskatchewan at the men`s nationals will be Huskie Alumni.

[Regs]

Re: Metro Ford... yes they are a "full club" and just recently merged with Coquitlam girls.

[DJones]

quote:Originally posted by Trillium


quote:Originally posted by DJones


quote:Originally posted by Ed

In other age groups, following Calgary teams are representing Alberta:
- BU18 Foothills Crew
- GU18 Foothills Athletics
- BU16 SWU Premiers
- GU14 Blizzard Juventus


In other age groups in youth out of BC:

BU18 Vancouver Selects
GU18 SBAA Nitro Elite
BU16 Coquitlam Metro-Ford Juventus (my son's team)
GU16 Kamloops Blaze
BU14 Coquitlam Metro-Ford Sparta
GU14 Semiahmoo Thunder
Is Metro Ford a full club from house league up to youth and adult competitive ?

It would appear the boys program is strong do they run a girls program also ?




Yes and yes. In fact, at one time we also inquired about a CSL team back in the 80's but were told no
.
The club is made up of two succesful Coquitlam programs that merged a few years back. Metro-Ford Soccer Club ran a successful boys program and Coquitlam City Soccer ran a successful girls program. They have now merged into Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC.

Programs run from U5 all the way to over 35's. Select and Metro youth teams at every level as well as B teams that play in like a reserve league to select on the boys side. Also gold, silver, bronze, red and house in most age groups.

http://www.cmfsc.ca/index.htm

We have both men's and women's premier sides (as well as div 1 and U21 teams on the men's side). 8 Y-league teams (4 boys and 4 girls) in the spring as well as PCSL teams (women's open and U21's as well as U21 men's.) Plans are in the works to start a PDL team in the next year or so as our 'golden generation' matures. We also have an men's over 35 team as our senior players mature and get rounder (yours truly)!

It was a really good year for us. 2 teams heading off to nationals, 2 teams heading off to Florida for the Y League finals, 3 girls teams (U13, U16, U17) that lost in the semifinals and one boys team that lost in the semifinals (U18). We also had one underaged team win the Select B cup (U14's) and one that lost in the semifinals (U16) on the boys side.

10 years of running an Initiation Academy for players U5 - U7 and club academies for the older age groups as well as developing and attracting top coaches is now starting to see dividends. Next year could and should be even better.

Best of all, we are continually developing talented young players and coaches that litter the Y League (not just our teams), Canadian Danone Teams, BC Summer Games teams, Whitecaps prospects/academy/residency/men's/women's, Provincial Programs, top academies, NTC, Men and Women National programs, college/universities, MLS as well as players that leave for Europe.

http://www.cmfsc.ca/acknowledgments.htm

[DJones]

quote:Originally posted by Trillium


quote:Originally posted by DJones


quote:Originally posted by Ed

In other age groups, following Calgary teams are representing Alberta:
- BU18 Foothills Crew
- GU18 Foothills Athletics
- BU16 SWU Premiers
- GU14 Blizzard Juventus


In other age groups in youth out of BC:

BU18 Vancouver Selects
GU18 SBAA Nitro Elite
BU16 Coquitlam Metro-Ford Juventus (my son's team)
GU16 Kamloops Blaze
BU14 Coquitlam Metro-Ford Sparta
GU14 Semiahmoo Thunder
Is Metro Ford a full club from house league up to youth and adult competitive ?

It would appear the boys program is strong do they run a girls program also ?




Yes and yes. In fact, at one time we also inquired about a CSL team back in the 80's but were told no
.
The club is made up of two succesful Coquitlam programs that merged a few years back. Metro-Ford Soccer Club ran a successful boys program and Coquitlam City Soccer ran a successful girls program. They have now merged into Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC.

Programs run from U5 all the way to over 35's. Select and Metro youth teams at every level as well as B teams that play in like a reserve league to select on the boys side. Also gold, silver, bronze, red and house in most age groups.

http://www.cmfsc.ca/index.htm

We have both men's and women's premier sides (as well as div 1 and U21 teams on the men's side). 8 Y-league teams (4 boys and 4 girls) in the spring as well as PCSL teams (women's open and U21's as well as U21 men's.) Plans are in the works to start a PDL team in the next year or so as our 'golden generation' matures. We also have an men's over 35 team as our senior players mature and get rounder (yours truly)!

It was a really good year for us. 2 teams heading off to nationals, 2 teams heading off to Florida for the Y League finals, 3 girls teams (U13, U16, U17) that lost in the semifinals and one boys team that lost in the semifinals (U18). We also had one underaged team win the Select B cup (U14's) and one that lost in the semifinals (U16) on the boys side.

10 years of running an Initiation Academy for players U5 - U7 and club academies for the older age groups as well as developing and attracting top coaches is now starting to see dividends. Next year could and should be even better.

Best of all, we are continually developing talented young players and coaches that litter the Y League (not just our teams), Canadian Danone Teams, BC Summer Games teams, Whitecaps prospects/academy/residency/men's/women's, Provincial Programs, top academies, NTC, Men and Women National programs, college/universities, MLS as well as players that leave for Europe.

http://www.cmfsc.ca/acknowledgments.htm

[Soccrman]

Are the fields in Saskatoon grass or artificial?

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by Soccrman

Are the fields in Saskatoon grass or artificial?


The fields are grass...Umea may be chewed up a bit as it is season's end (haven't been by there for some time), but the Sasktel fields are in good shape.

[Soccrman]

quote:Originally posted by Gordon


quote:Originally posted by Soccrman

Are the fields in Saskatoon grass or artificial?


The fields are grass...Umea may be chewed up a bit as it is season's end (haven't been by there for some time), but the Sasktel fields are in good shape.


Thx - normally they tell the facilities to close for a month at least before nats are held - lets hope they have done that as they have a lot of games to host

[Bates]

The Umea fields are grass but the Sasktel fields are artificial. Most of the grass fields in Saskatoon are in great shape this year as our summer was not that hot and they are not burned up like most summers.

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by Bates

The Umea fields are grass but the Sasktel fields are artificial. Most of the grass fields in Saskatoon are in great shape this year as our summer was not that hot and they are not burned up like most summers.


Ah right you are about the Sasktel Fields...I do not know why, for some reason I was thinking the Sasktel Fields were at the university. Cursed corporate sponsorship!

[mattie9]

is the sask team basically arsenal?

[Bates]

The sask team is a combination of the old Arsenal team with a few players that played for the U of S over the last 5-7 years. They are the best team to rep SK in a very long time, too bad about their division!!!

[Bill Spiers]

Ontario reps. at the Nationals:

Men - Real Toronto
Women - North London Galaxy
U-18 Boys - Niagara Falls Titans
U-18 Girls - West Rouge Storm
U-16 Boys - Ajax Gunners
U-16 Girls - Ajax United Magic
U-14 Boys - Markham Lightning
U-14 Girls - Ajax Strikers
Masters - Oakville Fine Homes
Classics - Rexdale Reunited Elites

I'm going to be in Saskatoon for the Mens' and Womens' Championships. Any fellow Voyageurs who are there, stop by and say 'Hi'.

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by Bill Spiers

Ontario reps. at the Nationals:

Men - Real Toronto
Women - North London Galaxy
U-18 Boys - Niagara Falls Titans
U-18 Girls - West Rouge Storm
U-16 Boys - Ajax Gunners
U-16 Girls - Ajax United Magic
U-14 Boys - Markham Lightning
U-14 Girls - Ajax Strikers
Masters - Oakville Fine Homes
Classics - Rexdale Reunited Elites

I'm going to be in Saskatoon for the Mens' and Womens' Championships. Any fellow Voyageurs who are there, stop by and say 'Hi'.
Bill any insights as to why Ajax seems to be so dominant in Ontario, its not the biggest town or club, what are they doing right to have so much success ?

[mattie9]

which fields in sask are turf?Are they inside?

[Bates]

Sasktel fields have 2 turf fields outside and 1 fullsize turf field inside. I think they only intend to use outdoor fields.

[Bill Spiers]

quote:Originally posted by Trillium

Bill any insights as to why Ajax seems to be so dominant in Ontario, its not the biggest town or club, what are they doing right to have so much success?

First, my apologies if I get my clubs mixed up. There are two Ajax soccer clubs – Ajax SC with a registration of 3,000+ and Ajax United SC with a registration of 1000+.

Ajax SC won five Ontario Cups this year having won only three in their previous 40 year history. Ajax United SC won the U-16 Girls Ontario Cup. Add a win for Pickering U-13 Girls and Durham Region won seven Ontario Cups out of ten finalists (although nine was the best that they could do as two Durham teams went head-to-head in one final.

Why did Durham – and Ajax in particular - have such a good year? Hard to tell. Perhaps just the swing of the pendulum. Erin Mills had five Ontario Cup wins in 2005 but none this year. In fact, Peel/Halton – the traditional powerhouse District in the Ontario Cup – only won three Ontario Cups this year – all by Oakville. You expect the bigger communities/clubs such as Oakville (10,000+ players) to consistently produce good results but not the smaller clubs.

