Noting that it had been ten years, to the day, that the team he now coached had last won a city title, back to a time when he was a grade nine rookie member of the team, Alex Cimino laughed about the fact that he was aging himself.
A couple more finals like this and the teacher and local sports personality will be aging an awful lot more.
After conceding just a single goal against in walking off with victories in six straight games, the St Benedict Bears trailed for almost the entirety of their Senior Boys Open final Tuesday opposite the Lo-Ellen Park Knights.
But with roughly a minute remaining in regulation time, Donald Munyua drilled a shot in the direction of the net, the ball bouncing off the leg of teammate Roman Mamonov and into the cage to force overtime.
Two ten minute OT sessions went scoreless before the Bears overwhelmed the Knights in the penalty shot showdown, scoring three times (Donald Munyua, Connor Nicholson, Ibrahim Najem) while keeper Noah Palladino went three for three in denying Lo-Ellen a clean sweep of championship day.
“That was very intense,” acknowledged St Benedict captain London Croome. “We had to push up to try and get a goal. We stuck to the game plan but played into it a little more. We kept trying to put it long and finish it from there.”
Just ten minutes into the game, Caelan Davie soared a well placed volley from about 25 yards out from his spot on the left flank, barely tucking the sphere under the top crossbar. Ironically, it was Davie who two years ago scored one of the more memorable markers in recent times, playing a corner kick into the wind to perfection and netting a direct goal from the corner flag in the junior boys final.
While he had a couple of chances to duplicate that effort late in overtime, it was the Bears who enjoyed the better opportunities in this encounter, making good use of their set pieces to create chaos in the box - but unable to pull the trigger. That could be a concern again this Friday at NOSSA as St Benedict will compete in an “A” bracket that also features a very strong Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes’ crew.
“We’re going to have to work hard to shut them down,” said Croome. “Théo Lefebvre is their goalie and I think he’s playing at Laurentian next year. Lukas Morin is a great player as well. They have a similar game plan to us – but hopefully we can execute it better.”
The Lo-Ellen Jr Knights had kicked off the day in style for the south end powerhouse, opening the scoring on a first half goal from Harry Yeamans, giving themselves a cushion early in the second half courtesy of Sam Lazare and sealing the fate of the Lockerby Vikings with a late tally from Josh Reich.
“The most important thing was to just pass the ball around and not be ball hogs,” noted Lo-Ellen defender Gerik Hnatiuk, a fixture on the back line but one who plays the sport largely just on a recreational level.
“We had to keep the ball moving and never stay still.”
Topping the standings at the conclusion of regular season play with a record of 4-0-0 that included a pair of single goal victories, the Jr Knights continued to showcase the wealth of talent at their disposal in the final.
“I think we had the most different goal scorers of any of the teams (in the league),” stated Hnatiuk. “I think we’re better at not relying on one forward to score. We have a lot of attackers and a lot of threats on the field. It makes it hard for other teams to target one guy when all of us can score.”
Like the Bears, the Jr Knights will also participate in NOSSA playdowns on Friday, though junior aged teams are not eligible to advance to OFSAA. Still, the lure of another championship banner is enticing.
“We’re going to keep our strategy and see where that takes us,” said Hnatiuk. “It’s been working really good so far so there’s no reason to change much.”
Looking for a four-peat and a chance to join the likes of the Marymount Regals (1993 to 1997) and the Lockerby Vikings (2000 to 2003), the Horizon Aigles battled right to the end before succumbing to the Lo-Ellen Park Knights in a tight 2-1 affair.
Abbey Dagostino got the Knights rolling, finding the back of the net less than a minute in before Sophie Lachance pulled the Aigles even, drilling a bullet from some 30 yards out that glanced off the hands of keeper Mattia Mullen and in.
Going back to the same playbook that they opened the game with, Lo-Ellen netted the game winning goal at the very start of the second half., with Lia Gallo potting the ball in the far corner of the net, giving the Knights their first Girls Premier title since 2019 and only their second ever.
“Our game plan is always to attack from the start,” noted 16 year old defender and sparkplug Jo-Jo Ajueze. “We don’t let the foot off the pedal. We’re always going and then we re-adjust.”
“They’re a really good team so we had to bring it, we had to step up to their level or above.”
One of the countless multi-sport athletes who took to the field on Tuesday, this long-time member of various GSSC Impact formations suggested that this particular unit is one that is close to her heart.
“This team is a special team, I have to say,” stated Ajueze. “It’s just the different aspects of everybody’s game that comes together and how we work together so well. Sometimes, everybody knows where to go without even talking.”
“It’s crazy.”
Where the likes of Dagostino and Gallo, Leticia de Silva and Aiden Panella, Sarah Guignard and Isabel Rheault were often entrusted to provide the offense, Ajueze knows that her best work comes at the opposite end of the field.
“Some people like the drive of scoring but for me, it’s that drive of stopping someone, being the last person and having that weight on your shoulder.”
“It’s amazing.”
