Closing off our bi-weekly soccer columns for the season, there might be no better departure point than with the GSSC (Greater Sudbury Soccer Club) U14 Impact Girls (converting over to U15 in time for the indoor winter season).

In competing in C1 level of iModel play this summer, coach Stephane Marier and crew reached a level that no other GSSC team can currently claim.

Blessed with a lineup that certainly features a nice degree of natural athleticism, the one-time goaltender with the Panhellenic Soccer Club has continuously raised the bar in terms of the expectations he has placed on his talented troops, knowing full well they are both capable and interested in reaching these heights.

“We were always a pretty good team to score goals against weaker opponents,” said Marier, preparing to start his fourth winter with the core of this lineup. “But our style would not work against higher echelon teams. We have put a lot of emphasis on passing, moving the ball properly, crossing the balls properly.”

“We had to start playing more as a team and not as much as individuals. We started introducing this last winter and it kind of just followed through to the summer.”

Ascending to the C1 bracket likely one year earlier than they anticipated, the Impact girls have still held their own, sitting in sixth place in an eight team loop. Still, coach Marier knows this is where they need to be to develop.

“The girls have already taken major leaps – and I hope to see more this winter,” he said. “They have really improved in processing the speed of the game.”

Marier and his team did not have to reach all that far back in the archives in order to recall their starting point when it came to first facing upper end talent, dropping a 9-1 decision last winter.

“I was disappointed in myself as a coach,” he said.

To be sure, Stephane Marier does not ask more of his athletes than what he is willing to ask of himself. All of which makes the clear signs of progress that much more enjoyable when the fruits of their labour are clear for all to see.

“We have played them since (the 9-1 loss) and still lost to them, but much, much closer now,” said Marier. “A lot of our girls had likely never even watched a professional soccer game before joining our team and now I would consider them one of the more successful groups to come out of Sudbury.”

And still he and his team strive for more.

Thanks to some gleanings that Marier would draw from Ontario Soccer coaching presentations, he came to an interesting conclusion. “Organized chaos (in practices) is the best way to teach kids how to play soccer. If you can organize a practice that looks a little chaotic but resembles more game situations, that seems to accomplish the most.”

“Make sure they (the athletes) are having fun while learning whatever it is that we are trying to teach them. I’ve seen a lot of success from doing stuff like that.”

The team closes out their iModel schedule with their final four games in Woodbridge (this weekend), Vaughan and Barrie (next weekend) and closing things off with one final home outing on September 27th versus Darlington.

GSSC U14 Impact Girls: Alayna Marier-Mikus, Elsa Rancourt, Sierra Ranger, Isabella Fraser, Desirée Malmiste, Emma-Leigh Morin, Jessie Fu, Braya Kelly, Zoey Brazier, Alexa Boissonneault, Violet Boisvenue, Callie Couillard, Julia D’Angelo, Kara Christine, Leah Lalonde, Brooklynn Bertrand, Veronica Paquette, Taya Messier, assistant coach Al Couillard and team manager Silvana D’Angelo.

With more than competitive showings in three of their first four games this year, the Laurentian Voyageurs men’s soccer team finally get a chance to strut their stuff in front of their partisan fans. Coach Tony Tagliafierro and company enter a Saturday afternoon showdown (2:15) with the Toronto Metropolitan Bold with a record of 0-2-2, including a 2-2 road draw with a Carleton Ravens team that was ranked in the top ten in the country at the time.

“I feel that the mindset this year has changed a lot,” suggested midfielder and team captain Daniel Alexa. “I just feel that we have changed more into a winning mindset. I think we used to just be concerned about not allowing more goals but now, it’s how do we score more goals.”

All of which still remains a challenge.

Despite outshooting three of their four opponents to date, the Voyageurs still have just a goal a game to show as a reward for their efforts. “Before, it was hard for us to get into that final third (of the field),” noted Alexa. “But now, we are getting there so much. We just need to stop rushing it when we get there.”

Now in his third year with the team, Alexa joins a leadership group that features attackers Timi Aliu and Jaiden Santos and midfielder Nico Patenaude, along with a host of freshmen and sophomores who are quickly having an impact with L.U. soccer.

Kicking off four straight games at home with their battle with TMU, the Laurentian lads know full well what home field advantage is all about. “The results have proved it,” said Alexa. “Last year, we beat Ontario Tech (2-1) at home – and they turned out to be OUA champs. Honestly, it’s just our fan base.”

“The L.U. potbangers are coming out this year and that’s huge. Opposing teams come in and they don’t really like playing on grass - or our fans that are always cheering. I have friends (on other teams) who have said that Laurentian is one of the toughest places for them to play.”

Still looking not only for their first win of the fall but also their first goal, a relatively young Laurentian women’s team will now close out their schedule by playing six of their final seven games at home. That stretch begins this weekend as coach Randy Ribeiro and company face a Nipissing Lakers team, on Sunday, which qualified for nationals last fall.

And finally, a huge shout-out to the Sudbury Stallions who guaranteed themselves a fourth straight Anderson Cup triumph thanks to a 3-1 win on Thursday versus Afro Heritage. Teobaldo Torres, Samim Massoom and Marcel Diro scored for the winners while the makeshift goaltending duo of Adam Waram and Zach Waller held firm in net for the champs.