More information about the Ajax teams can be found here:

http://newsdurhamregion.com/sports/article/136334

As Head Coach Tom Croft said “These things don’t happen in one year. It’s a build-up of the last four or five years with these teams”.

With that in mind, perhaps the real credit should go to Alan Southard who was Club Head Coach for several years before retiring this past year.

[tmcmurph]

Rough start for the defending champs. CSA doesn't have their web site updated yet but the local one is

http://www.csanationals.com/standings_men.php

GROUP A
Team GP W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Real Tor 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 3
2 Hellas FC 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 3
3 Huskies Al 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Calgary C 1 0 1 0 1 2 -1 0
5 West Van 1 0 1 0 1 2 -1 0

GROUP B
Team GP W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Avondale 1 1 0 0 4 1 3 3
2 Beauport 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Holy Cross 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Yukon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Halifax 1 0 1 0 1 4 -3 0

[Regs]

Well the local website better update it quickly because Real Toronto LOST to West Van today 2-1. Paul Daily scored the winner in the 6th minute of added time.

Apparently the wind is playing a huge factor there.

If anyone is interested in West Van (BC) reports, feel free to hit up TTP - there's a thread linked to it on the home page.

Cheers,

Regs.

[tmcmurph]

quote:Originally posted by Regs

Well the local website better update it quickly because Real Toronto LOST to West Van today 2-1. Paul Daily scored the winner in the 6th minute of added time.

Apparently the wind is playing a huge factor there.

If anyone is interested in West Van (BC) reports, feel free to hit up TTP - there's a thread linked to it on the home page.

Cheers,

Regs.


They have corrected it [8D]

[DJones]

Just in time for the snow! Play suspended and the girls games have been cancelled. Indoor tournament?

[Regs]

60 minute games indoor now apparently.

WV vs Manitoba was the only game that started and it was cancelled after 45 minutes (0-0) - game rescheduled for tonight @ 11:30PM local time (60 minute complete game)

All games tomorrow are indoor, men & women.

What a clusterf*ck :rolleyes:

[Bates]

Callies Vs Sask also started but played only about 25 minutes. 0-0 as well.

[tmcmurph]

quote:Originally posted by Regs

60 minute games indoor now apparently.

WV vs Manitoba was the only game that started and it was cancelled after 45 minutes (0-0) - game rescheduled for tonight @ 11:30PM local time (60 minute complete game)

All games tomorrow are indoor, men & women.

What a clusterf*ck :rolleyes:


At least in Saskatoon they have a full sized indoor field to fall back to. Pretty much the same weather we are getting here in Calgary. Wind (30K), cold (-7) and bits of snow. Normal for this time of year is +13! Sucks to be us :(

Be glad the tournament isn't here in Calgary. We have a building that could be a full sized field but it has 4 arenas in it. Sell the boards to hockey, put in the Limonta/GeoSafePlay artificial turf and let the kids play futsal instead of arena. That way you always have a fallback plan for bad weather.

[Portuguese Sensation]

Or here's an idea... play the tournament a month earlier

[tmcmurph]

quote:Originally posted by Portuguese Sensation

Or here's an idea... play the tournament a month earlier

This being the prairies it doesn't get you any better chances in the weather department. Mid September can be the same. Normal is +13 so -5 to +2 (plus the wind chill) is a bit of bad luck.

[Tuscan]

They can't play the tourney a month earlier, the Ontario Cup only finishes by the second weekend of September earliest.

Interesting results for the men's competition, with Winnipeg's Hellas SC going 2 - 0 with a 1-0 win over West Van of BC. Hellas also beat the Callies 2-1 in yesterday's action as well.

For more on the tourney (here comes the plug), visit www.rednationonline.ca, where player/coach interviews with match reports, and brief bios of a few of the teams will appear every day. Hopefully I'll be able to get some good pictures of some of the action as well.

If anyone has any questions they would like to have asked to anyone involved in the tourney (player, coach, organizing committee, CSA), please email me at jeffreydsalisbury@gmail.com and I'll see what I can do for you.

Go Huskies Alumni!

[tmcmurph]

Things are starting to look up for the defending champs. Hellas still has a game in hand (they play the Huskies and Toronto, Calgary plays Toronto).

GROUP A
Team GP W L T GF GA GD Pts
Calgary Callies 3 2 1 0 5 3 2 6
Hellas FC 2 2 0 0 3 1 2 6
West Vancouver 3 1 2 0 3 5 -2 3
Real Toronto 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 1
Huskies Alumni 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1

GROUP B
Team GP W L T GF GA GD Pts
Beauport 2 1 0 1 5 2 3 4
Avondale Isl 2 1 0 1 4 1 3 4
Holy Cross 2 0 0 2 1 1 0 2
Halifax City 1 0 1 0 1 4 -3 0
Yukon Sel 1 0 1 0 1 4 -3 0

[loyola]

Beauport won 2-0 against Avondale. A win tomorrow against Halifax would send them to the final.

[VPjr]

The Real Toronto boys must be LOVING the Saskatoon weather.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

....or maybe they aren't as good as some of the other teams? Hard as it may be to believe for some people in Toronto.

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by BringBackTheBlizzard


....or maybe they aren't as good as some of the other teams? Hard as it may be to believe for some people in Toronto.
Well I guess the Blizzard has been back in Sask for the last few days.

On a serious note you have to wonder about deciding nationals based on the revised schedule of short games played indoors. Not ideal at all.

Which comes back to the tournament format and timing, which if you had a Eastern Championship and a Western .. you could have four teams two from each side go through to a National championship to be played by the last weekend in September.

[tmcmurph]

quote:Originally posted by Trillium
On a serious note you have to wonder about deciding nationals based on the revised schedule of short games played indoors. Not ideal at all.

Which comes back to the tournament format and timing, which if you had a Eastern Championship and a Western .. you could have four teams two from each side go through to a National championship to be played by the last weekend in September.


Yea deciding the nationals on 60 minute games doesn't make me very thrilled. I guess the scheduling of the indoor field was adjusted as best they could to accommodate the games. I wish they had the time to do full 90 minute games.

The 4 finalist idea is a good one but on the prairies you can get this weather any time from labour day onward. Normal is +13, like Vancouver and Toronto were today. Next time they should leave more time open inside just in case.

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by BringBackTheBlizzard


....or maybe they aren't as good as some of the other teams? Hard as it may be to believe for some people in Toronto.


Just curious....when did I suggest they were as good as some other teams?

[Vic]

The day God created xenophobes ;)

[DoyleG]

They are still hoping, it seems, for the finals to be outdoors on Monday. Temperature for then would be around freezing.

[Vic]

Ahhh the weather and organizational snafu. How eminently Canadian.

[tmcmurph]

Sat, Oct 10th
Callies 2 - 0 Toronto
Hellas 0 - 3 Huskies

So the Huskies get their first win and what a huge one it is! Not only do they win 3-0 but they beat the previously unbeaten Hellas team. Combined with the Callies taking out Toronto 2-0 the quest for the unprecedented 3 in a row by the Callies is looking much better.

So tomorrow's game Toronto vs Hellas is a huge one. To take first in their pool Hellas must win by 4 goals. Where have I heard that one before? [}:)]

Team GP W L T GF GA GD Pts
Calg Callies 4 3 1 0 7 3 4 9
Hellas FC 3 2 1 0 3 4 -1 6
Huskies Alu 3 1 1 1 5 3 2 4
West Van 3 1 2 0 3 5 -2 3
Real Toronto 3 0 2 1 3 6 -3 1

GROUP B
Team GP W L T GF GA GD Pts
Beauport 4 2 0 2 7 2 5 8
Holy Cross 3 1 0 2 6 1 5 5
Avondale Isl 3 1 1 1 4 3 1 4
Halifax City 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
Yukon Sel 3 0 3 0 1 12 -11 0

[DoyleG]

quote:Originally posted by Vic

Ahhh the weather and organizational snafu. How eminently Canadian.


Of course, the decision to make Saskatoon the host appeared to be the right one.

[TrueNorth]

quote:Originally posted by tmcmurph


So tomorrow's game Toronto vs Hellas is a huge one. To take first in their pool Hellas must win by 4 goals. Where have I heard that one before?

The first tie breaker is head-to-head. If Hellas wins, they will go through to the gold medal game.

[TrueNorth]

quote:Originally posted by tmcmurph


So tomorrow's game Toronto vs Hellas is a huge one. To take first in their pool Hellas must win by 4 goals. Where have I heard that one before?

The first tie breaker is head-to-head. If Hellas wins, they will go through to the gold medal game.

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by DoyleG


quote:Originally posted by Vic

Ahhh the weather and organizational snafu. How eminently Canadian.


Of course, the decision to make Saskatoon the host appeared to be the right one.
There are rules in sport.. dont plan and event in Newfoundland in January or Feburary or March or April cause you cant freaking fly in five days straight... and dont plan a outdoor event in Manitoba west to BC after September 15 cause you know its going to snow.

Some people need head shakes, when they do such things.

[ibrox]

quote:Originally posted by Trillium


quote:Originally posted by DoyleG


quote:Originally posted by Vic

Ahhh the weather and organizational snafu. How eminently Canadian.


