Some excellent preparation for an upcoming Ontario Cup showdown as the Sudbury Athletic U-15 Boys advanced to the semi-finals of the Newmarket tournament last weekend, taking on some outstanding competition in the process. In fact, Athletic coach Jeff Vaillancourt was thrilled with the parity found in this 12-team event.

"I've never been in a big division like this that has been so level skill-wise between all the teams", noted the long-time Athletic coach. "Nobody got through with three wins, and if they held this same tourney again next weekend, it's conceivable that four entirely different teams could be in the semis. What an excellent tune-up for our upcoming Ontario Cup semis."

Sudbury opened in impressive fashion, dusting Newmarket United 3-1 as Brandon Vocoturo, Joe Lucciantonio and Emerson Carniel, on a penalty kick, accounted for the scoring. Game two finds the Athletic failing to capitalize on numerous scoring opportunities, settling for a scoreless draw with Malvern Lightning.

Back to the win column in game three as Emerson Carniel nets the game's only goal in a 1-0 win over the North York Cosmos. The locals record of 2-0-1 finds the team meeting BEIRA MAR, the same opponent that defeated the Athletic in penalty kicks one year ago in the championship final.

No better luck this time around as the U-15 lads fall 2-1 in the semi-finals in a tightly contested match. The squad continues to work in anticipation of their August 29th semi-final battle with the Barrie Spirit at Birchmount Stadium in Scarborough.

The Richmond Hill Raiders and Kleinburg Nobleton Lions meet in the remaining semi-final, same location, with the two winners moving on to the Ontario Cup final on Saturday, September 19th in Vaughan.