Of course, the decision to make Saskatoon the host appeared to be the right one.
There are rules in sport.. dont plan and event in Newfoundland in January or Feburary or March or April cause you cant freaking fly in five days straight... and dont plan a outdoor event in Manitoba west to BC after September 15 cause you know its going to snow.

Some people need head shakes, when they do such things.


So what you're saying then is the nationals should only be held in Quebec or Ontario every year? Impeccable logic right there.

[tmcmurph]

quote:Originally posted by TrueNorth


quote:Originally posted by tmcmurph


So tomorrow's game Toronto vs Hellas is a huge one. To take first in their pool Hellas must win by 4 goals. Where have I heard that one before?

The first tie breaker is head-to-head. If Hellas wins, they will go through to the gold medal game.

Thanks. I wasn't sure about the tie breaks. A Hellas win puts them in. So go Toronto!

[DoyleG]

quote:Originally posted by Trillium


quote:Originally posted by DoyleG


quote:Originally posted by Vic

Ahhh the weather and organizational snafu. How eminently Canadian.


Of course, the decision to make Saskatoon the host appeared to be the right one.
There are rules in sport.. dont plan and event in Newfoundland in January or Feburary or March or April cause you cant freaking fly in five days straight... and dont plan a outdoor event in Manitoba west to BC after September 15 cause you know its going to snow.

Some people need head shakes, when they do such things.


Starting with you concerning your lack of any logic.

[PescaraBiancazzuri]

Hellas FC (MB) 2-0 Real Toronto (ON)

Hellas FC (MB) advances to the final

[PescaraBiancazzuri]

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/5094/25863938.jpg

[loyola]

Go Beauport!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tmcmurph]

Too bad for the Callies. 3 in a row would have set a new mark. It is very hard just to get there and then you can't afford any mistakes for 5 games. Close but no cigar. Congrats to the team for coming close. I'm sure they will be back next year trying to start a new run.

[timmakal]

the results posted are incorrect, avondale moves on to the bronze with 2 wins a loss and a tie. Avondale looks to defend last years bronze medal.

[DoyleG]

It would be interesting to see if Real Toronto can avoid the wooden spoon.

[timmakal]

real toronto finished dead last

[Soccrman]

quote:Originally posted by DoyleG

It would be interesting to see if Real Toronto can avoid the wooden spoon.


apparently not - they lost to Yukon on pk's!!! Rumour has it they showed up with only 12/13 players for todays game. Disgraceful!!

[PescaraBiancazzuri]

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/9696/54960466.jpg

[PescaraBiancazzuri]

quote:Hellas SC to meet Royal in Challenge Trophy final

Winnipeg's Hellas SC will meet the Royal de Beauport in the Challenge Trophy final at the 2009 BMO National Championships. The two sides will meet in the championship final after finishing first in their respective groups. Calgary Callies will meet Prince Edward Island's Avondale Islanders in the bronze-medal match.

On the final day of the round-robin competition, Hellas SC clinched first with a 2:0 victory over Real Toronto. Both Calgary and Winnipeg finished with nine points, but Hellas finished first on account of its 2:1 victory over Calgary on opening day. Calgary watched from the sideline on the final day. In other group action, West Van FC won 1:0 over Saskatoon's Huskie Alumni.

Like Calgary, the Royal also watched from the sideline on the final day. In Beauport's case, however, it finished first after Holy Cross failed to pick up three points. Holy Cross played to a 1:1 draw with Halifax City. Holy Cross actually slipped to third place in its group because the Avondale Islanders posted a big 4:0 victory over the Yukon Strikers.

Final Group A standings were Hellas SC, Calgary Callies, West Van FC, Huskie Alumni and Real Toronto. Final Group B standings were Royal de Beauport, Avondale Islanders, Holy Cross, Halifax City and Yukon Strikers.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

quote:Originally posted by Soccrman


apparently not - they lost to Yukon on pk's!!! Rumour has it they showed up with only 12/13 players for todays game. Disgraceful!!

Would have thought a Yukon select team should have been beatable for a squad of CSL players even if they played a player short. No disrespect to soccer players from the Yukon intended by that. I'd say the same if a community in southern Ontario with a similar population were involved.

[ibrox]

Toronto. Last?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't wait for the excuses to start flying from them. CSL looks crap, smells like crap...it must be crap! lol

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by DoyleG


quote:Originally posted by Trillium


quote:Originally posted by DoyleG


quote:Originally posted by Vic

Ahhh the weather and organizational snafu. How eminently Canadian.


Of course, the decision to make Saskatoon the host appeared to be the right one.
There are rules in sport.. dont plan and event in Newfoundland in January or Feburary or March or April cause you cant freaking fly in five days straight... and dont plan a outdoor event in Manitoba west to BC after September 15 cause you know its going to snow.

Some people need head shakes, when they do such things.


Starting with you concerning your lack of any logic.
DoyleG what is your point and what seems to lack any logic to you.. ?

Planning outdoor events is always fraught with risks, for a national championship you try to mitigate those risks.

Having seen national level competitions where athletes had to sleep in the Halifax Aiport for two days before getting to Newfoundland in the winter, I have some sense of how it can screw up performances.

Sask for mid October nationals having to move indoors is a mark against the championship and its quality, my personal view is they should have played in the snow outdoors rather then go to short games indoors.

So frankly DoyleG your comment seems to me to be unsubstantiated in logical terms.. but perhaps you spend to much time on Bigsoccer to be logical, or knowledgable or have more then a one sentence post.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Monday.

[Bates]

Trillium I am not sure where you come up with such crap but just for the record I will inform you for the record that this very tournament was moved inside in 2001 when it was hosted by Ontario. Also for the record and I am very well aware that winner moves on but this will be the weakest final I have ever seen and I have been at this tournament for last 10 years. Manitoba was weakest team in their division and other division was terrible.

[timmakal]

Manitoba was the weakest in there division? Is this why they went 3-1? And the other division was weak? You seem to believe that the atlantic provinces can not compete at the level as the other, shall i remind you that an atlantic province has taken the bronze the last 2 years(st lawrence when halifax hosted beating Halifax city for bronze, and Avondale defeated BC last year for the bronze) This isn't youth soccer where the big provinces come in and trounce on us. As for it not being a fair tournament, everyone has to play under the circumstances, yes the game may be shorter but its the same conditions for every team and thats why you show up to play the game!

[Cheeta]

^^ Oh, very nice. Don't know enough to say anything other than I'd think you'd find a lot of people out here are surprised Hellas has done as well as they have and especially, that they've made the final. But, it's the craziest tourney on the planet. Crazyness happens when you try to play 5 soccer matches in a week. The game really wasn't designed with that in mind.

Don't see what the big deal is playing matches indoors unless the roof at Sasktel is low or the pitch is crap. Well, that and you probably can't fit very many people in the venue. Think you'd be hard pressed to get 400-500 spectators into the indoor complex here in Winnipeg and I'd imagine Saskatoon is similar.

Thanksgiving Monday, typical autumn weather. If the footie people out in Saskatoon did their job they probably could get a few people out this afternoon for an indoor final regardless of who's playing.

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by Bates

Trillium I am not sure where you come up with such crap but just for the record I will inform you for the record that this very tournament was moved inside in 2001 when it was hosted by Ontario. Also for the record and I am very well aware that winner moves on but this will be the weakest final I have ever seen and I have been at this tournament for last 10 years. Manitoba was weakest team in their division and other division was terrible.
Bates.. do you remember why the tournament was moved inside ? The weather report for that date http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/CYTZ/2001/10/8/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA shows clear skys and a temp of eight degree celsus as the high.

Was it played indoors cause the new Soccer Centre had been opened ?

[PescaraBiancazzuri]

quote:Men's rankings determined

The 5th through 10th ranking for the 2009 BMO National Championships Challenge Trophy competition was determined tonight by kicks from the penalty mark. British Columbia's West Van FC (5th) won 6-5 over Newfoundland Labrador's Holy Cross (6th); Nova Scotia's Halifax City (7th) won 4-3 over Saskatchewan's Huskie Alumni (8th); and Yukon's Yukon Strikers (9th) won 3:1 over Ontario's Real Toronto (10th).

The top four rankings will be determined on Monday in the match for third place and the Challenge Trophy championship final. Alberta's Calgary Callies plays Prince Edward Island's Avondale Islanders for the bronze medal; Manitoba's Hellas SC plays Québec's Royal de Beauport for the gold medal.

Calgary Callies failed in its attempt to win a third-straight championship, but will be fighting for a medal for a fourth consecutive year. Calgary won silver in 2006 and gold in 2007 and 2008. Avondale Islanders, meanwhile, are fighting for a second-straight bronze medal.

In the final, Hellas SC and Royal de Beauport are both looking for their first title. Hellas SC made its national debut last year and finished 8th. The Royal, meanwhile, is making its national debut this year.

[PescaraBiancazzuri]

quote:The 5th through 10th ranking for the 2009 BMO National Championships Challenge Trophy competition was [u]determined tonight by kicks from the penalty mark</u>

[:I][:I][:I][:I][:I][:I][:I][:I]

[bettermirror]

Are you kidding!? And .... why? what does 5-10th matter???

[loyola]

Ok, now I understand how Ontario lost to Yukon....

[Regs]

It matters for seedings for the following year.

[Bates]

Timmakel I am actually from NL and do not believe that the smaller Provinces are weaker but at this particular tournament that division is significantly weaker than the other. I just watched PEI win bronze over Callies in a match which Callies fielded a greatly reduced roster yet PEI did not have a scoring chance in the game. And Trillium the tournament was moved inside in Toronto because of severe rain. There is no where in this country that can guarantee weather at any time of year!! The facility in Saskatoon in second to none in the country. Only problems have been reduced time and low ceiling that could have been remedied with a set rule for ball hitting roof.

Manitoba was taken lightly by Callies on Wednesday and BC on Thursday. Both rested key players and paid the price for their error. Ont played Manitoba with reduced roster a several players had flown home to play with Shooters. The only team to play against Hellas at full force was SK and they dominated Hellas with a 3-0 win. Full marks to Hellas as you can only beat the team that you play and they have done that but from an observation side they are the weak sister in that division.

On the other side Quebec have made the final with a win over PEI and Yukon combined with 2 ties. That is really not that impressive. In my opinion if the same teams played this tournament again the top contenders here would be Callies, BC, and believe it or not Sask.

[Winnipeg Fury]

quote:Originally posted by Cheeta

^^ Oh, very nice. Don't know enough to say anything other than I'd think you'd find a lot of people out here are surprised Hellas has done as well as they have and especially, that they've made the final.




Agreed.

Although Hellas did win the Premier this year (with perennial powers SOI and Lucania finishing second and third respectively), so they must have some quality to take the double.

[ibrox]

I still find it funny how a team from "the centre of the universe" who were "supposed to win it" lost to Yukon in penalties...that's sad.

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by Bates

Timmakel I am actually from NL and do not believe that the smaller Provinces are weaker but at this particular tournament that division is significantly weaker than the other. I just watched PEI win bronze over Callies in a match which Callies fielded a greatly reduced roster yet PEI did not have a scoring chance in the game. And Trillium the tournament was moved inside in Toronto because of severe rain. There is no where in this country that can guarantee weather at any time of year!! The facility in Saskatoon in second to none in the country. Only problems have been reduced time and low ceiling that could have been remedied with a set rule for ball hitting roof.

Manitoba was taken lightly by Callies on Wednesday and BC on Thursday. Both rested key players and paid the price for their error. Ont played Manitoba with reduced roster a several players had flown home to play with Shooters. The only team to play against Hellas at full force was SK and they dominated Hellas with a 3-0 win. Full marks to Hellas as you can only beat the team that you play and they have done that but from an observation side they are the weak sister in that division.

On the other side Quebec have made the final with a win over PEI and Yukon combined with 2 ties. That is really not that impressive. In my opinion if the same teams played this tournament again the top contenders here would be Callies, BC, and believe it or not Sask.


So we have a National finals with less the the FIFA mandated 90 minutes played in a facility with a too low roof, with at least one team Real Toronto ( supposedly a competitve registered senior team ) whose players also play in the semi-pro CSL, one has to wonder how they did that given in Ontario your only to register on one Senior competitive team.

More and more curious .. and how much does the CSA pay to run this event ?

[Winnipeg Fury]

quote:Originally posted by ibrox

I still find it funny how a team from "the centre of the universe" who were "supposed to win it" lost to Yukon in penalties...that's sad.


No disrespect to the Yukon, good on them. But yes, unbelievable.

Mind you, any team with a lame name like Real Toronto deserves to be thrashed.;)

[Bates]

Scoreless at halftime in Saskatoon. No real chances for either side.

[Bates]

Manitoba up 1

[spirit 88]

National Championship , sounds more like a National Farce.What has happened to soccer in Canada shame shame

[Bates]

Hellas win

[McKennan]

Great day for PEI...3 medals all from teams taht play in the Senior mens league...

BP Master - Silver
Avondale - Bronze
Winsloe 18 - Bronze

[THE_TRUTH]

congrats to gus and hellas and manitoba. 3 golds 3 different teams in 10 years, arguably one the most dominant provinces of the 21st century

[Soccerpro]

quote:Originally posted by THE_TRUTH

congrats to gus and hellas and manitoba. 3 golds 3 different teams in 10 years, arguably one the most dominant provinces of the 21st century


For Senior mens Amateur soccer...

[PescaraBiancazzuri]

[u]2009 BMO National Championships Challenge Trophy</u>

1. Hellas SC (MB)
2. Royal de Beauport (QC)
3. Avondale Islanders (PE)
4. Calgary Callies (AB)
5. West Vancouver (BC)
6. Holy Cross (NL)
7. Halifax City (NS)
8. Huskies Alumni (SK)
9. Yukon Selects (YT)
10. Real Toronto (ON)

========================================
2010 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
BMO National Championships Challenge Trophy

Group A
1. Manitoba
4. Alberta
5. British Columbia
8. Saskatchewan
9. Yukon Territory

Group B
2. Quebec
3. Prince Edward Island
6. Newfoundland Labrador
7. Nova Scotia
10. Ontario

If they stick with same seeding system

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by PescaraBiancazzuri

[u]2009 BMO National Championships Challenge Trophy</u>

1. Hellas SC (MB)
2. Royal de Beauport (QC)
3. Avondale Islanders (PE)
4. Calgary Callies (AB)
5. West Vancouver (BC)
6. Holy Cross (NL)
7. Halifax City (NS)
8. Huskies Alumni (SK)
9. Yukon Selects (YT)
10. Real Toronto (ON)

========================================
2010 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
BMO National Championships Challenge Trophy

Group A
1. Manitoba
4. Alberta
5. British Columbia
8. Saskatchewan
9. Yukon Territory

Group B
2. Quebec
3. Prince Edward Island
6. Newfoundland Labrador
7. Nova Scotia
10. Ontario

If they stick with same seeding system
So seems they could have east and west championship then just have the top four teams advance, two from each side, and then have a four team tournament over eight days.

[timmakal]

peis group was a weaker group? I acctually played int he PEI vs calgary game today, too abd two of the 3 medals came from the "weaker group" you say weaker on a basis of population within the province with no emphasis on which team is going. Continue to say PEI and the maritimes are weak but our pei team has won bronze the last 2 years, one with a win against bc int he final last year and another this year against alberta. Also pei had no chances? what about the half break away late in the game that missed the back post by a foot? I believe that was the best chance of the game, alberta coulndy finish in penalties tus pei was the surperior team on this day and tends to show up when it matters.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by Trillium


quote:Originally posted by PescaraBiancazzuri

[u]2009 BMO National Championships Challenge Trophy</u>

1. Hellas SC (MB)
2. Royal de Beauport (QC)
3. Avondale Islanders (PE)
4. Calgary Callies (AB)
5. West Vancouver (BC)
6. Holy Cross (NL)
7. Halifax City (NS)
8. Huskies Alumni (SK)
9. Yukon Selects (YT)
10. Real Toronto (ON)

========================================
2010 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
BMO National Championships Challenge Trophy

Group A
1. Manitoba
4. Alberta
5. British Columbia
8. Saskatchewan
9. Yukon Territory

Group B
2. Quebec
3. Prince Edward Island
6. Newfoundland Labrador
7. Nova Scotia
10. Ontario

If they stick with same seeding system
So seems they could have east and west championship then just have the top four teams advance, two from each side, and then have a four team tournament over eight days.




Except that they have already awarded and scheduled the 2010, 2011 and 2012 tournaments. I doubt we'll see change being made to the tournament format. Also, I,m not sure clubs are willing to pay the expenses for 2 torunaments instead of one, that's a lot of money if you are making it to the second tournament.

I must say, on a personnal note, I've played in one National championship at minus 15 with a lot of snow and I enjoyed it. Yes, it was a bit chaotic but we dealt with that crazy weather and some excellent goals were scored during that tournament.

[Bates]

Timakel you should also consider that Callies did not dress Nikki Reyes, Felix Napuri, or Mark Slade so you did not in fact play against the same Callies team that would have played had this been the Gold medal game. The importance of the bronze medal was lost on the Callies, a fact which I pointed out quite bluntly to them today!! Full marks to your team for the bronze last 2 years but you would have to be blind if you could not see how much weaker your division was compared to the other division this year. Quebec advanced to the gold medal game with 2 wins, one over PEI, the other over Yukon, that sounds tough!!!

[loyola]

If the second team from group A can't beat the second team from group B you can't make an argument for team 3, 4 and 5 in group A. So PEI and Quebec should be given full credit for their second and third place.

[DoyleG]

If Real Toronto was bad, than Niagara Falls Titans weren't that much better. They got trounced 7-1 by Calgary Foothills at the U-18 championships.

Neindorf's boys are doing alright.

[ibrox]

quote:Originally posted by timmakal

peis group was a weaker group? I acctually played int he PEI vs calgary game today, too abd two of the 3 medals came from the "weaker group" you say weaker on a basis of population within the province with no emphasis on which team is going. Continue to say PEI and the maritimes are weak but our pei team has won bronze the last 2 years, one with a win against bc int he final last year and another this year against alberta. Also pei had no chances? what about the half break away late in the game that missed the back post by a foot? I believe that was the best chance of the game, alberta coulndy finish in penalties tus pei was the surperior team on this day and tends to show up when it matters.


Really? I challenge you then to play the same tournament and I'll be generous and let you take Real toronto's place (what a bunch of effin posers) and see how you do against Sask, Callies, and Manitoba?

2 of 3 medals? Oooooo...awesome, too bad at least one group is guaranteed a medal. And the team the finished first only beat Manitoba, Yukon, and your Prince Edward Island team. Impressive.

[tmcmurph]

Regardless of who was in the tougher division I think this whole format of 5 games in 4 days is insane. No team can play anywhere near their best under those conditions. It becomes an endurance and injury luck event more than a skills one.

I definitely like the idea of top 2 from the west and top 2 from the east. 3 games in 8 days so everyone can play their top team for all games. The cost of going to 2 tournaments will be more but it is that or you have to stretch the current one out to 10-12 days.

The weather can be dealt with if wind chill happens or torrential downpours occurs. The tournament must be at a place where they have a full sized indoor field with high enough roof and they must leave enough time available for all the games to be 90 minutes. No 60 minute mini games to decide the title. The problem in Sask wasn't that the temp was too cold it was the wind chill would leave the players with frostbite.

[THE_TRUTH]

have any of you played in this tourny before. have any of you played in canada before. if you've answered yes than at some point in your career you would have played indoor, on turf, in near freezing temp, wind etc.. what i'm trying to say is that when you step on a pitch it is 11 v 11 and everyuone has experience on every type of condition, leaving the more skilled and consistent teams at the top and the ones that make excuses on the bottom. whther its 60 mins or 120 mins you still have to show up and you still have to get a result no matter what.

after playing all over canada i can assure you that the senior mens level there are good teams and there are bad teams but the majority fall into the decent team category which is why this tournament can be won by any team from any province

[loyola]

The last 5 Nationals championships (including this year) shows the following results in term of top 4 appearances:

Alberta (5 out of 5, 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze, 1 4th)
Quebec (4 out of 5, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze, 1 4th)
Ontario (2 out of 5, 2 Gold)
PEI (2 out of 5, 2 Bronze)
BC (2 out of 5, 1 silver, 1 4th)
Manitoba (1 out of 5, 1 Gold)
Newfoundland (1 out of 5, 1 Bronze)
NS (1 out of 5, 1 4th)


What can you get from those numbers? Well, Alberta and Quebec are pretty safe bets to make the top 4 and anyone else can complete the top 4 with Yukon and Saskatchewan being the most unlikely. It shows a lot of parity at the Men's amateurs level in Canada.

[Ed]

Calgary teams win both U18 championships, and runner up at U16 boys. Congrats to Calgary Foothills Crew U18 boys and Calgary Foothills Athletics U18 girls for their gold medals and Calgary Southwest United Premiers 93 for their silver.

BTW, DoyleG, Thomas Niendorf has had no association with Foothills for quite a few years now.

[Rudi]

quote:Originally posted by ibrox

I still find it funny how a team from "the centre of the universe" who were "supposed to win it" lost to Yukon in penalties...that's sad.

I find it pathetic that you keep hammering on this point.

Real Toronto weren't good enough this year. What's the big deal?

[mattie9]

it happened,we beat everyone we had to,thats all that needs to be said

[DoyleG]

quote:Originally posted by Ed


BTW, DoyleG, Thomas Niendorf has had no association with Foothills for quite a few years now.


I'll accept that you missed the point of that bit.

[mattie9]

i thought when i looked at the group that everyone said we would not have a chance as we had no experience.

[loyola]

mattie9, first congratulations for your championship! Great stuff!

Second, WTF with your last comment??? Only one poster did say that you guys had LITTLE chances in the other "Nationals" thread. It's not EVERYONE, and he didn't say you had no chance.

[TrueNorth]

Congrats matttie9, I didn't think you boys had a chance and you clearly proved me and any other non-believers wrong.

I ain't mad at cha though!

[mattie9]

in the saskatoon paper we were 10-1 odds to win.Either way thats 3 in 9 years for manitoba second only to alberta i think.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by mattie9

in the saskatoon paper we were 10-1 odds to win.Either way thats 3 in 9 years for manitoba second only to alberta i think.


Yes, but most people who really know the senior amateur game in this country acknowlege that this tournament can be won by almost any team. I wouldn't read too much into odds posted in the Saskatoon newspapers....I doubt they had a panel of experts making those [:p]

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by tmcmurph

Regardless of who was in the tougher division I think this whole format of 5 games in 4 days is insane. No team can play anywhere near their best under those conditions. It becomes an endurance and injury luck event more than a skills one.

I definitely like the idea of top 2 from the west and top 2 from the east. 3 games in 8 days so everyone can play their top team for all games. The cost of going to 2 tournaments will be more but it is that or you have to stretch the current one out to 10-12 days.

The weather can be dealt with if wind chill happens or torrential downpours occurs. The tournament must be at a place where they have a full sized indoor field with high enough roof and they must leave enough time available for all the games to be 90 minutes. No 60 minute mini games to decide the title. The problem in Sask wasn't that the temp was too cold it was the wind chill would leave the players with frostbite.
If you cost it out you probably end up with the same total cost for subsidy and actual cost, the reduced travel cost in the East you can have the tournament somewhere in Quebec like Sherbrooke, the teams from Maritimes can go by motor coach and the Newfoundland team can be flown over then coach it.

I suspect the same could be done out West put the Western championship in Calgary and fly out of Yukon and BC.

Then you only need to subsidize two teams from the west and two from the East to a sight as you say with the right facility.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by Trillium


quote:Originally posted by tmcmurph

Regardless of who was in the tougher division I think this whole format of 5 games in 4 days is insane. No team can play anywhere near their best under those conditions. It becomes an endurance and injury luck event more than a skills one.

I definitely like the idea of top 2 from the west and top 2 from the east. 3 games in 8 days so everyone can play their top team for all games. The cost of going to 2 tournaments will be more but it is that or you have to stretch the current one out to 10-12 days.

The weather can be dealt with if wind chill happens or torrential downpours occurs. The tournament must be at a place where they have a full sized indoor field with high enough roof and they must leave enough time available for all the games to be 90 minutes. No 60 minute mini games to decide the title. The problem in Sask wasn't that the temp was too cold it was the wind chill would leave the players with frostbite.
If you cost it out you probably end up with the same total cost for subsidy and actual cost, the reduced travel cost in the East you can have the tournament somewhere in Quebec like Sherbrooke, the teams from Maritimes can go by motor coach and the Newfoundland team can be flown over then coach it.

I suspect the same could be done out West put the Western championship in Calgary and fly out of Yukon and BC.

Then you only need to subsidize two teams from the west and two from the East to a sight as you say with the right facility.




Let me tell you that most players would let the tournament like it is instead of going with your format.

First, it would be unfair if the tournament was always held in the same area. One year it must be in Ontario and the next one in Newfoundland, so you'll likely have to travel. I really doubt you'll be able to save much money with that format.

Second, if you are going to make an argument because of the bad weather you should be looking at the CIS Nationals which are always held in mid-November (2006 at minus 15 in Alberta...). I think the Nationals club cups are a great opportunity to play teams from different parts of the country, let's not take that away from the tournament.

[ibrox]

quote:Originally posted by Rudi


quote:Originally posted by ibrox

I still find it funny how a team from "the centre of the universe" who were "supposed to win it" lost to Yukon in penalties...that's sad.

I find it pathetic that you keep hammering on this point.

Real Toronto weren't good enough this year. What's the big deal?


Because again, it's funny how a bunch of posers (aka Real Toronto...do they even know what the word "Real" means?) didn't even win a game when their team was stacked with "professional players" against a bunch of rank amateurs..including Yukon?

My guess why they lost? Probably arrogant as hell thinking they'll win in a cakewalk, except like every other Toronto team, they win fe*k all. lol

[Rudi]

quote:Originally posted by ibrox


quote:Originally posted by Rudi


quote:Originally posted by ibrox

I still find it funny how a team from "the centre of the universe" who were "supposed to win it" lost to Yukon in penalties...that's sad.

I find it pathetic that you keep hammering on this point.

Real Toronto weren't good enough this year. What's the big deal?


Because again, it's funny how a bunch of posers (aka Real Toronto...do they even know what the word "Real" means?) didn't even win a game when their team was stacked with "professional players" against a bunch of rank amateurs..including Yukon?

My guess why they lost? Probably arrogant as hell thinking they'll win in a cakewalk, except like every other Toronto team, they win fe*k all. lol

That's a giant heaping of assumptions to go along with that chip on your shoulder. Congrats.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

A squad of CSL players finishing 10th in an amateur national championship behind a team from the Yukon Territory are inevitably going to come in for a bit of flak. That is simply the flip side of the plaudits certain posters on here would have been lining up to give them if they had finished first and goes with the territory if you play sports competitively as part of a soccer community that has historically always tried to set itself up as being on a higher level than what goes on in other large Canadian cities. Bear in mind that although Hellas are now the official national champions below the fully-pro Nutrilite Canadian Championship level, the winner of the CSL playoffs will soon also be claiming that title as well based on a semi-pro set up that the top teams in most large Canadian cities have no practical possibility of ever entering. That sort of thing is a sure recipe for lots of schadenfreude elsewhere whenever a Toronto team does badly and is a situation that the CSA should step in and sort out.

[ibrox]

quote:Originally posted by Rudi


quote:Originally posted by ibrox


quote:Originally posted by Rudi


quote:Originally posted by ibrox

I still find it funny how a team from "the centre of the universe" who were "supposed to win it" lost to Yukon in penalties...that's sad.

I find it pathetic that you keep hammering on this point.

Real Toronto weren't good enough this year. What's the big deal?


Because again, it's funny how a bunch of posers (aka Real Toronto...do they even know what the word "Real" means?) didn't even win a game when their team was stacked with "professional players" against a bunch of rank amateurs..including Yukon?

My guess why they lost? Probably arrogant as hell thinking they'll win in a cakewalk, except like every other Toronto team, they win fe*k all. lol

That's a giant heaping of assumptions to go along with that chip on your shoulder. Congrats.


Well, I extend my congratulations to you Rudi for living in a cave for the past 3 years. PS. These aren't assumptions, here's why:

From the 2007 nationals, a poster said "
The NS vs ON men's game was a great show of speed, and a skill level that seemed higher than what I've seen before from an NSSL team. Ontario scored first, then Halifax City came back to tie it late in the 2nd half. One thing that me and many other fans noticed, was the on-field antics of this Ontario team. I can honestly say that I've never seen that much diving and acting in my life. That kind of behaviour is unheard of in the Eastlink Premiership, and both the fans & the Halifax City bench made that quite clear, by giving Ontario players & the ref an earful during some of the incidents. The only people supporting those Ontario Men's players were the Ontario Women's team who were very loud & obnoxious in the stands as they easily drowned out the pro-Halifax crowd on many occasions. It probably felt like an away game to Halifax City. The Ontario women's team is London City.

Hey Hamilton CSL fans- can I borrow some of your famous "London City sucks" chants ?

Soon after the Halifax City goal, Ontario got a corner kick, and my seat was close to the Ontario player. I decided to try to distract him. Here's how our "chat" went:

"Nova Scotia's going to win and you know it."- aussoccerfan
"They're a joke and you know it."- A player on the Ontario Men's team shouted back to me. (Some Soccer NS tournament officials were nearby, and it looked like they were laughing after that exchange of words.)

My trick seemed to work, as Ontario failed to even get the ball near the goal during that play."

Another comment from the same Nationals: "I was playing on the field next to Ontario and Quebec. To say it was a joke is an understatement. They were whining prior to the game that this should have been the gold medal game. We were in the pool with Ontario and there is no doubt in my mind that they were the 4th best team in the pool and they were not as good as NS, BC and Man. They only thought they were. Back to the game, they were laughing and joking during the entire game. They were going from one breakaway at one side to another breakaway on the other side. The only players trying were the goalies who were using it as goaltending practice. I was so disgusted I didn't bother watching much of it but at half time I heard Ontario players or coach telling the refs that this was the best reffing they had all week."

And one more if you didnt get the hint: "The display by the Ontario men was disgraceful. I have never seen such a shocking display in my life. Other than #6(solid defender)that whole team needs a serious intervention. CSA it is time to make an example of this group. It is sad that instead of being thought of as a highly skilled team capable of winning a gold medal, they are merely a classless group of spoiled brats who represent all that is wrong with this great game. No wonder hockey players mock soccer, this stuff turns my stomach."

This was only two years ago! Much of the same behaviour was reported last year in St. John's and I wouldn't be shocked if the same behaviour occured this year. Oh, and a quick check on Toronto teams winning stuff...when was the last time a team won anything? 5 years ago in the CFL.

Assumptions? Try again...or have you finally realised you're sh***?

[loyola]

Ibrox, 2005 is the answer for the last time a Toronto team won something, 4 years ago Scarborough United won the Challenge Cup.

Seriously, I've seen disgusting behaviours at a few tournament myself but I'm not naive enough to put the burden of those behaviours to all teams in that province. Quebec and Ontario representatives acted like idiots in 2007 but those teams were different from the team that showed there this year. If you are going to make a point against Toronto, at least use an example of antics from the team that showed up this year.....that would make sense.

BTW, what about those U-16 finals? That's some pretty one sided scores:

Quebec Women's (Beauport) 8 Ontario 0

Quebec Men's (Laval) 4 Alberta 0

[Bates]

There is also an issue with the Ontario mens team this year that the CSA needs to address. On the final day of the division games this year Manitoba needed a victory over Ontario to secure a place in the final. This became much easier of a task when Ontario flew several of their best players home the night before and were left with about 14 players for this pivitol match. One problem with this is the fact that you are the only Province that this could happen to as you are the only place where it is possible to play in two leagues at the same time with basicly no restrictions. I would bet they would not be making that flight if they were medal contenders!! That same night NL played NS with a NL victory putting them in the final. NS played them with the same intensity they had all weekend and knocked NL out of the medals. That is how the spirit of the tournament should be.

[VPjr]

Why are we debating endlessly about Real Toronto's poor performance? Who cares? Is it really that satisfying to people outside of Ontario to see teams from big bad Ontario/Toronto fall on their faces? If so, I suggest we grow up a tad.

I, for one, prefer to focus on giving credit to the side that won the tournament. Congratulations Hellas. It is impossible to claim that a tournament like this can properly determine the best amateur side in Canada but it is what it is and Hellas came out on top and deserve kudos for this accomplishment.

I do agree with Bates that it is impropoer for RT to send players home to play for Vaughn Shooters in the CSL if they still had games to play in Nationals. Players with divided loyalties (aka soccer gypsies) is not good for the game and is one of the biggest diseases in Ontario senior soccer. Once (if) the CSL ends its unnecessary Affiliation agreement policy, teams like RT (and others) will have to decide if they will focus on being the best amateur team in Ontario and take that seriously or will their players prefer to commit themselves fully to a CSL campaign.

[Vic]

^ finally some sanity. Although I imagine any team in the country that was eliminated and had players with prior commitments (be them soccer or business/family) would see them leave early. Maybe not four but at least a couple. We've had players do it even when we were winning. If you are a doctor and are needed, your wife is having a baby, etc, you do not give up your livelihood or moments like that in life for an amateur athletic championship, regardless how much you love the game. That is responsible behaviour. And in cases where it isn't and there is an epidemic or sporting impropriety, it is often dealt with (the OSA doled out a 6 month suspension against the the London women's coach for his actions in Nationals last year).

[Rudi]

quote:Originally posted by VPjr

Is it really that satisfying to people outside of Ontario to see teams from big bad Ontario/Toronto fall on their faces? If so, I suggest we grow up a tad.

That was my entire point, D.

This ibrox character seems to be getting a huge satisfaction out of this. Unless he was actually on the winning team, he's just a sore loser trying to legitimize his misplaced hatred for all things Toronto/Ontario. From an amateur soccer tournament, no less.

That's pathetic in my mind.

Oh, and Rangers are ****e. :D

[VPjr]

Vic, totally agree that real life will sometimes get in the way of soccer (god forbid) but considering that we know that Real Toronto is affiliated to a team that is in the CSL semi finals, we can be pretty certain that most, if not all, of those players were coming back to be part of a team that still has a chance to win something. I'm certainly not up in arms about it (I really don't pay much attention to the annual senior championships) but if you are going to represent your province, I'd prefer to see them represent the province to the end.

As for Mr. Painter's suspension by the OSA for alleged improprieties at last year's nationals, I think that it was a miscarriage of justice but that is an argument for a different thread.

[Bates]

I can't speak for everyone but I am not bashing Real or any Toronto team. This team actually did not perform as poorly as some would like to believe. They were just in a very tough division in which every bounce counted especially with 30 minute halves. This team was about even with any team capable of winning. I was actually quite excited when the decision was made to play inside as I thought Real would now be able to really play. The Hellas team won with hard work, good defending, and unbelievable finishing. I have never seen a team in my life at any level that burried their chances like Hellas did this weekend. I bet they scored on about 50% of their scoring chances, maybe even higher. Full marks to them as they came to Saskatoon with a plan that they executed to perfection.

On the question I posed earlier about the sending home of players I believe the CSA should be asking for a reason for any decision that a team makes that seems to bring the game down a level. Real were not the only ones guilty of that this year. Callies played without a couple of starters in the bronze medal game who were still in bed drunk. I also believe that the CSA should be looking at this in the Spirit of the games.

On the Ontario coach who was suspended based on his actions from last year, I was also at this game and believe that the coach's actions bought the game in repute and he certainly should hve been sanctioned for his actions. When you play in a game which determines who plays for medals and you finish the game with 7 players with no one else on the bench you have certainly given your sport a black eye!!! It was actually quite funny to watch him explode this year when a fan reminded him that karma had got him, he had to be escorted out of the building!! I mean if it is in fact the same coach???

[Ed]

My question is that with the weather advantage and all that, why are the BC teams so utter crap??? Alberta has by far the worst fall and spring weather of any Cdn province, yet we are cleaning up at the youth level -- 3 out of 4 gold at U18 and U16.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by Ed

My question is that with the weather advantage and all that, why are the BC teams so utter crap??? Alberta has by far the worst fall and spring weather of any Cdn province, yet we are cleaning up at the youth level -- 3 out of 4 gold at U18 and U16.


2 out 4 gold at the U-18 and U-16 to Alberta, the other 2 to Quebec.

I'm wondering if Ontario and BC struggles at the men's youth level is in part a result of the fact that some of the top players from those provinces are playing with the youth academy from the pro clubs?

[Ed]

^ Oops, my typo. The U16 Alberta boys took silver, losing to Quebec as you noted.

The Foothills U18 teams did extremely well, both teams going undefeated in the nationals. The technical director of the U18s is Tommy Wheeldon Jr who has a very good background. I was surprised to see he is now at Foothills, as he was coaching Calgary Blizzard teams (I think) for years since the Storm folded and also had his own academy setup in the old Currie Barracks. Congrats to Tommy Jr.

[ibrox]

quote:Originally posted by loyola


quote:Originally posted by Ed

My question is that with the weather advantage and all that, why are the BC teams so utter crap??? Alberta has by far the worst fall and spring weather of any Cdn province, yet we are cleaning up at the youth level -- 3 out of 4 gold at U18 and U16.


2 out 4 gold at the U-18 and U-16 to Alberta, the other 2 to Quebec.

I'm wondering if Ontario and BC struggles at the men's youth level is in part a result of the fact that some of the top players from those provinces are playing with the youth academy from the pro clubs?


Allright, maybe the Toronto tirade was a little bit OTT...all I am saying though is they got exactly what they deserved, you can't go running around like you run the place except when someone stands up to you and then you complain about it. If you're gonna dish it, you gotta take it back.

Anyway...regarding weather. Every team is going to have the same conditions to play in. If you ARE the best team, it will show, I don't care if it's -31 with the windchill (ask UNB players from whenever last time CIS champs were out west), or the pitch being grass or turf. You lose because the other team was better than you, it's that simple. Again, the true best teams win consistently regardless of the conditions.

As for players screwing around with not bothering? I don't know, if many are doing it there must be something wrong with the tournament. Even some of the Eastern leagues have gone down the tubes. NL's league is easily the worst quality I have seen in 5 years, the NS league lost Avondale, Fredericton, and Moncton (the latter two basically suspended due to last year..so of course, they wont bother), so clearly the quality drops as well. Something tells me it's a development problem...and even though there are teams that are billed as "professional academies", whether or not they are actually good quality is a different story (see BC and their Canada Games finish this year). I know this is a bit off topic, but Crosby did play for NS at Canada Games hockey...so if he can do it, why can't others?

PS. Yes, Rangers are sh**e...for now:D

[DoyleG]

quote:Originally posted by Ed

^ Oops, my typo. The U16 Alberta boys took silver, losing to Quebec as you noted.

The Foothills U18 teams did extremely well, both teams going undefeated in the nationals. The technical director of the U18s is Tommy Wheeldon Jr who has a very good background. I was surprised to see he is now at Foothills, as he was coaching Calgary Blizzard teams (I think) for years since the Storm folded and also had his own academy setup in the old Currie Barracks. Congrats to Tommy Jr.


To note, Edmonton Juventus took gold at the U14 nationals.

[Bill Spiers]

quote:Originally posted by Bates

On the Ontario coach who was suspended based on his actions from last year, I was also at this game and believe that the coach's actions bought the game in repute and he certainly should hve been sanctioned for his actions. When you play in a game which determines who plays for medals and you finish the game with 7 players with no one else on the bench you have certainly given your sport a black eye!!! It was actually quite funny to watch him explode this year when a fan reminded him that karma had got him, he had to be escorted out of the building!! I mean if it is in fact the same coach???

Different coach ... but related.

[tmcmurph]

quote:Originally posted by Ed

^ Oops, my typo. The U16 Alberta boys took silver, losing to Quebec as you noted.

The Foothills U18 teams did extremely well, both teams going undefeated in the nationals. The technical director of the U18s is Tommy Wheeldon Jr who has a very good background. I was surprised to see he is now at Foothills, as he was coaching Calgary Blizzard teams (I think) for years since the Storm folded and also had his own academy setup in the old Currie Barracks. Congrats to Tommy Jr.

Wheeldon Sr is doing Blizzard and Jr is doing Foothills. All In The Family ;)

[Tuscan]

There's going to be a BMO Nationals Wrap-Up article appearing on rednation in the next day or two.

Currently there's a few interviews and brief match reports (if you can call them that) I managed to write during the weekend while working the championships. Sadly I don't know enough of Mark Korthius' history to know how close he actually came to cracking Europe, but I do know a groin injury is what kept him from doing so.

Hellas SC was a very two-faced team. If they and Calgary weren't trying to start a brawl with each other during the opening ceremonies/team social on Friday night, then they were talking sh*te about other team's while watching their games from above. Not to say West Van and Avondale weren't guilty of this as well, I suppose it comes with the competition. Talking to them anywhere else and they were generally nice guys.

Hellas were dynamite on the pitch, except against Huskies Alumni, who figured out their strategy of playing a flat back four just inside their box with their midfield playing flat just outside their box. Korthius and Jordan Schidlowsky ripped them apart quite easily. All the other teams kept trying to play long balls over top of them, but you can't do that when they're playing two layers of D. If Hellas makes it back next season, they will come in with a massive target on their heads.

[DJones]

quote:Originally posted by loyola


quote:Originally posted by Ed

My question is that with the weather advantage and all that, why are the BC teams so utter crap??? Alberta has by far the worst fall and spring weather of any Cdn province, yet we are cleaning up at the youth level -- 3 out of 4 gold at U18 and U16.


2 out 4 gold at the U-18 and U-16 to Alberta, the other 2 to Quebec.

I'm wondering if Ontario and BC struggles at the men's youth level is in part a result of the fact that some of the top players from those provinces are playing with the youth academy from the pro clubs?


I can't speak for Ontario but the BC team's season ended back in April. New teams have been picked, players moving on to other age groups within club teams and bringing players back together is really, really difficult with a new season already started. Rosters are frozen back in JANUARY! That's not a Canadian soccer problem, that's a BC Soccer problem.

Also the fact that we have small districts that limit the number of out-of-district players (3 max) prevent any one team from creating 'super teams' like they can in other provinces. Again a BC Soccer problem that handicaps BC teams.

The teams did have players attached to Residency and NTC (as well as players that are currently in Europe), and their release for prep matches and training was also difficult. The 10 day release date before competition isn't significant enough... apparently!

[Tuscan]

Just finished watching the It's Called Football (my god, now they have randoms plugging them for free[:0]) weekly. I don't know anything other than what was discussed during the interview, but I had a chance to talk with players from Real Toronto this weekend, and everything that Gary mentions about what is happening to players in Ontario is exactly what the players from Real relayed to me. 7 of the players played with JDG during their youth days, yet only JDG was 'discovered' while the rest of them are now only playing either CSL or in the PDL. While the CSL and PDL aren't a bad place to be if they're still young, Julian was over in Europe at the same time. The quality of the players on Real, specifically the individual quality and technical abilities of the players, was far and above those same qualities of a majority of the other players at the tournament. These guys have fallen through the cracks. Real Toronto is a prime example of able players who have been missed out on.

[mattie9]

First off lets get one thing straight...Hellas and the Callies were never close to fighting.The west van boys got drunk and tried picking fights with one of our midfielders.HYe walked away from it knowing very well that we still had a tournament and west van didn't.As for the talking crap factor...west van players were trying to spit at people on our bench...that's class.They were kicked out of the indoor stadium and later in the tourney out of the hotel.The ontario and alberta boys were never classless and our team gives full props to both teams as they were quite classy to our club.The ontario team had great skill and the alberta team was great techinically.Props to both...and the sask team was good all around.Tough pool...sometimes you get the breaks and sometimes you don't.

[loyola]

For those who were there, what was your impression of the Quebec team?

[mattie9]

Good possesion no itensity or ability to penetrate

[Bates]

Well said Mattie9 about the so called "fight" and the teams. That observation was exactly how I saw the teams and the attemted frakas at the Social. The rumour after your outdoor half had a BC player telling your team that they would destroy you next team as your team was not good enough to be here. Guess they ate those words. On their BC forum they argued that the red card against Man indoors was just a hard tackle and didn't even deserve a yellow??? Also a good observation on the Quebec team although I would just add that they played with class and represented their province well.

[mattie9]

agreed about quebec,very classy.The tackle in the b.c. game was a red,the player winked at our bench after the foul,classless.To bad they represented thier own province that way.

[Winnipeg Fury]

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Hellas SC add gold to trove
By KEN WIEBE, SUN MEDIA

The natural hat trick wasn't enough for Hellas SC, so they figured they would add a national title to their ever-expanding trophy case.

After capturing the Manitoba Soccer Association Cup, the regular season title and the playoff trophy, Hellas SC came home from Saskatoon with a gold medal after defeating Royal de Beauport (Quebec) 1-0 in the final of the BMO National Championship.

Chris Musto provided the lone goal in the 37th minute, while Dylan O'Connor posted the shutout.

"It was an amazing season and we worked really hard," said Hellas SC head coach Gus Vailas. "We have a physical team that worked hard on our fitness. I believe that hard work pays off, but sometimes you don't know when.

"I've been coaching many, many years and I could never make it to nationals. This is just amazing."

Hellas SC posted a disappointing eighth-place finish at the nationals played in St. John's, Nfld., in 2008, but was determined to do better this time around.

A victory over the three-time defending champion Calgary Callies in the first game got Hellas SC off on the right foot and served notice that they were not to be underestimated.

"That was a key for us, I concentrated a lot on that game," said Vailas. "I don't think they took us very seriously and we're a much better team than last year. We beat them in the last minute of the game."

Confidence was key for Hellas SC, who were able to build on their previous experience.

"With most of the squad having been to nationals, we knew what we were facing and did everything we could to prepare," Hellas SC captain Billy Economou said in an e-mail. "We had momentum coming out of Manitoba having won the triple crown, and we were optimistic. Although we were an underdog, we went in with a lot of heart, confidence and skill.

"Hellas realized a 35-year dream winning the national championship and becoming the best soccer club in Canada. This was a team effort and everyone played a role in this winning season."

ken.wiebe@sunmedia.ca

[Vic]

"Hellas realized a 35-year dream winning the national championship and becoming the best soccer club in Canada."

Well, best club is a little much and I believe (hope) he would be implying best team. But that's not really even the case either. Portsmouth won the FA Cup in 2008. Were they the best team in England? Hardly. They won 16 of 38 league games. They were simply the winners of a tournament. And the BMO's aren't even a seasonal performance competition a la Champions League where only league winners and top placement teams progress. Three of the four semi-finalists on the women's side aren't even winning their local leagues.

It takes great teams to win tournaments or Cups, but to place more grandeur things on the accomplishment is a little, as the Jamaicans say, big-headed.

[mattie9]

i guess that is an opinion Vic.But how many teams won the men's national championship based on what the c.s.a considers it's national championship...I'll give you a hint rhymes with mellas.Besides did any other team win everything domestically?Either way billy was right in saying the best club because anyone who played for them this year would have been extremely happy with the support we got from the club...ask alberta.

[VPjr]

Gotta agree with Vic.

Hellas' achievement is excellent and i know that the club is a good one (I've heard very good things about Hellas from the father of a young player who was part of Hellas a couple of years ago).

However, it is most definitely impossible for any club to claim "best in country" status. TECHNICALLY, Toronto FC would be the best men's club in Canada as they won the top Men's tournament in the country, the Voyageurs Cup (aka Nutrilite Championship).

But, hey, who can blame a coach for puffing out his chest a bit and being proud of his team's accomplishments?

[mattie9]

I thought you were talking about amateur but yes tfc is.

[Ed]

Saying TFC is the best club in Canada is contentious for me. Based on Voyageurs' Cup results, upstart Toronto pales as a club in comparison to Montreal, who 'owned' the cup prior to this year.
And furthermore, based on organizational (I.E., CLUB) results as well as pro team results, one could argue that no-one can touch the Whitecaps.

[VPjr]

^ I don't particularly buy my own argument either Ed but, for this year, TFC did win the tournament established to crown Canada's best senior pro squad so they get the honour THIS YEAR, just like Hellas won the CSA tournament and thus get the title of best Senior Amateur team in the country for 2009.

Whether either squad is truly the "best" in their respective categories is an endless debate. But they have the hardware.

[Ed]

I would just stop using the word 'club' when talking about such accomplishments. TFC is the best pro men's team in the country this year; Hellas is the best amateur men's team in the country this year.
Neither has the history nor the trophy case to be judged in terms of a club.

[VPjr]

^ agreed.

[ibrox]

quote:Originally posted by Vic

"Hellas realized a 35-year dream winning the national championship and becoming the best soccer club in Canada."

Well, best club is a little much and I believe (hope) he would be implying best team. But that's not really even the case either. Portsmouth won the FA Cup in 2008. Were they the best team in England? Hardly. They won 16 of 38 league games. They were simply the winners of a tournament. And the BMO's aren't even a seasonal performance competition a la Champions League where only league winners and top placement teams progress. Three of the four semi-finalists on the women's side aren't even winning their local leagues.

It takes great teams to win tournaments or Cups, but to place more grandeur things on the accomplishment is a little, as the Jamaicans say, big-headed.



Agrees, especially when they only beat Quebec, PEI...and that "powerhouse Yukon".

Either way, congrats to Manitoba.

[McKennan]

Ibronx, it is up to each team to play and represent their association. If they to not perform and place low in the standings then they will be punished next year.

[ibrox]

quote:Originally posted by McKennan

Ibronx, it is up to each team to play and represent their association. If they to not perform and place low in the standings then they will be punished next year.




What does that have to do with Manitoba winning a national title when they only won 3 games? (2 of them being actual games...no disrespect intended to the Yukon).

[timmakal]

Agrees, especially when they only beat Quebec, PEI...and that "powerhouse Yukon".


Who beat PEI, the only team that defeated PEI was Quebec, PEI beat NS, Yukon, Tied NFLD and beat Alberta for bronze....

[ibrox]

Sorry, wires crossed...

Quebec only had to defeat PEI, and that "powerhouse Yukon" side to get silver. Hellas didnt do much better, beating an (apparently) under-strength Callies side, BC, and an even more understrength Toronto side.

My point still stands though.

[mattie9]

Knowing that this would all be said after we won here is my question for you ibrox...do you know that hellas was unable to play without some of there players as well,do you know that we were so called under strengthed as well.The point is the team beat who we needed to,there is always going to be excuses when the so-called favorite loses...we deserved to win ask the callies.Ask ont,just dont ask sask hahaha,they laidd a whooping to us that day.

[Gordon]

Ultimately, you can only beat the teams they put in front of you. Gratz to Hellas, National Champs.

[Bates]

As I have stated before in this thread, I watched every game at this years Nationals. While I have stated that I do not believe that Hellas were the best team there, I do believe they deserved to win the Title. They had a game plan for each team that they played and executed it perfectly with the execption of the Sask game. It is not Hellas problem that Alberta and BC underestimated their opponant and both paid the price for that mistake.

[ibrox]

quote:Originally posted by mattie9

Knowing that this would all be said after we won here is my question for you ibrox...do you know that hellas was unable to play without some of there players as well,do you know that we were so called under strengthed as well.The point is the team beat who we needed to,there is always going to be excuses when the so-called favorite loses...we deserved to win ask the callies.Ask ont,just dont ask sask hahaha,they laidd a whooping to us that day.


First of all, I am not discrediting the team as a whole. You were the best team over the weekend...in an indoor field with 60 minute games (kidding). Either way, you deserved your victory and congratulations.

I realise you can only beat who is in front of you, but do you honestly think you could beat PEI, NL, or even another round of Huskies convincingly?

Honest question. It seems to me teams are not taking this tournament seriously. Why did Toronto fly home nearly half it's squad after the first/second game? Why did Callies not play 4/5 of their best players? It's no wonder soccer in Canada is gone down the hole. Don't get me wrong, I love the game, but I don't like seeing the talent pool just drop off compared to 5 years ago.

[Regs]

I guessing that for a team such as the Callies, they only have one goal in mind - Gold. If they falter and don't make the final, it's over for them mentally. And they probably don't care what seeding they get because they believe already they can beat any other province next year anyways. They have a championship club mentality.

[mattie9]

Im just gonna throw this out there,Maybe it's because they aren't that good of a team.I for one would never leave the group of guys that i spent the year with and just leave due to one loss.I mean what constitutes an amateur soccer player?This sport is based on being smart,aware and physical...but also on co-existing with your team.We lost to sask and badly but we didnt pack it in,we went for dinner as a team and regrouped to play ont.Ontario were to cocky...i know this cause i talked with them and so were b.c.the callies started guys that were hurt,maybe there team wasent deep enough.Either way opa hellas.

[robdiamondpresents]

140,000 in all of PEI
how many people are registered to play in some of these big clubs?
The sooner people start respecting PEI as talented senior teams, thats why the big 4 teams tend to lose to us. I have played all Ontario, BC, Que, and Alb on provincial team and club nats, and Ive only lost twice, tied once, and won twice. Teams have to stop dressing "half squads", punting balls in our direction during warm up, and expecting us to be a walk over.
In regards to Ontario, sometimes a weaker team is fielded, and god knows when you lose a couple of games the curfew seems a bit lost to the most of us.
Next year, hopefully PEI will prove its point with a gold.